Hill Heat

A full committee hearing.

Nominee:

• Casey Means to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service

Dr. Means, who attended Stanford Medical School and trained as an otolaryngologist but is not board-certified. Her last medical license, from the state of Oregon, expired in 2019, making her ineligible for the position. She will not appear in person, instead testifying remotely from Hawaii.

Means is an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and proponent of holistic medicine, “functional medicine,” and other forms of quackery. As a lifestyle influencer, she has also raised concerns about microplastics, industrial toxins, pesticides, and processed foods.

Full committee nominations hearing.

Nominees:

• Dr. Mindy Brashears, of Texas, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
• Stella Yvette Herrell, of New Mexico, to be Assistant Secretary of Agriculture of Congressional Relations
• John Walk, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Agriculture

Before serving in Trump’s first term, Brashears was a paid consultant for major meat-producing companies subject to federal inspection and regulation, including Cargill and Perdue Farms. After her departure in 2021, she accepted positions with Boar’s Head Provision Company and the Meat Institute.

Herrell is a Republican politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico’s 2nd congressional district from 2021 to 2023.

Walk serves as Judicial Officer at the United States Department of Agriculture. He served as Associate Counsel to President Donald J. Trump at the White House Counsel’s Office from January 2017 until December 2020. At the White House, Walk advised the President and senior White House officials on the exercise of the President’s constitutional authority, regulatory matters, executive actions, and implementation of public policy. Prior to the White House, Walk served as an attorney at the Department of Homeland Security, providing advice on DHS operations and defending against federal litigation as agency counsel as an ally of Stephen Miller. Before entering the legal profession, Walk was a senior government relations advisor at an international law firm and served as a congressional staffer in the House of Representatives. Walk is the son-in-law of Jeff Sessions, married to Sessions’ daughter Ruth.

Full committee nomination hearing.

Nominees:

• Arjun Mody, of New Jersey, to be Deputy Commissioner, Social Security Administration for the term expiring January 19, 2031, vice David Fabian Black, term expired.
• Jeffrey Goettman, of Virginia, to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Africa, Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, Environment, Labor, and Industrial Competitiveness), with the Rank of Ambassador, vice Jayme Ray White.
• Julie Callahan, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice Douglas J. McKalip, resigned.
• Thomas March Bell, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, vice Christi A. Grimm

Arjun Mody, a top Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) advisor, ran Barrasso’s Senate Opportunity Fund, and shepherded the confirmations of Pete Hegseth at the Defense Department, Kash Patel at the FBI and Frank Bisignano at the Social Security Administration. He was also a staffer for Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Carly Fiorina’s California Senate campaign.

Jeff Goettman, now at the Executive Office of the President, was Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s chief of staff after a long career in finance and serving in Trump’s first administration on the Ex-Im Bank and in Treasury.

Dr. Julie Callahan serves as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy. She previously served as a Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative and Senior Director in the USTR Agriculture Office and at the U.S. Food and Druge Administration. Dr. Callahan earned her doctoral degree in Marine Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science from MIT. As a civil servant, she has been an “unusually partisan” supporter of Trump. Her scientific research was on dissolved organic matter, including phytoplankton blooms, in estuaries in the United States and China.

As Inspector General for Health and Human Services, Thomas March Bell will oversee fraud, waste and abuse audits of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which spend more than $1 trillion annually. Bell currently serves as general counsel for House Republicans and has worked for GOP politicians and congressional offices for decades. The president’s nomination of this anti-abortion extremist is a “brazenly political” one. Bell was ousted from Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality in 1997 after a state audit showed he improperly authorized a nearly $8,000 payment to the agency’s former spokesman. He was staff director for House Republicans’ 2016 investigation into Planned Parenthood. During the first Trump administration, Bell helped create the Conscience and Religious Freedom division within the HHS Office for Civil Rights. Bell held leadership positions in Gary Bauer and Pat Robinson’s presidential campaigns.

The purpose of the hearing is to examine the Section 106 consultation process under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Witnesses:

• Andy McDonald, Environmental Compliance Manager, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.
• Christopher W. Merritt, Ph.D., State Historic Preservation Officer, State of Utah
• Steven Concho, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico and Board Member of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order purporting to declare an “energy emergency.” Following that order, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation issued guidance largely suspending section 106 rules for energy projects in February.

