Live Thread>>Senate Confirmation Hearings

[deb]

https://babylonbee.com/news/to-improve-senate-confirmation-hearings-democratic-women-to-be-replaced-by-rabid-hyenas

Perfection!

[mystery-ak]

Bessent To Call For Tax Relief For Manufacturers, Service Workers, And Seniors

“Trump was the first president in modern times to recognize the need to change our trade policy and stand up for American workers,” Besset will say.

Reducing the tax burden on U.S. manufacturers, services workers, and retirees will be a critical priority for the incoming Trump administration, Trump Treasury nominee Scott Bessent will tell a Senate panel Thursday, according to prepared remarks.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2025/01/16/bessent-to-call-for-tax-relief-for-manufacturers-service-workers-and-seniors/

[mystery-ak]

 Senate Democrats circulating memo alleging Bessent tax dodges

The memo called out millions of dollars in losses Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent claimed related to his investment in a conservative publishing house, among other issues.

By Benjamin Guggenheim

01/15/2025 09:10 PM EST

Senate Democrats are circulating a memo claiming that President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, improperly claimed nearly $2 million in tax losses and owes nearly $1 million in taxes related to his hedge fund — providing ready ammunition for them as Bessent goes before the Finance Committee on Thursday.

more
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/15/senate-democrats-memo-scott-bessent-tax-dodges-00198567

[deb]

Drunk Moana is on yet another committee, this time questioning the Secretary of Interior candidate.
The woman cannot put together two coherent sentences in a row.

[mountaineer]

Drunk Moana is on yet another committee, this time questioning the Secretary of Interior candidate.
The woman cannot put together two coherent sentences in a row.

I love the way she reads the questions some know-nothing Gen Z staffer prepared for her. She sounds like a first-grader.

[Wingnut]

Drunk Moana is on yet another committee, this time questioning the Secretary of Interior candidate.
The woman cannot put together two coherent sentences in a row.

Man, the Dem bench sure is shallow if Weezie is all they got.

[Free Vulcan]

https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1879903229405761735

[mystery-ak]

Hirono asks Burgum if he's going to 'drill, baby, drill'

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questioned Doug Burgum on whether the Trump administration will "drill, baby, drill" when it gets into office.

Hirono asked Burgum -- who has been picked by President-elect Trump to lead the Department of the Interior -- about whether he would drill in Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

"I'll follow the law and follow the Constitution, and so you can count on that," he said. "And I have not heard of anything about President Trump wanting to do anything...other than advancing energy production for the benefit of the American people."

"We all know that the president wants to drill, baby, drill," Hirono replied. "And in your testimony, you say that he has an energy dominance vision. So I would ask you that, should you be confirmed that you will have, these kinds of matters that you'll have to decide. Are you going to drill in a monument? Are you going to protect our natural resources, or are you going to drill, baby, drill? So I raise that, as a as a concern."
Posted by Adam Shaw

[mystery-ak]

Burgum asked if he will commit to current wind projects, after Trump floats ending

 Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, quizzed Doug Burgum on whether he can commit to current wind projects, after President-elect Trump suggested he would end many of them.

"I'm not familiar with every project that the interior has underway, but I'll certainly be taking a look at all of those. And if it makes sense and they're already in law, they'll continue," Burgum said.

"I think the key is, and I think President Trump's been very clear, in his statements that he's concerned about the significant amount of tax incentives that have gone towards some forms of energy, that have helped exacerbate this imbalance that we're seeing right now," he said.

Trump has long criticized using wind farms as a main form of energy production, but his latest remarks suggest that his incoming administration could place major restrictions on the future production of new wind-powered energy projects.

"It's the most expensive energy there is. It's many, many times more expensive than clean natural gas," Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago this month "So we’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built."

Fox News' Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Posted by Adam Shaw

[mystery-ak]

21 min(s) ago
Trump Treasury nominee backs bolstering sanctions against Russia to end Ukraine war

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department backed beefing up sanctions against Russia in order to end the conflict in Ukraine during his confirmation hearing Thursday.

“If any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I’m confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy in the Ukraine war, that I will 100% [be] on board for taking sanctions up,” Scott Bessent told members of the Senate Finance Committee.

Bessent’s comments came during an exchange with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who said he believed President Joe Biden’s administration waited too long to add additional sanctions on Russia, and admitted he hoped Trump could “settle this” and impose stricter sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued new sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting two major Russian oil producers, more than 180 vessels, and dozens of oil traders, oilfield service providers, insurance companies, and energy officials.

