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Under the spotlight: capitol Hill Heats Up with US Senate Confirmation Hearings

16 janvier 2017, 11:17

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It was a busy week on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC as many of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for key government posts were summoned for Senate confirmation hearings. Recap of most remarkable hearings.

The hearings provided an opportunity to evaluate the nominees based on their responses to challenging questions from top US senators rather than on their personal backgrounds and associations with Trump. The interrogations of office seekers for defense, foreign affairs and intelligence posts were revealing and demonstrated that influential and powerful nominees will be held accountable to the American people and not just the whims of the next US president. Here’s a recap of the most interesting senate hearings from this week:

Former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson was grilled over his personal conflicts of interest with business and politics and viewpoints on key issues that await the next Secretary of State. Senators asked how a man who still holds millions of dollars of Exxon stock could be counted on to impartially direct America’s international relations. Tillerson blandly pledged that he would follow guidance from the State Dept. Office of Ethics whenever potential conflicts may arise. The hearing was interrupted at one point by a female protestor who shouted out “Please don’t put Exxon in charge of the State Department!”

“RISK OF CLIMATE CHANGE EXISTS”

Interestingly, Tillerson diverged with Trump on Russia and accepted that Moscow likely interfered with the 2016 US presidential election. However, he declined to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal when senators mentioned Syria and Ukraine. In another surprise, the long-time energy executive admitted “the risk of climate change does exist,” but he would not identify the driving forces behind warming global temperatures. Tillerson promised as America’s next top diplomat he would freely share his thoughts and opinions on controversial issues with the president.

In another hearing, Retired US Marine Corps General James “Mad Dog” Mattis was cross-examined on how he would lead the US Dept. of Defense. Unlike the man who nominated him, Mattis did not hesitate to describe Russia as a foe and even suggested that Moscow aims to break up NATO. Mattis further diverged from views held by Trump when he stated that although the Iran nuclear deal is not perfect he would not tear it up. The former military commander also reiterated that he has a high degree of confidence in the US intelligence community, which Trump compared to Nazi Germany in a tweet this week. Mattis pledged that he would talk frankly and openly with the president on important national security issues as the next head of the US Military.

Trump’s nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), conservative Republican US Congressman Mike Pompeo, was quizzed this week on how he would confront various threats to the US. Pompeo broke ranks with Trump and said he believes reports that Russia was involved in the hacking of the US Democratic Party to influence the recent election. Pompeo promised senators that as the director of the CIA he would investigate Russian interference. A strange moment in the hearing came when ten minutes into his assessment of Russia as a national security threat there was a power blackout and the entire room went dark. When the hearing resumed a day later the congressman went on to say that he would not permit torture tactics at the agency, which Trump described as effective while on the campaign trail. Pompeo assured senators that as CIA director he would “speak truth to power,” i.e. to the next president who has expressed skepticism of the US intelligence reports.

After the hearings are over the US Senate will vote on whether President-electTrump’s nominations for key posts are qualified and favorable for the country.Answers given by the prospective appointees during the hearing process will be a major factor in determining if they are ultimately confirmed. In Washington,DC this week the nomineespredictably asserted they would serve the interests of all Americans and be independent and outspoken in dealing with the incoming president. We will soon find out if this is indeed the case once they assume power and are no longer interviewing for a job under the intense spotlight of public attention.