E-Newsletter

With President-elect Trump’s inauguration scheduled for January 20, his Administration will look to hit the ground running and work to lead the country towards prosperity and peace.

Trump’s cabinet will consist of policymakers, elected officials and thought leaders leading key departments, such as the Department of Defense and Department of Energy.

Those nominated to lead these departments must first pass the Constitutional requirements of the appointments process, which mandate U.S. Senate confirmation.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme court, and all Officers of the United States.”

While Trump can nominate whomever he wants for any department, the nominees must be confirmed by a majority of U.S. Senators.

As you will recall from civics-government class, the U.S. House of Representatives has no role to play in confirmations of presidential appointments.

That said, Trump’s nominees are making the rounds on Capitol Hill before their confirmation hearings, which are slated to begin as soon as January 14 for some nominees.

January 14 is expected to be the date when Secretary of Defense-nominee Pete Hegseth appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

I had the pleasure of meeting Hegseth last year at an event in Blacksburg sponsored by former Delegate Nick Rush.

Hegseth, a former U.S. Army lieutenant and combat infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be tasked with leading the Pentagon and the 1.3 million active-duty men and women in uniform.

Trump considers Hegseth a “tough, smart and a true believer in America First” to help “make America’s military great again.”

In a world where burgeoning conflicts, such as in the Middle East, Ukraine and the South China Sea, threaten the security of our troops and our foreign policy objectives, Hegseth will fill an important job.

Further, U.S. foreign policy must navigate and prevent such conflicts from spiraling out of control, which is why Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is an excellent choice for Secretary of State, and my friend Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will do great as United Nations Ambassador.

Rubio is an experienced lawmaker who understands the threat that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Iran, etc. pose to American interests.

Rubio was Vice Chairman of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence and sat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

In his role, improving our relationship with Israel will be critical.

Rep. Stefanik has been a great ally of the Jewish State. Stefanik showed profound leadership in denouncing antisemitism on colleges campuses in the US.

Stefanik also traveled to Israel and delivered an address to members of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

Among other attributes, her leadership will showcase America’s commitment to support our friend and ally Israel as it battles terrorism and fights the growing instability that consumes the Middle East.

Other Trump cabinet nominees I served with in Congress include:

• Rep. Sean Duffy (nominated to be Secretary of Transportation)
• Rep. John Ratcliffe (nominated to lead the Central Intelligence Agency)
• Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (nominated to lead Department of National Intelligence)
• Rep. Doug Collins (nominated to lead Department of Veterans’ Affairs)
• Rep. Lee Zeldin (nominated to be Administrator for Environmental Protection Agency)

I am excited by the prospects of these talented and seasoned officials.

For the 119^th Congress, I will chair the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment. We will look closely at the actions of the EPA and evaluate how we can help Zeldin in reducing the agency’s overreaching authority and burdensome regulations.

Chris Wright, Trump’s nominee to be the Secretary of Energy, will be another key figure that our Energy and Commerce Committee looks forward to working with.

Lowering energy costs and increasing domestic energy production top our to-do list as we work to make America energy independent.

Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s belief in “Make America Healthy Again” will direct attention to the obesity and chronic illness issues in the country.

I look forward to making constructive suggestions to Kennedy on how the U.S. can reform the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to “make America healthy again.”

While I don’t have a vote in the confirmation process as a Member of the House, my hope is that the Senate can confirm these nominees swiftly so we can immediately get started on “making America great again.”

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office.  You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at morgangriffith.house.gov.

###