“The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement Friday. “This action builds on, and strengthens, our focus since the beginning of the war on disrupting the Kremlin’s energy revenues…With today’s actions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia’s oil exports."
Posted by Fox News Staff

Trump Treasury Secretary pick says extending 2017 tax cuts is top economic priority

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head up the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent , said extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a top economic priority, and cautioned against the consequences to the middle class for failing to do so.

“This is the single most important economic issue of the day,” Bessent told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing.

“If we do not renew an extension, then we will be facing an economic calamity,” Bessent said. “And as always with financial instability, that falls on the middle and working class.”

Bessent said that a “gigantic” middle class tax increase would occur if the tax cuts expire.

Trump signed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act during his first term, but many of the reforms included will sunset in 2025. Groups like Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, claim that millions of Americans will face a hike of $1,500 or more next year in taxes if the cuts are not renewed.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Posted by Fox News Staff

1 hour(s) ago
‘Economic golden age;’ Trump Treasury nominee vows new era of economic prosperity

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent, promised that the new administration would usher in a period of economic prosperity for all Americans.

“Today, I believe that President Trump has a generational opportunity to unleash a new economic golden age that will create more jobs, wealth and prosperity for all Americans,” Bessent said in his opening remarks for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

“We must secure supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to address our national security requirements,” Bessent said. “And critically, we must ensure that the U.S. dollar remains the world's reserve currency.”

Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire who has previously served as a Trump donor and advisor, also voiced support for extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump signed during his first term. Many of the reforms included in the measure are slated to expire in 2025.

Bessent is expected to face scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Warren issued a letter to Bessent last week with more than 180 questions pressing for answers on the nominee’s views on deregulation of banks and the financial industry, extending federal tax cuts, and imposing tariffs.

The Treasury Department is responsible for managing federal finances, and oversees agencies including the Internal Revenue Service.
Posted by Fox News Staff

[Bigun]

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, quizzed Doug Burgum on whether he can commit to current wind projects...

Correct answer is "Not only no but hell no!"

[mystery-ak]

Zeldin defends Trump on climate change: "I believe that climate change is real'

Lee Zeldin, President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), defended Trump against criticism by left-wing senators over his views on climate change -- pushing back on the assessment that Trump called it a hoax.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asked Zeldin what he thought of Trump's views on climate change.

"Do you agree with President-elect Trump that climate change is a hoax?" he asked.

"I believe that climate change is real as I told you," Zeldin replied. "As far as President Trump goes, the context that I have heard him speak about, it was with a criticism of of policies that have been enacted because of climate change."

"And, I think that he's concerned about the economic costs of some policies where there's a debate, and a difference of opinion between parties."

Sanders was not impressed: "I respectfully disagree with you, he has called it a hoax."
Posted by Adam Shaw

Senators react to Lee Zeldin's confirmation hearing: "A +++"

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin was in front of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Fox News Digital spoke to a number of senators about how they thought he fared in his testimony and the response to questions from lawmakers.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., described his performance as "A plus plus plus."

Zeldin faced questions on climate change, regulations and energy production among other top issues.
Posted by Adam Shaw

[mystery-ak]

Trump Treasury Secretary pick not in favor of increasing federal minimum wage

President Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent, said he doesn’t support increasing the federal minimum wage.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asked Bessent whether the hedge fund billionaire would “work with those of use who want to raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage to take millions of Americans out of poverty.”

“Senator, I believe that the minimum wage is more of a state and regional issue,” Bessent told the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing.

“You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage?” Sanders said. “We have $7.25 and hour.”

“No sir,” Bessent replied.

Sanders is a vocal supporter of raising the federal minimum wage, and introduced legislation in 2023 that would raise it to $17 by 2028.

Sanders’ home state Vermont recently raised its minimum wage from $13.67 to $14.01 per hour this month. The federal minimum wage has remained $7.25 since 2009.
Posted by Fox News Staff

[PeteS in CA]

https://babylonbee.com/news/to-improve-senate-confirmation-hearings-democratic-women-to-be-replaced-by-rabid-hyenas

Perfection!

[Bigun]

Trump Treasury Secretary pick not in favor of increasing federal minimum wage

President Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent, said he doesn’t support increasing the federal minimum wage.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asked Bessent whether the hedge fund billionaire would “work with those of use who want to raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage to take millions of Americans out of poverty.”