Trump’s demolition of the White House’s east wing is expected to be a major topic of discussion, although under Section 107 of the NHPA, the White House is exempt from National Historic Preservation Act, including listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1961, a law (P.L. 87-286) gave the National Park Service administrative responsibility for the White House, directing that “primary attention shall be given to the preservation and interpretation of the museum character of the principal corridor on the ground floor and the principal public rooms on the ground floor of the White House.” Executive Order 11145, Providing for a Curator of the White House and establishing a Committee for the Preservation of the White House, implemented the laws by establishing the office of the White House Curator. Since 2024, the curator has been Donna Hayashi Smith. The executive order also established the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, giving it advisory powers.

In August, 2025, Trump signed an executive order, asserting that “great care and consideration must be taken to choose a design that commands respect from the general public and clearly conveys to the general public the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of America’s system of self-government” and that “Competitions for the design of Federal buildings should be held where appropriate.”

Trump’s demolition, led by Clark Construction, during the government shutdown violates the Anti-Deficiency Act and federal ethics rules on funding and gifts.

Subcommittee hearing.

Witnesses:

• Peter Huntsman, President and CEO, Huntsman Corporation
• Dr. Gwen Gross, Senior Technical Fellow, The Boeing Company
• Dr. Tracey Woodruff, Professor and Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco

Peter’s father, Jon Huntsman Sr., founded the Huntsman Corporation, an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of chemical products for consumers and industrial customers. His brother, Jon Huntsman Jr., is a former United States ambassador and former Republican governor of Utah.

Dr. Woodruff studies toxic microplastics.

Full committee hearing to examine multiple nominations.

Nominees:

• Edward Forst, of Florida, to be Administrator of General Services
• Charles Arrington, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term expiring July 1, 2030
• Paul Ingrassia, of New York, to be Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel, for the term of five years
• John Cuong Truong, Elana S. Suttenberg, and Stephen F. Rickard, each to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years
• William “Bill” Kirk, of Maryland, to be Inspector General, Small Business Administration
• Anthony D’Esposito, of New York, to be Inspector General, Department of Labor
• Platte Moring, of South Carolina, to be Inspector General, Department of Defense

Charles Arrington is the Chief Human Resources Officer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Forst began working for Bankers Trust in 1982 as a managing director. In 1994, Forst joined Goldman Sachs, becoming a managing director in 1996 and a partner in 1998. In 2004, he was appointed as the company’s chief administrative officer, and in 2007, he became the co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Forst temporarily left Goldman Sachs in 2008 to serve as Harvard’s executive vice president and to advise secretary of the treasury Henry Paulson amid a financial crisis. Forst returned to Goldman Sachs in September 2009 as the firm’s senior strategy officer. In February 2010, he was appointed head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Amid complications involving his leadership style and weeks after he did not appear at a critical meeting in Europe, Forst was removed from Goldman Sachs in December 2010. Forst began serving as Cushman & Wakefield’s president and chief executive in January 2014. He led a strategy to return Cushman & Wakefield to New York City’s real estate market, but was forced to leave the company after its acquisition by DTZ in May 2015.

Ingrassia has publicly associated with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, as well as Andrew Tate, the conservative social media influencer who is wanted in multiple countries on rape and sex trafficking charges. And he has written extensively of his disdain for federal workers, describing them as “parasites” and “bugmen” who “leech of the diminishing lifeblood of the dying republic.” In private chats, Ingrassia said the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell” and described himself as having “a Nazi streak.” On October 22, the White House withdrew Ingrassia’s nomination.

Truong, Suttenberg, and Rickard are federal prosecutors in D.C..

Kirk, who studied accounting at the University of Notre Dame and law at Notre Dame Law School, most recently worked at the Department of Education, serving as acting chief of staff for the Office of General Counsel. Kirk is on detail from the Environmental Protection Agency’s IG office, where he most recently served as acting counsel to the IG. He served at the EPA IG from 2022 to 2024. A devout Catholic, Kirk was general counsel for the Catholic Ave Maria University, the executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation, and a partner in a Catholic wealth management firm before joining the first Trump administration as deputy general counsel in the Department of Education.

Anthony P. D’Esposito is a retired New York City Police Department detective. A Republican, he represented New York’s 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025.

