Ahead of the inauguration of the 47th president, confirmation hearings for the Trump administration are occurring rapidly and feverishly.
President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee just released its report. festival schedule For next week, and carrier underwood Her decision to perform on Monday is attracting a lot of attention. Confirmation Hearing Schedule This week’s schedule.
Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, senator marco rubio (R-Fla.) is displayed before it is displayed. Senate Foreign Relations Committee To obtain confirmation as Secretary of State. and at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time that day. Russell Vought I ask for Homeland Security and Government AffairsHe approved his return to the Office of Management and Budget, a post he held during President Trump’s first term. Thursday, 10:30 a.m. ET, Hedge Fund Billionaire scott bessent answer questions from Senate Finance Committee For his nomination as Secretary of the Treasury.
Each of these nominees will determine the future of America’s factory workers, so we want senators to dig deeper in their confirmation hearings to ensure the Trump administration supports the engine of the U.S. economy. Here’s what we’re hoping for:
Secretary of State’s Cheat Sheet:
china policy
During his time in the Senate, Rubio has been a leader on China-related issues, from TikTok to human rights to economic and trade policy. As secretary of state, will Mr. Rubio continue to be a leading voice for conservatives on the need to rebuild the relationship between the United States and China?
forced labor
Senator Rubio is Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law This is to remove Chinese products made using forced labor from the U.S. market. However, reports continue to emerge that major brands and sectors are being contaminated by forced labor from the Xinjiang region. What action will Mr. Rubio take to crack down on what he recently called Chinese? “Grotesque Massacre Campaign” Against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities?
foreign aid programs
As Secretary of State, Mr. Rubio will play a central role in various foreign aid programs, including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The DFC’s Congressional-mandated charter is intended to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives through taxpayer-funded offshore projects, but there are no content requirements. In other words, millions of taxpayer dollars are being used to build energy, water, health care, transportation logistics, and other projects around the world without Buy America requirements to use American-made products or construction materials. Congress will work to reauthorize the DFC in Section 119.th meeting.
Rubio joined the American Manufacturing Alliance in May 2020 to discuss the need to bring manufacturing back home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please take a look video See below for this take.
Director of Management and Budget’s Cheat Sheet:
Appointment of MIAO Directors
If confirmed, Russell Vought will lead the Made in America Office (MIAO), the OMB permanent office created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 to oversee implementation of our nation’s Buy America laws. ) will be responsible for appointing a new director. It will be important to have a director in the MIAO office who is a champion of Buy America policies, not an opponent of Buy America.
BABA implementation
Three years have passed since the enactment of Build America, Buy America (BABA). The incoming administration has a significant opportunity to advance President Trump’s “sacred rules,” including Buy American. But to do so, OMB must accelerate implementation, review unnecessary exemptions, and close loopholes.
Treasurer’s Cheat Sheet:
corporate tax reform
As Congress looks to reshape our tax code in 2025, creating a favorable tax environment for our nation’s manufacturers, factory workers, and the communities in which they work and live must be a top priority. As Treasury Secretary, who oversees the IRS and tax policy, senators are sure to press Mr. Bessent for his views as this debate gets into full swing.
clean energy credits
Senators will also want to know about the incoming Trump administration’s plans for various clean energy and domestic manufacturing investment incentives under the Inflation Control Act of 2022 (IRA). But these policies deserve further refinement to ensure that domestic manufacturers and their workers benefit. For example, Congress created a “bonus credit” for projects that use steel and other industrial products produced in the United States, but the Treasury Department’s guidelines have too many loopholes.
industrial overcapacity
Current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Europe and other U.S. allies to coordinate a response to China’s industrial overcapacity, which threatens strategic sectors such as autos, semiconductors, batteries and steel. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that global spare steel capacity could increase by: 644 million tons in 2025. Senators will want to know whether Mr. Bessent shares those concerns and intends to use his authority at the Treasury Department to address overcapacity and related trade disruptions.
How will the hearing proceed?
Rubio and Bessent’s respective confirmation hearings are likely to go smoothly, in contrast to the particularly difficult confirmation of Fox News host and defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. But Vought is serving as the architect of the Heritage Foundation’s controversial Project 2025. may cause anger.
