Duffy vows to uphold two crew member rule on freight trains
The topic of Duffy’s hearing shifted to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment when Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., asked Duffy if he would uphold the Federal Railroad Administration’s rule that freight trains must be staffed by a minimum of two crew members.
“Last Congress, this committee heard over and over again that having multiple crew members on the train in East Palestine increased safety and helped prevent the disaster from being even worse,” Markey noted in his questioning.
Following the East Palestine train derailment in early 2023, Markey worked with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, then a senator from Ohio, to include a provision in the Railway Safety Act that required at least two crew members on freight trains. The provision received pushback from rail companies, but was supported by rail labor unions, which had long advocated for the change.
“What happened in East Palestine, I think all of us on this committee were horrified by it, by what happened to the community, what happened to their air and their water,” Duffy said. “I believe you worked with the vice president, I’m sure he’ll have a position on the two-person crew, which will flow down to the Department of Transportation, which I’ll abide by.”
Rubio shrugs off questions about Trump foreign business
Asked by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., about possible conflicts of interest involving the Trump Organization's foreign business dealings in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, Rubio was dismissive.
"My understanding — maybe I'm, speaking out of turn — is the president doesn’t manage that company, his family members do, and they have the right to be in that business," he said. "At the end of the day, his family is entitled to continue to operate their business."
Rubio added that policy decisions would be made based on national interests.
"Our foreign policy is going to be driven, as the president made abundantly clear, by whether some action is in the interest of the United States and our national security," he said.
The open portion of Ratcliffe's hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee has ended
Ratcliffe's confirmation hearing, which has been open to the public, has paused for a 30-minute lunch break.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to reconvene at around 12:40p.m. ET for the closed portion of the hearing to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.
Ratcliffe believes China did interfere with Trump's re-election efforts
During questioning, Ratcliffe brought up the CIA assessment in connection to the 2020 presidential election, saying that he did believe that China had interfered in Trump's re-election efforts — something the Trump campaign had said.
Ultimately, the federal intelligence report released following the 2020 election contradicted those claims.
"An assessment was made as to whether China was trying to undermine President Trump's re-election efforts, and there was a split between the community," Ratcliffe said, explaining that a "majority" did not think that had happened.
"The minority opinion was that they were," he said. "I agreed with the minority opinion, but what I did was not try to substitute my judgment for the community. I wrote a dissent that would be would be public, and people could see the reasons for that, and in the process, supported a whistleblower."
Ratcliffe added that he recalled over a year later that FBI Director Christopher Wray held a press conference where he said "the opinion that China would never engage in those kind of activities proved to be false."
Bondi said she worked for the government, not Trump, during his impeachment
Bondi drew the distinction between her work representing Trump in the White House during his first impeachment trial, where she served as special adviser, and the work Trump's personal lawyers did during his criminal trials.
It is "absolutely" different, Bondi said. "You’re working for the government, you’re working for the Office of White House Counsel.”
Wright hearing interrupted five times by protesters
The hearing for Wright has now been interrupted by protesters five times, several of whom brought up the ongoing Los Angeles fires.
Bondi hearing breaks for lunch
The hearing is now in a lunch break. Grassley said that it would last for 30 minutes and that they'll resume at 12:25 p.m. ET.
Bondi repeatedly says she isn't 'familiar' with Trump's statements, including about Jan. 6 defendants
Hirono asked Bondi if the felons who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were "hostages" or "patriots" as Trump has described them.
"I am not familiar with that statement," Bondi said about Trump's past statements.
Hirono said she had just familiarized her with his statement and asked again if she agrees with it.
"I'm not familiar with it, senator," Bondi said.
Hirono then said Trump made a comment in December 2023 about illegal immigration "poisoning the blood" of the nation and asked if she agrees with that statement.
"Senator, I am not familiar with that statement, but what I can tell you is I went to the border a few months ago. I went to Yuma, Arizona, and what I saw at that border was horrific," Bondi said.
Bondi says she won't 'answer hypotheticals' on prosecuting Trump's political foes
After questions by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, about whether Bondi would ever prosecute former special counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland or former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, Bondi answered, "I am not going to answer hypotheticals."
Sen. Hirono: 'It's disturbing' that Bondi can't say Biden won the 2020 election
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, blasted Bondi for failing to acknowledge that President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
Asked who won that presidential election, Bondi simply said, "Joe Biden is the president of the United States."
"Ms. Bondi, you know that there is a difference between acknowledging it and — you know, I can say that Donald Trump won the 2024 election. I may not like it, but I can say it. You cannot say who won the 2020 presidential election," Hirono said.
The senator added, "It’s disturbing that you can’t give voice to that fact."