The Senate is on track to confirm more of President Donald Trump’s nominees on the floor this week, but one top Cabinet pick still needs to clear a crucial hurdle while a senior Pentagon nominee is scheduled to meet with skeptical GOP senators.
Up first on the floor: Senators will take a procedural vote tonight on Daniel Driscoll’s nomination to serve as secretary of the Army, with a confirmation vote possibly to follow. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has also teed up Jamieson Greer’s nomination for U.S. trade representative.
The floor vote on Greer’s nomination will fall mostly along party lines. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) was the only Democrat to back Greer’s nomination in the Finance Committee’s vote earlier this month. Other Democrats could be in play for the floor vote, though Trump’s aggressive tariff regime is likely to limit additional Democratic support.
Does Chavez-DeRemer have a path? The Senate HELP Committee will vote Thursday on Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to serve as labor secretary.
It remains unclear whether Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will back her nomination. Paul had pointed to Chavez-DeRemer’s previous support for the PRO Act — a Democratic pro-labor bill — as a “deal-killer” for him.
However, during a confirmation hearing last week, Chavez-DeRemer disavowed her past support for the legislation and committed to protecting state right-to-work laws.
If Paul votes no, then Chavez-DeRemer would need a Democratic vote in committee to advance to the floor. That’s not entirely out of the question given Chavez-DeRemer’s more moderate approach compared to other Trump nominees. But don’t forget that Democrats are generally less interested in backing Trump’s picks than they were a few weeks ago.
Crucial meetings for Pentagon nom: Elbridge Colby, Trump’s nominee for the No. 3 job at the Pentagon, is scheduled to meet with a handful of GOP senators this week as Republicans look to use Colby’s nomination to secure commitments from the Trump administration on national security and defense policy.
As we wrote last week, a few of the more hawkish Senate Republicans have privately raised concerns about Colby’s foreign policy views, most notably on Iran and the Middle East. One of those Republicans is Senate GOP Conference Chair Tom Cotton, who we’re told is expected to meet with Colby this week.
Colby’s confirmation hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet, but we’re told it’s expected to take place next Tuesday, March 4.
Ukraine: Today marks the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. On Sunday, Moscow launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the war began. There was also a major diplomatic row at the UN over the weekend as the U.S. tried to quash a Ukraine-drafted resolution over language that blames Russia for the war.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” said it was “complicated” when asked whether he agrees that Russia started the war unprovoked.
All of these developments are sure to deepen concerns among Senate GOP hawks about the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to end the conflict.
