Senate Holding Slew Of Confirmation Hearings For Trump Nominees As Time Runs Short Before August Recess

Interesting confirmation hearings, donald trump, jay clayton, senate, todd blanche admin July 10, 2026 0 Comments

Senate Holding Slew Of Confirmation Hearings For Trump Nominees As Time Runs Short Before August Recess

The Senate scheduled several confirmation hearings starting Monday to confirm many of President Donald Trump’s nominees before the August recess.

The Senate will move to confirm several nominees to serve in key positions, including the next director of national intelligence (DNI) and a new attorney general. Senate Republicans are hopeful they can fill the vacant government positions while time is running out.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, Trump’s pick to be the permanent DNI, is expected to attend his confirmation hearing Wednesday. The Senate initially scheduled Clayton’s hearing for June 17 just days after Trump nominated him to replace former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, though the hearing was suddenly postponed after Trump called on the Senate to not move forward with the nomination.

Trump said on Truth Social that Clayton’s nomination would not move forward until Jamie McDonald was approved to be the next attorney for the Southern District of New York. Following Trump’s statement, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton confirmed the postponement of the hearing after initially planning to move forward with it. (RELATED: Here Are All The Times Congressional Lawmakers Gave Themselves A Vacation In Past Year)

”It’s regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today,” Cotton said. “Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly. While today’s hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future.”

The Senate attempted to rush Clayton’s confirmation after Section 702 of the Foreign Relations Intelligence Act (FISA) expired on June 12. Section 702 allows the government to collect and search American citizens’ data without a warrant if they were in contact with targeted noncitizens located outside of the U.S.

Senate Republicans largely praised Clayton in statements to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Democrats appeared to have nothing negative to say about Clayton and instead criticized acting DNI Bill Pulte, who Trump nominated to temporarily serve in the role.

“I think he’s a really good pick. He’s obviously very capable and competent and [has] a great record. So, my assumption is, and I would certainly hope that Democrats who are being objective about it are going to come to the same conclusion,” Thune told the DCNF on June 11.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he supported “getting rid of Pulte” when the DCNF asked if he supported Clayton.

The Senate will also hold a hearing Wednesday for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Trump nominated to replace former Attorney General Pam Bondi. Blanche became acting attorney general on April 2 after Trump fired Bondi.

Blanche worked at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for 15 years in a variety of roles, including as a contractor, a paralegal in the Criminal Division and at the United States Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, according to the DOJ. He also served as a defense attorney for Trump in three of his legal cases between 2023 and 2024.

Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn said he would not commit to supporting Blanche unless he committed to “further briefing” on the tax audit issues involving Trump and his family.

Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said in June he would not commit to supporting Tillis if there was any hint that the DOJ would not be independent from Trump’s influence.

Blanche engaged in heated conversations with Senate Republicans over a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund aimed at compensating victims of government weaponization, which raised concerns that defendants convicted of violent crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot would receive these funds. Many Senate Republicans staunchly opposed the fund and could have supported a Democrat-led amendment to kill it, which raised the likelihood of Trump vetoing a $69.5 billion reconciliation package that Trump ultimately signed into law on June 10.

The acting attorney general testified to the House of Representatives on June 2 that the DOJ dropped the fund.

Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz is scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Wednesday in hopes of being the next leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Trump fired former CDC Director Susan Monarez in September after she refused to resign over her clashes with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccination policies.

Monarez’ firing left the CDC without a leader for nearly a year. Trump’s previous CDC nominee, Dr. David Weldon, withdrew his nomination in March 2025 after he was expected not to garner enough votes in the Senate HELP Committee, who raised questions about his past statements questioning vaccine safety.

Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling is expected to appear for his confirmation hearing Thursday before the HELP Committee. If confirmed, Sonderling would replace former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned on April 20 amid a monthlong internal investigation by the Labor Department’s inspector general into allegations of misconduct, including workplace drinking and an affair with a subordinate.

Trump appointed Sonderling as acting secretary following Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation. Senate Republicans moved quickly to schedule Sonderling’s hearing, indicating they are confident he can secure his confirmation.

On Tuesday, acting Pentagon Comptroller nominee Jay Hurst will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing after Trump nominated him in May to permanently serve in the role. Hurst would become the administration’s first Senate-confirmed Defense Department chief financial officer since Trump’s second term began in January 2025.

Hurst would likely provide the first public testimony on the Iran strikes since they restarted Tuesday, which broke the 60-day ceasefire from mid-June. The committee will likely press Hurst on the Iran war and the overall cost of the conflict.

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