It's a Busy Day for the Senate

Wednesday is set to be a busy day in the Senate, with six confirmation hearings scheduled for President-elect Trump's Cabinet picks. The headline appearances will be Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi for US attorney general. The Washington Post reports the other picks that will be considered are John Ratcliffe for CIA director, Chris Wright for energy secretary, Sean Duffy for transportation secretary, and Russell Vought for director of the Office of Management and Budget. What you need to know about Wednesday's hearings, which begin at 9:30am ET:

• What Bondi will face: While the AP notes the corporate lobbyist "would be one of the most closely scrutinized members of Trump's Cabinet" if she's confirmed as AG, Politico describes her as on a "glidepath" to that confirmation. Politico describes some Senate Democrats as having warmed to the idea of Bondi and viewing her as having "the baseline credentials" for the job.
• Possible sticky spots: Politico expects an "uneventful" two days of hearings for Bondi, "in large part due to the fact that there are more serious allegations plaguing other nominees." But NBC News flags some topics she can expect tough questioning on, including her comments about the 2020 election and the foreign clients and companies she worked with as a lobbyist. Reuters reports that client list includes Uber, Amazon, GM, the Dominican Republic, Kosovo, and Qatar.
• An even slicker glidepath for Rubio: CBS News expect Rubio's to end up being one of the "least contentious confirmation hearings" thanks in part to his hefty foreign policy experience. One potential trouble spot: the possibility that Democrats flag where he and Trump don't align on foreign policy.
• What to expect from Ratcliffe: He served as director of national intelligence during Trump's first administration, and while he didn't have any Democrat support during that confirmation vote, the New York Times expects he'll pick up some this time around. He's "expected to talk about ways to make the CIA less risk-averse and more willing to conduct covert action when ordered by the president," per the Times. The Wall Street Journal anticipates much more aggressive spying against China under Ratcliffe's watch.

• Vought and Project 2025: Reuters reports Vought led the Office of Management and Budget during Trump's first administration. Following that, he authored 26 pages of the roughly 900-page "Project 2025" and is expected to be questioned about those writings. In them, "he detailed several objectives similar to those that Trump and his allies like Elon Musk are now touting," per Reuters.
• Potential tough questioning for Wright: The Post notes that Wright, an oil exec who heads fracking company Liberty Energy, will be questioned against the backdrop of the Los Angeles-area fires. His previously stated view that climate change is not upping the frequency or severity of wildfires will likely spur questions from Democrats.
• More on Duffy: The New York Times reports current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had little transportation expertise when he assumed the job four years ago; Duffy would be much the same. He is expected to emphasize a planned focus on aviation and roadway safety and a desire to increase the number of air traffic controllers.
• A Wednesday switch: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who Trump selected to run the Department of Homeland Security, has been scheduled for a Wednesday hearing but will now go before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday. An aide told the Hill the change was "due to a delay on the FBI background check for Governor Noem."

(More President-elect Trump stories.)