Hearing-mania is set to consume Capitol Hill on Thursday as a trio of President Trump’s top allies appear for high-stakes confirmation showdowns with senators that could make or break their chances of getting across the finish line.
Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Kash Patel will simultaneously appear for confirmation hearings Thursday morning, setting up a triple-box of events that are set to command the attention of Washington as GOP members try to keep their unblemished run of confirming Trump’s nominees.
“It’s huge,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which Kennedy will appear before. “We’ll separate the men from the boys tomorrow.”
Much of the attention will center on Gabbard, Trump’s pick to become director of national intelligence (DNI), whose confirmation odds are considered the shakiest of the president’s selections amid increasing questions from skeptical Senate Republicans, some of whom are on the Intelligence panel.
Those questions had largely surrounded her 2017 meeting with since-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad and remarks she’s made about the war between Ukraine and Russia that were considered sympathetic toward Moscow.
However, Senate Republicans have also noted concerns about Gabbard’s stance on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets. Gabbard voted against reauthorizing the program as a member of the House and five years ago called for its repeal, but says she has since changed her stance.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), however, does not believe she has actually changed her position. Collins sits on the Intelligence Committee, which will hear from Gabbard on Thursday and then decide whether to advance her to the floor.
Gabbard can’t afford to lose any GOP votes in committee, and with Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) also considered a swing vote on the panel Republicans say Gabbard must use Thursday as an opportunity to convince members she is right for the job.
“Hers will be the most watched right off the bat,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) a friend of the DNI nominee. “She’s going to be the biggest challenge to get through. I was really bullish about [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth]. I’m very bullish on Kash. I’m very bullish on [Kennedy].”
“We’ve got a lot of work still to do with Tulsi,” Mullin added. “I still think she can get confirmed, but there’s still some people to talk to.”
Republicans are also keeping open the possibility of advancing Gabbard’s nomination to the floor even if she receives an unfavorable recommendation or no recommendation at all, according to Mullin, who is a close ally of both Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).
“I think the president will want that floor vote,” Mullin added.
As for Kennedy, he will appear for the second straight day before a panel of senators, after enduring a grilling from the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday over his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
The former independent presidential candidate-turned-Trump supporter will come before the HELP committee for what is expected to be a second day of intense questioning from Democrats, who targeted him over his history of comments on vaccines and abortion, among other topics.
While Finance Committee Republicans, who will vote on his confirmation, appeared largely unmoved on his nomination, there remains one wild card: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
Cassidy, who sits on the Finance Committee and chairs the HELP panel, and is himself a doctor, attended almost the entirety of Wednesday’s hearing — a rarity for a senator who isn’t chair. His questioning also revealed Kennedy’s unfamiliarity with Medicare and Medicaid, two health care programs he would oversee at HHS.
The Louisiana Republican is also up for reelection in 2026 and is staring down a primary challenge after voting to convict Trump over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
“There’s a campaign to protect RFK,” one source close to the Trump team said. “The MAGA verse has been laying down the line, particularly on Cassidy.”
“Cassidy may get the Joni Ernst treatment of, ‘Hey, you better vote for him or you’re going to have a problem,’” the source added, referring to Trump allies pressuring the Iowa Republican to vote for Hegseth’s confirmation.
Cassidy declined to take questions about Kennedy after the hearing.
Republicans who watched part of the hearing, however, believed Kennedy’s confirmation chances remain in a good spot and that he will ultimately get the green light on the floor.
“[Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren] got in his grill pretty hard. He seemed to handle it fine,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said, adding that Kennedy will be fine if a repeat of Wednesday occurs. “I don’t think he did any harm to himself.”
Patel is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee with the hopes of maintaining his level of GOP support to become the next FBI director in the coming weeks.
For all of the comments that alarmed Democrats and some Republicans over the years, Patel has kept a low profile ever since Trump nominated him to the post in November, giving him a boost with GOP members that will control his fate.
Democrats, though, have been trying to elevate him in recent weeks with the hopes of spurring the requisite four Republicans to oppose him.
“I think we got a taste of that from last week,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of both the Judiciary and HELP committees, pointing to Pam Bondi’s hearing to lead the Justice Department that included numerous mentions of Patel.
“I’m sure it will be this series of horror stories and lots of faux outrage,” Hawley continued. “What he needs to do is … talk about how he’s going to get the FBI back to fighting crime.”
Patel will need all of the help he can get on the GOP side as Democrats on the panel are promising a scorched earth affair in a long-shot attempt to take down his nomination.
“We’re going to introduce him to the American people,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), pointing to Patel’s “enemies list” and plans to get retribution on them, among other reasons. “And they’re not going to like him.”
Alex Gangitano contributed.
