Trump nominees for State, Defence and CIA grilled by Senate
Trump top nominees Pompeo and Mattis warn of Russia threat
(about 1 hour later)
Confirmation hearings for Donald Trump's cabinet have resumed, as Rex Tillerson, secretary of state nominee, faces another day of grilling.
President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for defence secretary and spy chief have been talking tough on Russia.
Mr Tillerson, the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil, faced sharp questioning on Wednesday from Republican senator Marco Rubio.
General James Mattis, defence secretary nominee, warned Nato was under its biggest attack since World War Two, including from Moscow.
He is likely to need Mr Rubio's support but the Republican has not confirmed which way he will vote.
Mike Pompeo, Mr Trump's pick to lead the CIA, said Russia posed a threat in Europe and was "asserting itself aggressively" in Ukraine.
Nominees for housing, defence and CIA chief will also be questioned.
The pair were among several cabinet choices facing confirmation hearings.
The Senate foreign relations committee, which is questioning Mr Tillerson, comprises 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats. Ten republicans have said they will support Mr Trump's pick and the Democrats are expected to oppose him, but Mr Rubio has hedged.
Mr Mattis, a retired general and Mr Trump's pick for Pentagon chief, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to divide Nato nations.
"This is a very important decision and I recognise the partisan split on the committee and what it means," Mr Rubio told reporters after the hearing. "I'm prepared to do what's right."
"I think right now the most important thing is that we recognise the reality of what we deal with with Mr Putin and we recognise that he is trying to break the North Atlantic Alliance and that we take the steps, the integrated steps, diplomatic, economic, military and the Alliance steps, working with our allies to defend ourselves where we must," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Florida senator, who lost to Mr Trump in the Republican presidential primary, gave Mr Tillerson a bruising ride during the first session, quizzing him on his personal ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, among other issues, and several times showing disdain at his answers.
"I think it's under the biggest attack since World War II, sir, and that's from Russia, from terrorist groups and with what China is doing in the South China Sea."
Mr Tillerson can technically still be confirmed even if the committee votes against him - the Senate can bypass the committee's decision and stage its own vote.
If confirmed, Mr Mattis, nicknamed Mad Dog for his combative style, would be the first career military officer to serve as secretary of defence in more than 50 years.
James Mattis, a retired general and Mr Trump's pick for secretary of defence, is perhaps the president-elect's most conventional nomination and is widely expected to be confirmed.
But the committee will have to approve an exception to a rule which says former military staff must spend a minimum of seven years out of office before they can run the Pentagon.
But the armed services committee will have to approve an exception to a rule which says former military staff must spend a minimum of seven years out of office before they can run the Pentagon.
Mr Pompeo, Mr Trump's choice for CIA director, faced questions over the president-elect's growing rift with the US intelligence community.
If confirmed, Mr Mattis, nicknamed "Mad Dog" for his combative style, would be the first career military officer to serve as secretary of defence in more than a 50 years.
He said he had "every confidence" in the US intelligence services.
Jack Reed, another army veteran and a Democrat on the committee, warned in a separate hearing yesterday that confirming Mr Mattis would weaken the long-held principle that the military be under civilian control.
Their assessment that state-directed Russia hackers meddled in the US election was "sound", he added.
Mr Trump's pick to lead the CIA, Mike Pompeo, will probably face difficult questions over the president-elect's growing rift with the US intelligence community.
The conservative Kansas Republican was quick to criticise Russia on Wednesday, criticising country for invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe and "doing nearly nothing" to destroy the so-called Islamic State.
This was exacerbated on Wednesday when Mr Trump said an unsubstantiated dossier alleging Russia had compromising material on him may have been leaked by US intelligence.
Mr Pompeo is likely to face questions over hacking and cyber-warfare, amid growing concern that Russian hackers are attempting to interfere with foreign elections.
He could also be grilled on his previous support for much-criticised NSA data-collection programmes and the use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as waterboarding, which he has said provided useful intelligence.
Ben Carson, Mr Trump's nominee for housing secretary, is a retired neurosurgeon with no direct experience of housing policy or of public office in general.
Mr Carson appeared in November to rule himself out of a cabinet position, when his spokesman said he would not seek one because he "has no government experience" and "he's never run a federal agency". This, despite Mr Carson having run for president only months earlier.
Mr Carson was raised in a low-income Detroit neighbourhood by a mother who worked several jobs and relied on welfare to support her sons, but he has heavily criticised welfare programmes saying that they breed dependency.
