'Struggling with your nomination': 4 takeaways from RFK Jr., Gabbard, Patel hearings
Three of President Donald Trump's nominees for top jobs in his administration faced tough questioning from Democrats during Senate confirmation hearings Thursday − and two of them were also grilled by some Republicans, highlighting concerns in Trump's own party about some of his unorthodox picks.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La, pressed Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on his anti-vaccine views, particularly debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, and said he was 'struggling' to support him.
Republican senators also repeatedly pushed Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, on whether Edward Snowden – the former National Security Agency employee who leaked classified intelligence information – is a traitor, a label she avoided using to the frustration of some lawmakers.
Trump's nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, said he disagreed with the president's decision to grant clemency to his supporters who assaulted police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021.
Meanwhile, a Senate committee advanced Russell Vought, Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management Budget, which has been embroiled in a controversy over pausing federal funding.
Patel, Kennedy and Gabbard have faced considerable criticism of their records and qualifications. All three came under intense scrutiny from Democrats Thursday during hearings that sometimes became emotional.
The concerns raised by Republicans are more problematic for Trump, though. The president already needed Vice President J.D. Vance to break a tie Senate vote to get his Defense secretary confirmed after three Republicans opposed the nomination.
Here are some takeaways from an explosive day of confirmation hearings.
Cassidy, a gastroenterologist, said in the past that Kennedy was 'wrong' about vaccines. Cassidy has been viewed as a potential swing vote on Kennedy's confirmation, and made his concerns plain Thursday.
The Louisiana senator kicked off Kennedy's second day of confirmation hearings by asking if he would 'unequivocally' assure Americans, particularly mothers, that vaccines do not cause autism.
Kennedy said he would – after being shown data to that effect.
Cassidy said that still left him with concerns, adding, 'The data has been there for a long time.'
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine also questioned Kennedy's prior anti-vaccine rhetoric in Thursday's hearing. Murkowski and Collins already have voted against Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for Defense secretary.
Invoking his knowledge of the medical field to highlight the benefits of vaccines, Cassidy worried that 'if there's any false note, any undermining of a mama's trust in vaccines, another person will die from a vaccine-preventable disease.'
'Does a… 71-year-old man who's spent decades criticizing vaccines, and who's financially vested in finding fault with vaccines, can he change his attitudes and approach now that he'll have the most important position influencing vaccine policy in the United States?' Cassidy asked, referencing Kennedy making money from vaccine litigation.
Kennedy's frequent comments that he wants to see more data on vaccine safety didn't sit well with Cassidy. He questioned whether Kennedy would improve Americans' health or 'undermine it by always asking for more evidence and never accepting the evidence that is there.'
'That is why I have been struggling with your nomination,' said Cassidy, indicating he was torn on how to vote and telling Kennedy, 'You may be hearing from me over the weekend.'
An attorney, activist, author and member of a storied American political family, Kennedy mounted a longshot bid for president in 2024, first as a Democrat and then as an independent, before dropping out and endorsing Trump, who rewarded him with a nomination to lead federal health agencies he has long criticized.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congressmember and 2020 presidential candidate who endorsed Trump in 2024, also has a record that gives some in her party heartburn. She has made comments viewed as sympathetic to dictators, including Russia's Vladimir Putin, and has been deeply critical of U.S. intelligence agencies.
On Thursday, she repeatedly sought to distance herself from her past support of Snowden, who stole and leaked more than one million documents to the media about U.S. intelligence collection efforts.
Multiple Republican senators pressed Gabbard on her position, saying Snowden was a traitor who undermined U.S. national security and not, as Gabbard has claimed in the past, a patriotic whistleblower.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, criticized legislation Gabbard filed in 2020 – the 'Protect Brave Whistleblowers Act' – saying it 'would hamper our ability to prosecute people who give our adversaries classified information.'
Gabbard repeatedly stated that her position was that Snowden 'broke the law.' But over and over again she declined to call him a traitor in response to questions from Democratic and Republican senators.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., asked Gabbard for her thoughts on a House Intelligence Committee report stating Snowden damaged national security, and seemed concerned with her response.
'It's notable you didn't say 'Yes, he clearly hurt in various ways our national security,'' Young said.
'I think it would befit you, and be helpful to the way you are perceived by members of the intelligence community, if you would at least acknowledge the greatest whistleblower in American history, so-called, harmed national security by breaking the laws of the land,' Young added later.
Senator Michael Bennet, D-Colo., hammered Gabbard on her refusal to characterize Snowden as a traitor.
'This is where the rubber meets the road,' Bennet said, his voice raised. 'Is Edward Snowden a traitor? That is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high.'
When Gabbard again sought to deflect Bennet's question, he replied, visibly angry, 'That is not a hard question!'
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., clashed with Gabbard over her views and public statements on Russia.
'I want to make certain that in no way does Russia get a pass in either your mind or your heart or any policy recommendation you would make or not make,' Moran said, prompting Gabbard to fire back that she was 'offended by the question.'
'No country or group or individual will get a pass,' if she's confirmed for the job, Gabbard said.
The Senate still has a number of Republicans with more hawkish views on national security issues, and Gabbard's nomination could test their willingness to go along with Trump.
Patel's nomination has worried critics who view him as a Trump loyalist who will seek retribution against the president's political enemies.
So it was notable that Patel broke with Trump Thursday on the question of how to handle Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted police officers.
Asked by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., if Trump was wrong to issue "blanket clemency" to Jan. 6 defendants, Patel said it is within Trump's power to pardon.
When Durbin pressed him further, Patel said he has always rejected violence against law enforcement, including during the infamous Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
"I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement," Patel said.
But Patel didn't contradict Trump on his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asked Patel if Trump lost in 2020, characterizing it as a yes-or-no question. Patel declined to answer directly, although he acknowledged Joe Biden became president.
"President Biden's election was certified. He was sworn in and he served as the president of the United States," Patel said.
"Once again, people who are 100% loyal to President Trump cannot answer that question." Hirono replied.
Democrats blasted Patel from the start of the hearing. Durbin said he 'has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment' to lead the FBI.
Republicans lauded him. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Patel's career as 'been a study in fighting unpopular but righteous causes, exposing corruption and putting America first.'
Grassley opened the hearing by saying the FBI has been plagued by 'abuse' and 'weaponization' and has lost the public trust, but Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., later cautioned Patel to rebuild the FBI, not just tear it down.
'Don't go over there and burn down that agency. Lift it up. Clean it up, but lift it up in accordance with due process and the rule of law,' Kennedy said.
The Senate Budget Committee voted on Thursday to advance Russell Vought, Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, for a floor vote.The floor vote, in which all senators will decide whether to officially confirm Vought for the role, will likely take place next week.Reuters reported that Democrats on the Senate budget and appropriations committees had tried to postpone the Thursday vote after the Trump administration had ordered a pause on certain federal spending, but the effort was unsuccessful.
The spending pause prompted a huge backlash. A federal judge temporarily blocked it, and the White House later rescinded the OMB memo the sparked the controversy.Democrats on the Budget Committee ended up boycotting the vote, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that, 'We will not vote for someone so clearly unfit for office.'Vought has also faced criticism from Democrats over his ties with Project 2025, an extensive 920-page plan put together by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, that aims to reshape the federal government. He wrote the chapter on executive power in Project 2025.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senators grill Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
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