Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., (durbin.senate.gov)
MARCO RUBIO: STATE
Rubio, a longtime Florida senator from Miami, and the son of Cuban immigrants, enjoyed a relatively calm confirmation hearing when it came to interactions with lawmakers.
However, several Code Pink protesters angry over what their shirts denoted as the "killing of children in Gaza" had to be removed from the room due to outbursts.
The final protester shouted at Rubio in Spanish, to which the now-secretary remarked that his protesters are at-times bilingual.
KASH PATEL ENRAGES ADAM SCHIFF IN CLINTONIAN BATTLE OVER WORD ‘WE’; JAN 6 SONG
Rubio was confirmed unanimously 99-0. At the time, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, was still lieutenant governor and had not been seated in Vice President JD Vance’s place.
Doug Burgum (Getty)
DOUG BURGUM: INTERIOR
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum received substantive Democratic support in his final confirmation vote of 80-17 last week. Three Democrats did not vote.
His confirmation hearing’s tenor was also mixed, with fellow North Dakotan, Sen. John Hoeven, calling him the right man for the job.
Some Democrats, including Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto and Mazie Hirono, however, offered pointed questions about environmental issues and other concerns during the hearing.
When Cortez-Masto asked about the Trump administration repealing EV credits, Burgum said he "support[s] economics and markets" and highlighted the comparatively high costs of electric vehicles.
Burgum grew up in eastern North Dakota, near a grain elevator his grandfather operated. He reportedly met future Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in college and later "bet the farm" to invest a quarter million dollars in 1983 in a tech startup called Great Plains Software.
He eventually became president of the company, which was purchased by Microsoft around the turn of the century.
He served as North Dakota’s governor in recent years, briefly mounting a 2024 presidential bid before dropping out to endorse Trump.
Wright (Al Drago)
CHRIS WRIGHT: ENERGY
Energy Secretary Chris Wright was confirmed Sunday in a 59-38 vote, with one Democrat and two Republicans not voting.
The energy company CEO from Colorado told lawmakers he would unleash U.S. energy potential as secretary.
He has been a critic of climate change regulations and was endorsed by American Energy Alliance chief Tom Pyle as well as Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. – the former chairman of the natural resources committee.
Noem (AP)
KRISTI NOEM: HOMELAND SECURITY
Now-former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem successfully made it through her confirmation hearing to become the nation’s homeland security chief.
As governor, Noem provided South Dakotan resources to Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott to help assuage the Biden border crisis.
As secretary, she has been on hand for immigration enforcement operations undertaken by Border Czar Thomas Homan, including one in The Bronx, N.Y.
Noem saw a relatively peaceful confirmation process, though only a handful of Democrats ultimately supported her.
"We must be vigilant and proactive and innovative to protect the homeland," she said at her hearing.
"The challenges in front of us are extremely significant, and we must secure our borders against illegal trafficking and immigration. We must safeguard our critical infrastructure to make sure that we're protected against cyberattacks, respond to natural disasters and also terrorism."
Noem was raised on a ranch near Hayti, S.D., before venturing into politics.
In 2012, Noem won South Dakota’s at-large U.S. House seat – a GOP flip from its previous officeholder, Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D.
From there, she moved on to the governor’s office in 2018.
Ratcliffe (Getty Images)
JOHN RATCLIFFE: CIA
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was confirmed by a 74-25 margin on January 23, with Fetterman not voting.
Ratcliffe previously served as Trump's Director of National Intelligence (DNI) from May 2020 until January 2021, during Trump’s first term in office.
While in Congress representing North Texas, Ratcliffe sat on the House Intelligence Committee, and notably garnered support in his confirmation from Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate’s partner panel.
An Illinois native, Ratcliffe later became an attorney in Texas, was elected mayor of Heath, and later named by former President George W. Bush to lead counterterrorism efforts in the state’s Texarkana-based Eastern District.
Trump AG pick Pam Bondi went back and forth with Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono in her confirmation hearing (Getty Images)
PAM BONDI: JUSTICE
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was confirmed to the federal version of her erstwhile role by a vote of 54-46 – with Fetterman being the lone Democrat in support.
Bondi’s hearing was one of those that was marred by tense moments, including an exchange with Rhode Island's Whitehouse.
Whitehouse grilled Bondi whether her Justice Department would seek to target individuals on a political basis and "look for a crime."
"It's a prosecutor's job to start with a crime and look for a name. Correct?" he asked.
"Senator, I think that is the whole problem with the weaponization that we have seen the last four years and what's been happening to Donald Trump," Bondi replied.
"They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him, actually starting back in 2016. They targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. That will not be the case. If I am attorney general, I will not politicize that office."
As her exchanges with Whitehouse continued, she pointed to Kevin Clinesmith – an ex-FBI lawyer sentenced to probation after he illegally altered a FISA document during a federal probe through which Trump’s 2016 campaign had been accused of colluding with Russia.
There have been several other confirmation hearings for other potential cabinet members.
Notably, FBI nominee Kash Patel’s clash with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., made waves last week.
Patel enraged Schiff over his reported support for January 6 inmates and his reported work in concert with the production of a song sung by the inmates that featured an a capella Pledge of Allegiance from Trump.
The tit-for-tat devolved into a Clintonian spat when Patel riffed to Schiff that his response to the lawmaker hinged on his definition of the word "we" – as Clinton had told prosecutors in 1998 that a response to part of his Monica Lewinsky testimony centered on the independent counsel’s definition of "is."
Fox News' Adam Shaw, Caitlin McFall, Diana Stancy and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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