Patel pledges FBI impartiality, Gabbard refuses to be Democrats' “puppet”
Two tense hearings around Trump's nominees most attacked by Democrats.
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Tulsi Gabbard, in the Senate
It is a new day of confirmation hearings in the Senate. Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., will undergo his second appearance after defending his ideas and exiting to a standing ovation on Wednesday from the Senate.
Thursday will also see Tulsi Gabbard make her appearance. The nominee to be director of national intelligence (DNI) and former Democrat faces a tough confirmation hearing. Nominees to head the FBI and to be secretary of the Army, Kashyap Patel and Daniel Driscoll, will also appear before the Senate.
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW THE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS ON OUR X ACCOUNT @Voz_US.
(All times EST.)
RFK, Jr. hearing ends with standoff with Sanders over corruption
The final debate of Kennedy's confirmation hearing ended with a verbal confrontation between the headliner in the room and Senator Bernie Sanders over corruption. The veteran congressman pressed the nominee on the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, to which the latter responded, "By the way, Bernie, you know the problem of corruption is not just in the federal agencies, it’s in Congress too. Almost all of the members of this panel are accepting, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests."
Patel will strive to fight violent crime
The nominee to head the FBI assured that one of his big goals will be to fight violent crime: "I’m going to let the cops be cops and put handcuffs on the bad guys and put child molesters in prison and put murderers in prison."
Patel defends herself against accusations of partisanship
Democrats are attacking Patel on the grounds that he will be partisan in his decision-making. To those accusations, the nominee to head the FBI responded, "If the best attacks on me are going to be false accusations and grotesque mischaracterizations, the only thing this body is doing is defeating the credibility of the men and women at the FBI. Any accusations leveled against me that I would somehow put political bias before the constitution are grotesquely unfair."
'My commitment has been and will be to comply with the law'
Gabbard's confirmation hearing is going as planned: Democrats are trying to destabilize her with all types of questions. In the face of that attempt, the DNI nominee is responding firmly, with such determined phrases as, “My commitment has been and will be, if confirmed as director of national intelligence, to comply with the law.”
Gabbard and her alleged meeting with Hezbollah: 'Absurd'
The DNI nominee called it “absurd” that she is accused of having met with Hezbollah in the past: “No, and it's an absurd accusation.”
RFK, Jr. to hire pro-life officials
Just as in Wednesday's hearing, Kennedy was questioned about the abortion issue. Asked by Republican Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) whether he will hire pro-life officers at HHS, the nominee did not hesitate: "Yes, I am."
Driscoll: 'It’s an accident that seems to be preventable'
The nominee to be secretary of the Army again referred to the plane crash in Washington, D.C.: "It’s an accident that seems to be preventable. I think we need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be at an airport like Reagan."
RFK, Jr.: 'We don't need folks giving oxygen to conspiracy theories about 9/11'
"We take that kind of stuff pretty personally. Virginians know what happened on 9/11. We don’t need folks giving oxygen to conspiracy theories about 9/11," Kennedy said of the 2001 attacks.
'Snowden broke the law'
Regarding Edward Snowden, Gabbard said he “broke the law,” although he also said he "released information that exposed egregious, illegal and unconstitutional programs that are happening within our government that led to serious reforms."
Gabbard: 'Putin started the war in Ukraine'
When questioned about who is responsible for the war in Ukraine, Gabbard maintained that "Putin started the war in Ukraine."
Patel rejects 'QAnon baseless conspiracy theories'
At the Democrats' insistence, Patel reiterated that he does not support "unsubstantiated theories" like those promoted by QAnon. He stated, "I have publicly, including in the interviews provided to this committee, rejected outright QAnon baseless conspiracy theories … They must be addressed head-on with the truth, and I will continue to do that."
RFK Jr. stands by his chronic disease narrative
As he did this Wednesday, Kennedy Jr. reiterated that chronic disease is a major driver of high healthcare costs and must be addressed. He stated, "Shifting the burden around between government and industry and corporations is like changing deck chairs on the Titanic. Our country will sink beneath a sea of desperation and debt if we don’t change course and ask the fundamental question, why are health care costs so high in the first place? The obvious answer (to) that question is chronic disease."
Patel opposes pardoning anyone who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6
The nominee to head the FBI declined to take a position on commuting the sentence of any individual convicted of assaulting police officers during the January 6 altercations. He stated, "I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement. As for January 6, I have repeatedly, often, publicly and privately said there can never be a tolerance for violence against law enforcement."
Gabbard: 'I refuse to be [Democrats'] puppet'
The hearing where the most controversy is expected is Gabbard's. The DNI nominee assured that she will not let the Democrats treat her as their "puppet," in addition to assuring that she "hates" Al-Qaeda: "The fact is what truly unsettles my political opponents is I refuse to be their puppet. I want to warn the American people watching at home: You may hear lies and smears that challenge my loyalty to and love for our country. They used the same tactic against President Trump and failed."
Patel pledges not to conduct political investigations
Patel noted during his hearing that he will not "make a prosecutorial decision that is solely the providence of the Department of Justice and the attorney general."
Doubtful about Kennedy's position on vaccines
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy doubted statements uttered by Trump's nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on vaccines, "It's no secret that I have some doubts about his past positions on vaccines and a couple of other issues."
Committee confirms Stefanik
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the nomination of Elise Stefanik as the next ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.). It will now be up to the full Senate to decide on the nomination.
Gabbard is ‘clean’
In the face of accusations of being a foreign agent, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton assured that Trump's nominee to be the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is "clean" after having undergone "five background checks."
Durbin calls Patel a ‘conspiracy theorist’
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Patel has engaged in promoting conspiracy theories, in addition to noting that the nominee to head the FBI "does not have the experience, temperament, or judgment" to lead the agency.
Grassley, to Patel: ‘Teach the FBI a lesson’
Kennedy and Gabbard hearings begin
In his introduction, Grassley took the opportunity to call on Patel to "teach the FBI a lesson" for investigating U.S. President Donald Trump.
Grassley praises Patel
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley praised Kash Patel's nomination to head the FBI: “He has managed large intelligence and defense bureaucracies, identified and countered national security threats, prosecuted and defended criminals.”
Driscoll pledges that a plane crash like the one in Washington, DC, will not happen again
Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll began his Senate hearing by offering his condolences to the families of the victims of the plane crash in Washington, D.C., and pledged to "make sure it doesn't happen again."
Patel and Driscoll hearings begin
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