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At Hearings, Not All Nominees in Lock Step With Trump
10 Highlights from Thursday’s Confirmation Hearings
(about 3 hours later)
■ A third day of confirmation hearings is starting on Capitol Hill, with one emerging theme: Many of the nominees of President-elect Donald J. Trump have serious disagreements with him on policy.
On the third day of confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, there was one emerging theme: Many of the nominees of President-elect Donald J. Trump have disagreements with him on policy.
■ The Senate Armed Services Committee voted, 24 to 3, to approve the nomination of James N. Mattis, a retired general, to be defense secretary. Fun fact: he doesn’t care for the nickname “Mad Dog.”
There were serious questions, efforts at diversion with humor, and long-winded statements by senators. Overall, though, none of the nominees made any major mistakes, and one of them, James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, was approved as Mr. Trump’s choice for defense secretary by the Senate Armed Services Committee, 24 to 3.
■ Ben Carson, the choice for housing secretary, said he would take a “holistic” approach.
Fun fact: He doesn’t care for the nickname “Mad Dog.”
■ Representative Mike Pompeo, the pick to run the C.I.A., took a firm stance against torture.
■ Mr. Mattis diverged sharply from his prospective boss on Russia, calling Moscow one of the top threats to the American-led world order. “I’m all for engagement,” Mr. Mattis said, “but we also have to recognize reality in terms of what Russia is up to.”
Mr. Mattis put space between himself and Mr. Trump, who has embraced a friendlier relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
■ Mr. Mattis also put daylight between himself and Mr. Trump on NATO and indicated strong support for the alliance’s principle of collective defense. “My view is that nations with allies thrive, and nations without allies don’t,” Mr. Mattis said.
Mr. Putin, Mr. Mattis said, “is trying to break the North Atlantic alliance,” in a reference to NATO. He said the United States and its NATO allies must take necessary steps to strengthen the alliance.
■ Mr. Mattis said he supported the Iran nuclear agreement, which Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized.
Mr. Trump said during the campaign that he could see American military support being conditional on whether NATO states have met their financial obligations to the bloc.
■ And finally, he said that he had no intention of revisiting the Obama administration’s decisions on social issues at the Defense Department, like the opening of combat roles to women.
“My view is that nations with allies thrive, and nations without allies don’t,” Mr. Mattis said.
■ Representative Mike Pompeo, the Kansas Republican who is Mr. Trump’s nominee for director of the C.I.A., said the agency would pursue information about efforts by Russia to interfere with the American election, including any possible links to the Trump campaign. “I promise I will pursue the facts wherever they take us,” he said.
Mr. Mattis also staked out a different position from his would-be boss on the prospects for Russian and American cooperation in Syria. While Mr. Trump has said a number of times that Russia is killing Islamic State militants in Syria, and that the United States should better coordinate with the Russians there, Mr. Mattis, given the opportunity, was having none of it.
■ In a reversal, Mr. Pompeo said emphatically that he would not endorse torture, including coercive methods like waterboarding. Mr. Pompeo had previously said he did not believe waterboarding was torture, and that it was legal.
“I’m all for engagement,” he said, “but we also have to recognize reality in terms of what Russia is up to.”
■ Mr. Pompeo signaled that he agreed with the assessment of United States intelligence agencies that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia tried to promote Mr. Trump’s candidacy and to undermine the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, describing the report that was delivered last week to Mr. Trump and President Obama as “sound.”
Pressed about whether Mr. Trump’s statements about NATO concerned him, Mr. Mattis said: “I have had discussions with him on this issue.” He added, “He understands where I stand.”
■ Ben Carson’s confirmation hearing for secretary of housing and urban development was not attended by Mr. Trump. But Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, directed biting comments at the president-elect. Ms. Warren, while accusing Mr. Trump of hiding his assets, repeatedly asked Mr. Carson if he would commit to keeping taxpayers’ dollars away from Trump businesses.
The testiest exchange came courtesy of Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York. Ms. Gillibrand, who supports opening all combat positions in the military to women, gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender Americans, has said that she opposes granting a congressional waiver required for Mr. Mattis to become defense secretary.
■ Mr. Carson successfully parried questions about whether someone who had gained acclaim as neurosurgeon was qualified to oversee the vast federal housing agency. Though he has no background in housing, he avoided any major stumbles.
On Thursday, she sought to get a commitment from Mr. Mattis that he would not try to roll back the Defense Department’s decisions to open combat positions to women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
■ Democrats seemed to take it a bit easy on Mr. Carson, with some talking about his young granddaughter attending and others questioning him without being too adversarial.
Mr. Mattis didn’t give her the wholesale promise she sought. He said military readiness and having the most lethal fighting force would be his priority.
