Protesters interrupt Senate confirmation hearings
Several protestors disrupted Wednesday’s Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s choices to join his Cabinet, which lawmakers condemned.
Wednesday is chock full of Senate hearings, including Pam Bondi for attorney general, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, John Ratcliffe for CIA head, Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary, Chris Wright, for Energy secretary, and Russel Vought for the Office of Management and Budget.
As of midday Wedneday, protesters disrupted Rubio and Wright’s hearings a handful of times.
The group known as Code Pink piled in to Rubio’s hearing, which began at 10 a.m. local time, against the Israel-Hamas War. Individuals sat in three rows with their hands painted red to symbolize the violent bloodshed.
Police warned those in attendance to keep their hands down so as not to distract from the formal proceedings.
“Peace activists say NO to Rubio for Secretary of State. He’s not a diplomat – he’s a warhawk,” Code Pink posted on the social media platform X.
As Rubio discussed foreign policy approaches, another attendee yelled in Spanish, sharing her opposition to sanctions on Latin American nations.
“I get bilingual protest,” Rubio joked after the outburst.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) noted it was a “first.”
Earlier, Risch said demonstrators would be banned from public hearings for at least a year.
“I’m significantly less tolerant of demonstrations communications or disruptions… We have work to do. We have a very limited clock every time we meet,” Risch said.
Disturbances at the Rubio hearing were the first following outbursts at Pete Hegseth’s Tuesday hearing. Chris Wright, Trump’s nominee for Energy Secretary was also cut off by protestors in his opening statement on Wednesday.
The protestor condemned Wright for his role as CEO of Liberty Energy, an oilfield services company. Trump has hammered down on the phrase “drill, baby, drill” in his Truth Social posts, which Wright is expected to act on.
Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) said that if anyone thinks we can live without fossil fuels, they are living in a “cave” at the hearing and added he was “positive” the nominee would be confirmed.
After his comments, three demonstrators spoke out about the California wildfires, which have killed dozens and been linked to climate change.
Wright acknowledged the topic at the hearing.
“It is a global issue, it is a real issue, it is a challenging issue,” he stated.
But he did note, he stands behind previous comments stating “hype over wildfires is just hype to justify” bad policies.