The tough questions facing Trump's nominees

Some of Donald Trump's key allies will face questioning by senators this week, as part of a tense process that will see them either approved or rejected for positions to which the president-elect has nominated them.

The hearings, which begin Tuesday, are the first opportunity for senators to publicly question some of Trump's most controversial picks.

They will then need to confirm their roles by voting. While the Senate of Congress is now controlled by Trump's Republican Party, just three defections could be enough to deny any candidate the job.

Here are some of the tough questions these candidates are likely preparing to face.

One of the first confirmation hearings is set to be one of the most closely watched.

Trump's nominee for defense secretary is expected to face questions Tuesday about his lack of management experience, his alleged heavy drinking, as well as his past opposition to women serving in combat roles in the military.

Hegseth could also be asked about the accusation that he sexually assaulted a woman in a California hotel room in 2017.

He denies this allegation and confirms that the meeting was consensual.

The allegation was investigated, but Hegseth — a Fox News host and military veteran — was never arrested or charged.

Hegseth and the unnamed accuser then reached a confidential financial settlement in 2023. His lawyer later told The Associated Press that the payment was intended to prevent a meritless lawsuit.

Trump has stood by his chosen one, and is among the candidates who have been busy courting senators in recent days to try to shore up the necessary votes.

In the spotlight on Wednesday will be the woman who could be tasked with implementing one of Trump's most important campaign pledges, which his team has described as the largest mass deportation of illegal immigrants in American history.

As the president-elect's choice for Secretary of Homeland Security, Noem can be asked about the logistics of enacting this pledge. Experts say a mass deportation program of the proposed size would likely face logistical or legal difficulties.

Noem may also face questions about other potential immigration policies, such as Trump's pledge to end birthright citizenship.

She has been a loyal and outspoken supporter of the president-elect's pledges, consistent with other nominees and appointees for Trump's second term in the White House.

The man chosen to lead Trump's foreign policy agenda was on the other side of a confirmation hearing for Trump's nominee for secretary of state.

During the hearing in 2017, he poked Rex Tillerson, urging him to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, which Tillerson refused to do.

If that session indicated a difference in views between Rubio and Trump – who were competitors at the time – they seem more compatible eight years later.

Rubio is now in the frame for one of the most coveted jobs in the Trump administration, and is expected to face relatively little resistance on his path to confirmation.

But senators may test his loyalty on Wednesday with a set of questions about future American support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Trump viewed this as a drain on American resources, a view that may conflict with Rubio's hawkish views on foreign policy.

Another candidate facing a potential test of loyalty to Trump at a Senate committee hearing (which has not yet been scheduled) is one of the officials who will be tasked with delivering Trump's sweeping tariffs.

Trump has threatened to impose taxes on imports of a variety of goods arriving into the United States – including from some of its largest trading partners – in what he says is an attempt to protect American jobs.

Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald Financial, has embraced this proposal — although the position is at odds with others in his industry and some senior economists.

He is likely to face direct questions about the impact of sweeping new tariffs on the US economy and consumers.

Republicans and Democrats alike may question Trump's choice for director of national intelligence over her past statements about America's adversaries such as Russia and Syria.

Gabbard, another military veteran, has routinely opposed interventionist American foreign policy. In 2017, while still a Democratic congresswoman, she met with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and cast doubt on US intelligence assessments that blamed him for the use of deadly chemical weapons.

After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine five years later, it blamed NATO and repeated the Kremlin's claim that US-funded biological laboratories were in Ukraine.

Gabbard spoke about the need to talk with countries like Russia.

Democrats are reportedly postponing her hearing until the background check is completed.

One of Trump's more unconventional picks, like Gabbard, has been on a political journey that actually began in the Democratic Party.

Kennedy has since become a Trump supporter and was rewarded with this nomination.

He has no medical qualifications, which could present a difficult first set of questions from both sides of the political divide.

It is also possible that his previous statements about established science will come under scrutiny. He has repeatedly made widely debunked claims about the harms of vaccines, but has denied being anti-vaxxers in general.

On other issues – such as scrutiny of food additives – Kennedy enjoys broader support.

Some critics of Trump's pick to lead the FBI have expressed doubts that Patel is qualified to run America's main law enforcement agency. Others expressed concerns that he might seek revenge against Trump's opponents.

“We will go after people in the media who lied about American citizens and who helped Joe Biden rig the presidential election,” he said earlier, citing Trump's baseless claims about the 2020 election.

Although former law enforcement officials have questioned his ability to lead the agency, Patel's experience as a lawyer and in a number of national security roles has drawn praise from the Trump team and some Republicans.

Patel has a stated goal of dramatically reshaping how the FBI operates, including eliminating some of its senior staff.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher breaks down US politics in his twice-weekly US election newsletter. Readers in the UK can Register here. Those outside the UK can Register here.