Thune games out which Trump nominees he can confirm on Day One

Senate Republicans are strategizing how to land a top party priority in the next two weeks: getting some of incoming President Donald Trump’s nominees confirmed on Day One.

News: Senate Majority Leader John Thune told us in a brief interview on Tuesday that Republicans have started feeling out who Democrats will help confirm on Jan. 20, immediately after Trump is sworn in. Remember that quick confirmation in the Senate will require support from all 100 senators. Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) called Day One confirmations a current “top priority.”

“That process is beginning,” Thune said, asked about efforts to check with Senate Democrats on confirmations they can clear on Jan. 20. He added that “as you might expect, the noms for the national security space are awfully important.”

Who’s potentially on the list: Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) nomination for secretary of State seems primed for quick confirmation — he’s already amassed some Democratic support. Rubio is expected to get a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week on Jan. 15. Barrasso said Rubio is “absolutely” on the docket for nominees who could be ready for confirmation on Jan. 20.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Trump’s forthcoming nominee to be ambassador to the U.N., is also viewed as a potential Day One confirmation. Stefanik is expected to get a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 16.

Senate Republicans are under public pressure from the base to quickly confirm Trump’s picks, particularly national security nominees in the wake of the attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Other national security picks will likely take at least a bit more time, though Republicans are optimistic they can confirm some the same week as Trump’s inauguration.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told us that his Judiciary Committee nominees, including those for attorney general, deputy attorney general and FBI director, could still be confirmed that week, but “towards the tail end of the week, that'd be the earliest.” He later added that he’s still waiting on the required background check and ethics paperwork for Pam Bondi, and he wasn’t sure how long it would be delayed.

Meanwhile, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is still meeting with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, including on Tuesday with Vice Chair Mark Warner. Gabbard is expected to get a hearing before Inauguration Day, according to a spokesperson for the committee.

Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) “intends to hold these hearings before Inauguration Day. The Intelligence Committee, the nominees, and the transition are diligently working toward that goal,” the spokesperson added.

Getting confirmation hearings on the schedule as quickly as possible is a goal that extends across the Senate GOP conference, priming a busy news cycle on Trump’s nominees next week.

“We're going to do over a dozen hearings next week,” Barrasso said, in the hopes to “get as many lined up to go on Day One as we possibly can.”

Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.