US News Today Live Updates on January 22, 2025 : Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees Russell Vought, Brooke Rollins under the Senate spotlight this week

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On January 22, 2025

Senate hearings for Trump’s Cabinet nominees progress this week, with Russell Vought (OMB) and Brooke Rollins (Agriculture) set for January 22 and 23. Other nominees, like Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Tulsi Gabbard, await scheduling.

Senate hearings for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees are set to proceed this week, as the nominations process moves forward.

Several nominees have already held one-on-one meetings with senators. Now, they are scheduled to appear before the relevant committees overseeing the agencies they are nominated to lead.

Here’s a rundown of the Senate hearing schedule in Eastern Time:

Wednesday (January 22) schedule:

10 a.m.: Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Russell Vought, nominated by Donald Trump for OMB director, will appear before the Senate Budget Committee. Vought, who served as OMB director during Trump’s first term, has already testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He played a significant role in Project 2025, a conservative agenda for Trump’s second term, although the Republican nominee distanced himself from it during his campaign. As OMB director, Vought will oversee the creation of the president’s budget and review proposed regulations.

Brooke Rollins, former domestic policy chief at the White House during Trump’s first term, will appear before the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. Rollins, nominated to lead the Agriculture Department, will oversee a broad agency responsible for policies and regulations on farming, forestry, ranching, food quality, and nutrition.

Pending hearings

Several of Trump’s other nominees, including some of the most contentious choices, do not yet have scheduled hearings:

Lori Chavez-DeRemer – Labor Department

Tulsi Gabbard – Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – Health and Human Services Department

Howard Lutnick – Commerce Department

Linda McMahon – Education Department

Kash Patel – FBI

As the confirmation process for Donald Trump’s cabinet continues, the focus will remain on how these candidates fare before the Senate committees that oversee their respective agencies.

Donald Trump Oath Ceremony: The Donald Trump administration plans to release an executive order on its first day in office that would reset federal policy and recognise only two biological sexes – male and female.

The White House will instruct the State Department and Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to remove ‘nonbinary’ or ‘other’ options from federal documents, including passports and visas, according to an incoming administration official quoted as saying by US media.

“No longer will the federal government be promoting gender ideology,” the incoming administration official told reporters.

Different US media reports suggested that Trump will sign anything between 100 and 200 executive orders on first day after being inaugurated as 47th President of the United States of America on Monday.

Another component of the order will pertain to “privacy and intimate spaces,” aimed at eliminating transgender women being housed in prisons or migrant shelters for their preferred gender identity.

Another order announced Monday, which the person noted as “very fitting” falling on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, involves “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs.”

The order ends several diversity training programs within the federal government, the official noted. It would call for “dismantling the DEI bureaucracy,” including ending environmental justice programs, equity related grants and equity initiatives.

Trump will issue a broad trade memo but wont impose new tariffs on his first day in office after taking oath as 47th President of United States. Trump would, instead, direct federal agencies to evaluate US trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, an incoming Trump administration official said.

President-elect Trump has pledged tariffs of 10 per cent on global imports, 60 per cent on Chinese goods and a 25 per cent import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products, duties that may upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation.

Donald Trump Inauguration: Performances, policy moves, and what to expect

Donald Trump’s second inauguration will be held indoors at the US Capitol, featuring musical performances. On his first day, he plans executive actions on immigration, TikTok, and energy, and pardons for January 6th insurrection participants.

US President-elect Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump depart for mass at St. Johns Church ahead of the 60th presidential inauguration in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photographer: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his second presidential inauguration on January 20, 2025, the event promises to be a momentous occasion filled with political significance and high expectations. Returning to the White House after a tumultuous first term, Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington, D.C.

While the ceremony will follow traditional presidential customs, it will stand out due to unique factors such as the expected frigid temperatures, the indoor location at the US Capitol, and key policy actions Trump plans to implement immediately, signaling the start of his ambitious second term.

The event will be closely watched for both symbolic gestures and the policy directions he aims to take, setting the tone for his next four years in office.

Video | Donald Trump inauguration: Moments when Joe Biden and Jill received Donald Trump, Meliana at White House

This was followed by US Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance being received by outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Craig Emhoff at the White House on 20 January.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the White House on inauguration day of Donald Trump's second presidential term in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the White House on inauguration day of Donald Trump’s second presidential term in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard(REUTERS)

Amidst the White House getting ready to welcome the new United States President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greeted President-elect Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the North Portico of the White House on Monday.

This was followed by US Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance being received by outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Craig Emhoff at the White House on 20 January.

Earlier in the day, President-elect Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and their family, attended a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington. This is a long standing tradition for incoming presidents. Vice President-elect JD Vance and Usha Vance also participated in the service, Fox News reported.