Platte Moring joined The Citadel as an adjunct professor in the fall of 2021 and is also an adjunct professor for The College of Charleston School of Law. Moring is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Full committee hearing to consider the nominations of the Maritime Administration, the Federal Maritime Commission, and the Department of Commerce at 10:30 AM EST on October 22, 2025.

Nominees:

• Stephen Carmel, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Maritime Administration
• Laura DiBella, of Florida, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner
• Robert Harvey, of Florida, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner
• Timothy Petty, of Indiana, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (NOAA Fisheries)

Dr. Timothy R. Petty assumed his Senate-confirmed position as Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in January 2018. In this capacity, he oversees water and science policy for the U.S. Department of the Interior and has responsibility for the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey. His career has focused on water science, engineering, and water policy. Dr. Petty previously served as Deputy Legislative Director and Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senator James E. Risch of Idaho, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Dr. Petty covered issues of water, natural resources, environment, science, technology, telecommunications and space. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at Interior under President George W. Bush. Dr. Petty earned a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (College of Engineering and Mines in Water Science), an M.S. from the University of Maryland University College (Business Management), and a B.S. from Purdue University (Geosciences). Prior to his Senate service with Senator Risch, Dr. Petty worked for U.S. Senators Connie Mack of Florida and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. In addition, Dr. Petty worked in California and Indiana as a geologist and hydrogeologist.

Carmel is Senior Vice President, Maritime Services at Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) with full responsibility for MLL’s U.S. Marine Management Inc. business unit. He is is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He is a a member of the Board of Visitors of the US Merchant Marine Academy.

DiBella is a lobbyist at Adams & Reese. She was previously Florida’s first female Secretary of Commerce. Laura was the former President of Business Development at FloridaCommerce; President/CEO at Enterprise Florida; President of the Florida Opportunity Fund (Florida’s Venture Capital arm), gaining knowledge of the state funded startup ecosystem; Executive Director of Florida Harbor Pilots Association; Port Director of Port of Fernandina Ocean Highway and Port Authority; and Executive Director of Nassau County Economic Development Board. As the first-ever, full-time executive director of Florida Harbor Pilots Association, DiBella helped pass legislation that prevents citizen initiatives from interrupting commerce at Florida seaports.

Harvey serves as General Counsel for Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI), Executive Director of Florida Opportunity Fund, Inc. (“FOF”), and the Executive Director of Florida Development Finance Corporation (“FDFC”). Previously, Robert was a founding partner of the law firm Jenks & Harvey LLP in West Palm Beach, specializing in securities litigation, arbitration, and regulation. In 1992, Robert joined startup Meridian VAT Reclaim North America in New York, NY. Meridian, now known as Meridian Global Services, is the worldwide leader in providing corporate international Value Added Tax compliance and consulting services. Mr. Harvey became Meridian North America’s Senior Vice President of Operations & General Counsel in 1996. Headquartered in Ireland, Meridian was acquired in 1999 by Profit Recovery Group International and is now privately held. After leaving Meridian in 1999, Mr. Harvey became Director of Operations for MBIA MuniServices Company, a subsidiary of MBIA, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Harvey later served as Chief Operating Officer of Imperial Software in Great River, New York. From 2003-2014 Mr. Harvey was the Managing General Partner of Kensington Capital Fund LP.

Full committee hearing.

The Tennessee Valley Authority board has been reduced to three members, less than the quorum of five, following crippling firings by Trump. Trump fired board member Michelle Moore on March 27. Trump fired chair Joe Ritsch on April 1. On June 10, Trump fired Beth Geer, chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore. No public explanation of the firings has been offered.

Nominees to be Members of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

• Mitch Graves of Tennessee, to replace Brian Noland
• Jeff Hagood of Tennessee, to replace Beth Harwell
• Randall “Randy” Jones of Alabama, to replace William Killbride
• Arthur “Art” Graham, of Florida, to replace Michelle Moore

Graves currently serves on Memphis Light, Gas & Water’s board of commissioners and as the CEO of West Cancer Center & Research Institute. Prior to joining WCCRI, he was the CEO of HealthChoice, LLC. Graves has previously served on the boards of Christian Brothers University (Chairman), United Methodist Neighborhood Centers (Chairman), Revenue Assurance, Precision Infusion, Alliance Health Service, Community Care Associates, First Eight Memphis, and Methodist Federal Credit Union. On a national level, he previously served as a member of United Healthcare’s Executive Advisory Council and Cigna’s National Health Care Advisory Council.

