Members of President Donald Trump‘s Cabinet will be forced to defend his sweeping rollback of the federal government this week in a series of hearings commencing Congress’s 2026 budget process.
Starting on Tuesday, five members of Trump’s 21-person Cabinet will deliver testimony before House and Senate appropriators after the administration released a blueprint last week seeking well over $100 billion in spending cuts. FBI Director Kash Patel and a handful of military leaders will also appear on Capitol Hill.
The budget has sparked Democratic criticism, and some GOP anxiety over the level of defense funding, but lawmakers will also use the venue to air out months of concerns over Trump’s real-time dismantling of the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency.
THE FOUR FACTIONS SPEAKER JOHNSON MUST PLEASE TO PASS TRUMP’S BUDGET MEGABILL
Cabinet secretaries will be asked about the programs shuttered and thousands of jobs slashed since Trump returned to the White House in January. Democrats are also expected to bring up GOP efforts to pass a tax cut-and-border megabill slated to pare back Medicaid and food stamps.
Many department leaders will make multiple appearances before lawmakers, with the Cabinet roster including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Bessent, in particular, will be asked to defend the now-paused “Liberation Day” tariffs that set off a market crash and flurry of trade negotiations. Federal Emergency Management Agency interim head Cam Hamilton will also testify as Trump weighs eliminating the disaster relief organization.
Trump released his “skinny” fiscal 2026 budget on Friday, calling for $163 billion in cuts to multiple federal programs. Three departments — the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs — will see a discretionary spending increase.
A senior Office of Management and Budget official told reporters that the budget, which is aspirational and not expected to become law, establishes “a $1.7 trillion discretionary budget” representing a 7.6% reduction.
The official also touted the budget as “the lowest nondefense spending since 2017.”
While appropriators work through the proposed fiscal 2026 budget, the White House is also preparing to send a $9.3 billion rescissions package that would cut funding for programs such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS: WHERE THINGS STAND IN THE INITIAL MONTHS OF HIS SECOND TERM
The following are the hearings of note for House and Senate appropriators as the 2026 budget process gets underway.
Tuesday
House Appropriations, 10 a.m.
- Secretary Scott Bessent
- Secretary Kristi Noem
House Appropriations, 2 p.m.
- Air Force and Space Force leadership
Senate Appropriations, 10:30 a.m.
- Secretary Brooke Rollins
Senate Veterans Affairs, 11:30 a.m.
- Secretary Doug Collins
Wednesday
House Appropriations, 10 a.m.
- Secretary Brooke Rollins
- Secretary Chris Wright
- Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and General Randy George, Army Chief of Staff
House Appropriations, 2 p.m.
- FBI Director Kash Patel
- FEMA interim head Cam Hamilton
House Financial Services, 10 a.m.
- Secretary Scott Bessent
Thursday
Senate Appropriations Committee, 9 a.m.
- FBI Director Kash Patel
Senate Appropriations Committee, 10 a.m.
- Secretary Kristi Noem