“Senator, I believe that the minimum wage is more of a state and regional issue,” Bessent told the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing.

“You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage?” Sanders said. “We have $7.25 and hour.”

“No sir,” Bessent replied.

Sanders is a vocal supporter of raising the federal minimum wage, and introduced legislation in 2023 that would raise it to $17 by 2028.

Sanders’ home state Vermont recently raised its minimum wage from $13.67 to $14.01 per hour this month. The federal minimum wage has remained $7.25 since 2009.
Posted by Fox News Staff

I'm taking a real liking to this guy Bessent!

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/1879944070371651929


Shane Barber
@ShaneBarber1964
·
26m
Bessent's remarks to Senator Wyden transcribed:  "Senator Wyden, sit down and shut the bleep up because you have no idea what you're talking about."

[mountaineer]

Miranda Devine
@mirandadevine
Looks like a bunch of Democrat senators have given up and walked out of Scott Bessent’s confirmation hearing. He’s so thoughtful — and explains complicated concepts so clearly —  that they must be afraid that more of his answers to their moronic questions will go viral and turn him into a legend. 😜
12:16 PM · Jan 16, 2025


President Trump’s nominee for CIA Director calls out Adam Schiff.

https://twitter.com/IanJaeger29/status/1879562088303280261

[mystery-ak]

Hirono ripped for 'deranged' opening confirmation hearing question to Burgum: 'This lady has issues'
Hirono has asked the same question to other nominees in the past
By Andrew Mark Miller Fox News


https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hirono-ripped-for-opening-confirmation-hearing-question-to-burgum-this-lady-has-issues

[Hoodat]

“You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage?” Sanders said. “We have $7.25 and hour.”

“No sir,” Bessent replied.

Sanders is a vocal supporter of raising the federal minimum wage, and introduced legislation in 2023 that would raise it to $17 by 2028.

Let's set the minimum wage to whatever Bernie Sanders is making.

[Hoodat]

Senate Democrats are circulating a memo claiming that President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, improperly claimed nearly $2 million in tax losses and owes nearly $1 million in taxes related to his hedge fund — providing ready ammunition for them as Bessent goes before the Finance Committee on Thursday.

Isn't it a felony for government officials to access someone's tax records without their consent?

[mystery-ak]

Isn't it a felony for government officials to access someone's tax records without their consent?

Yes...I think it is...Not to long ago a IRS employee was fired fro releasing Trump's taxes

Former IRS contractor sentenced to prison for leaking Trump’s tax returns

https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/former-irs-contractor-sentenced-to-prison-for-leaking-trump-s-tax-returns-203163717933

[rangerrebew]

Trump Treasury Sec. nominee Scott Bessent: ‘China will build 100 new coal plants this year. There is not a clean energy race. There is an energy race’
By Marc Morano
January 16, 2025
6:49 pm

https://www.climatedepot.com/2025/01/16/trump-treasury-sec-nominee-scott-bessent-china-will-build-100-new-coal-plants-this-year-there-is-not-a-clean-energy-race-there-is-an-energy-race/

[American Girl]

Excerpt:
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) managed to turn heads for all the wrong reasons during a confirmation hearing for Doug Burgum, President Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Interior. In what can only be described as an unhinged moment


She asked Pam Bondi the same question.
Pretty sure she’s under the influence… again.


https://conservativeus.com/did-anyone-else-catch-mazie-hironos-weirdly-creepy-question-for-doug-burgum-video/

[mountaineer]

Hirono ripped for 'deranged' opening confirmation hearing question

She asked that of everyone she questioned, apparently - even Bondi - implying that it was something she just had to inquire about. What a weirdo.

Mazie Hirono just asked her first question to Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary nominee: "Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?"

MAZE
@mazemoore
Burgum: Not until today your hotness. Senator Hirono, I want to be the secretary of your interior.
11:28 AM · Jan 16, 2025

[mountaineer]

Trump War Room
@TrumpWarRoom
@HawleyMO: "You already have what I hope will soon be the distinction of succeeding the worst Secretary in the history of the Department of Homeland Security... Is the southern border secure as we find it today?"

@KristiNoem: "The southern border is not secure today but in just 3 days, we will have a new President in this country, Donald J. Trump, and he will secure our border."
10:05 AM · Jan 17, 2025

Opening statement:

https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1880264956408631628