But, he added that “unless a service chief” came to him with a problem, he had no plans to undo policies that have been in place. He also said, “I’ve never cared much about two consenting adults and who they go to bed with.”
In an exchange with Senator Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico, Mr. Mattis blamed the media for giving him the nickname Mad Dog, claiming it is a misnomer, though Mr. Trump seems to use it at every opportunity.
The committee also voted, 24 to 3, to grant a congressional waiver so that Mr. Mattis could serve. Because Mr. Mattis left active duty in 2013, less than the federally mandated seven-year waiting period, he had to have the waiver to become defense secretary.
The committee vote came at the end of a largely friendly confirmation hearing. The House Armed Services Committee is expected to take up the waiver question on Thursday afternoon.
Three Democratic senators opposed the waiver: Ms. Gillibrand; Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
They were the only three to vote against Mr. Mattis’s nomination in the committee, which easily passed, 24 to 3.
Mr. Carson used his opening statement to highlight his biography, speaking of life in an impoverished section of Detroit as the son of a single mother with a third-grade education.
But Mr. Carson held close to the conservative orthodoxy that has defined his political life, saying that while efficient public assistance is acceptable, he fears the specter of “generation after generation of people living in dependent situations.”
After quoting Mr. Carson’s previous remarks suggesting that poverty was “more of a choice” than anything else, Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, asked if he truly believed in HUD’s mission.
“I think the rental assistance program is essential,” Mr. Carson said, when pressed twice, “and what I have said if you’ve been reading my writings: It is cruel and unusual punishment to withdraw those programs before you provide an alternative.”
Earlier, when asked about housing protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, Mr. Carson, a retired doctor and a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, said he would “enforce all the laws of the land” if confirmed. But he expressed his personal opposition to any expression of what he called “extra rights” for certain groups.
While questioning Mr. Carson, Senator Warren spent several minutes criticizing Mr. Trump and the potential conflicts of interests that may arise from his businesses.
“Can you assure me that not a single taxpayer dollar that you give out will financially benefit the president-elect or his family?” she asked.
As Mr. Carson began to say that he was driven by morals and values, Ms. Warren interrupted and said her concern was specifically about whether the billions of dollars Mr. Carson’s department would be giving out in grants and loans could specifically benefit Mr. Trump.
“It will not be my intention to do anything to benefit any American,” Mr. Carson said, becoming a bit flustered before quickly clarifying that he wanted to use the department to help “all Americans.”
Ms. Warren pressed on by insisting that Mr. Trump needed to establish a blind trust and by accusing Mr. Trump of “hiding” his assets.
However, Mr. Carson would not say that he would completely avoid Mr. Trump’s businesses if confirmed. “If there happens to be an extraordinarily good program that’s working for millions of people and it turns out that someone that you’re targeting is going to gain $10 from it, am I going to say no?” Mr. Carson said. “I think logic and common sense probably will probably be the best way.”
Mr. Pompeo’s views on torture, and how they square with Mr. Trump’s, were quickly addressed.
Mr. Pompeo has made statements indicating that he did not believe waterboarding was torture, and that it was legal.
But President Obama issued an executive order banning the harshest of techniques and Congress enacted a law in 2015 that allows American interrogators to use only techniques authorized in the Army Field Manual. That list does not include coercive methods such as waterboarding.
So the question on the minds of many was whether Mr. Pompeo would support torturing people?
Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, asked Mr. Pompeo if he would allow the use of interrogation techniques not outlined in the Army manual if ordered to do so by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Pompeo answered unequivocally: He made clear he would “always comply with the law.” He said there were limitations on what the C.I.A. could do and any changes in the law prohibiting torture would require an act by Congress.
Mr. Pompeo told another senator that the C.I.A. was out of the enhanced interrogation business.
A crucial question hovering over the intelligence community in recent weeks is whether Mr. Trump would halt or seek to limit inquiries into Russian hacking and other issues that he has openly derided as a politically motivated smears.
The questions have taken on greater urgency after the disclosure this week that intelligence agencies are looking into a dossier of unsubstantiated reports that Russia has collected compromising personal information about Mr. Trump.
Mr. Pompeo appeared to put those concerns to rest on Thursday when asked if the C.I.A., under his leadership, would continue to pursue intelligence on Russian hacking and links, if any, between the Trump campaign the Russian government.
“I promise I will pursue the facts wherever they take us,” Mr. Pompeo said, “with regard to this issue and each and every issue.”
But in response the same question, he also sounded a note that was very likely to please Mr. Trump’s aides, saying that the “leaks that have occurred as well, which I consider to be intensely serious.”
