Trump EPA, Interior Secretary Hearings Begin This Week

UPDATE: Reuters is now reporting that “the U.S. Senate energy panel said on Monday the nomination hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the interior, Doug Burgum, will take place on Thursday instead of Tuesday, blaming a ‘bureaucratic delay’ with a federal ethics office.”

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Agri-Pulse’s Philip Brasher, Steve Davies, Oliver Ward, and Rebekah Alvey reported Monday morning that “several of President-elect Donald Trump’s top selections for his cabinet get confirmation hearings this week, including former Rep. Lee Zeldin, picked to head the EPA, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, selected for the dual role of Interior secretary and White House energy czar.”

“Zeldin, who will appear before the Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday, had a record in Congress of fighting ethanol usage mandates and is almost certain to get questioned about how he would implement the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Brasher, Davies, Ward and Alvey reported. “Zeldin also would be under pressure as EPA administrator to address a range of issues involving pesticide regulation, and he would face the perennial issue of defining the ‘waters of the United States,’ the streams and wetlands regulated by the Clean Water Act.”

“As interior secretary, Burgum would inherit challenges addressing western water issues, including management of the Colorado River. The new administration will also need to weigh whether to continue ongoing litigation over a Biden administration rule allowing conservation leases on Bureau of Land Management lands, which has drawn criticism from rancher and mining groups,” Brasher, Davies, Ward and Alvey reported.

CBS News’ Kaia Hubbard reported that “Republican senators are working to get the president-elect’s team in place as quickly as possible, with Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 and GOP majorities in the House and Senate that are eager to get to work on his policy agenda. Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, and nominations require a simple majority, meaning most of Trump’s picks should be comfortably confirmed shortly after he takes office next week. Others could face an uphill battle if only a handful of GOP senators oppose their nominations.”

Agriculture Secretary Hearing Remains Delayed

Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “USDA nominee Brooke Rollins’ confirmation hearing, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been pushed due to delays in Rollins’ financial disclosures and FBI background check.”

“Senate Ag Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) hasn’t scheduled a new date for the hearing. Panel rules require seven days’ notice before a hearing, though Boozman could strike an agreement with ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to waive those rules,” Yarrow reported. “Senate Ag Committee Democrats met virtually on Friday to discuss their approach to Rollins’ confirmation hearing. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) already said he’d vote for Rollins, and other Democrats could also vote for her to be confirmed as the next USDA head.”

“Rollins told your host (Yarrow) last week that she was encouraged by Fetterman’s support and hopes to rally more Democrats around her goals,” Yarrow reported. “Rollins also played down the paperwork delays: ‘Really, for me, I have been through so much of this, having worked in the last West Wing, that hopefully my paperwork is pretty easy and clear and clean.'”

Hearings Could Touch on Trade, Tariffs and Tax Incentives, too

Brasher, Davies, Ward and Alvey reported that “tax and trade policy are likely to be featured at (Treasury Secretary nominee Scott) Bessent’s hearing. In a notice announcing the hearing, committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, noted the hedge fund manager’s future role in extending the president’s 2017 tax cuts and implementing ‘pro-growth’ tax policies.”

“The hearing could also feature tariff discussions, after Bessent praised the ‘power of tariffs’ in a November Fox News op-ed following criticism among Trump backers that the prospective nominee’s support for tariffs was not sufficiently ardent,” Brasher, Davies, Ward and Alvey reported. “Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., indicated that he talked to Bessent about the Treasury Department’s implementation of the new 45Z tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and other biofuels. On Friday, the department proposed initial guidance for 45Z that would limit the use of imported cooking oil. But the guidance didn’t address key eligibility requirements for agriculture-based feedstocks.”