Jeff Hagood is a Knoxville lawyer, a former fundraiser for Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs’ Big Red PAC and a member of the Knoxville Sports Authority Board.

Randy Jones is a well-connected insurance agent in Alabama who sits on the Guntersville Electric Board.

Art Graham is a chemical engineer who formerly worked for Georgia Pacific. Since 2010, he has served on the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in the state. Graham is the only one of Trump’s current nominees to live outside of TVA’s service region.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee executive session on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET to consider the following nominations and legislation, originally scheduled for October 8:

Agenda:

• S. 2975, PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 (Cruz, Cantwell), amended after Lujan 2 to include extreme heat and cold in the list of disasters adopted by voice vote, favorably reported by voice vote.
• S. 2563, Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2025 (Young). Markey amendment to rein in FCC rejected 15-13 on party lines. Markey amendment #3 on Trump emoluments rejected 15-13 on party lines. Markey amendment #6 on Federal Reserve independence rejected 15-13 on party lines after Lummis complained about oil and gas businesses being “debanked”. Markey amendment #8 on erratic tariff policies rejected 15-13 on party lines after Cruz called it a “political showboat” and Moreno “vehemently disagreed.” Markey amendment #13 on foreign-company wage standards rejected 15-13 on party lines after Moreno raised the question of “illegal migrants lowering wages” and Cantwell noted the last such Commerce study is ten years old. Favorably reported by voice vote.

Upon the motion of Cantwell, favorably reported en bloc by voice vote:

• S. 1070, National STEM Week Act (Ernst)
• S. 2126, Integrated Ocean Observation System Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Wicker)
• S. 2245, Digital Coast Act (Baldwin)
• S. 2357, Young Fishermen’s Development Extension Act (Sullivan)
• S. 2503, ROTOR Act (Cruz)
• S. 2666, Foreign Robocall Elimination Act (Budd)

Upon the motion of Fischer:

• Nomination of Harry Kumar, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs: With Thune proxy; reported favorably on party lines 15-13.

Upon the motion of Moran:

• Nomination of Joyce Meyer, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs: With Thune proxy; reported favorably 15-13.

Upon the motion of Wicker:

• Nomination of Seval Oz, of California, to be the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology: With Thune proxy and Peters (D-Mich.) aye, reported favorably 16-12.

Kumar’s nomination hearing took place on July 9th. He is a former Trump Department of Commerce official, oil industry lobbyist, and chief lobbyist for battery-recycling startup Li-Cycle, which recently filed for bankruptcy. He is currently Senior Advisor in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Oz’s nomination hearing took place on July 23rd. Oz was Head of Global Strategic Partnerships for Google [X]’s Self-Driving Car Program from 2011 to 2014, where she supported business and marketing efforts for the initiative that later became Waymo. Oz recently served on the board of directors of MicroVision Inc., an advanced driver-assistance systems software company. She is Mehmet Oz’s sister.

Meyer’s nomination hearing took place on September 17th. She served as the White House’s deputy director of legislative affairs during Trump’s first term, and was a long-time staffer of the former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). She would oversee the U.S. Census Bureau.

Full committee business meeting.

Legislation:

• HR. 4550, United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR4550 Substitute Amendment). Reported favorably 23-0.

Reported favorably en bloc 23-0:

• S. 277, A bill to release a Federal reversionary interest and convey mineral interests in Chester County, Tennessee, and for other purposes.

• S. 1680, Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2025

• S. 2440, A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain National Forest System land located in Franklin County, Mississippi, and for other purposes.

• HR. 197, Lake Winnibigoshish Land Exchange Act of 2025

• S. 1262, A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to release a reversionary interest in certain land in the Black River State Forest in Millston, Wisconsin, and for other purposes.

• S. 2548, Shawnee National Forest Conservation Act of 2025

• S. 1681, Shenandoah Mountain Act

• HR. 1612, Flatside Wilderness Additions Act

• S. 1350, A bill to modify the boundaries of the Talladega National Forest, and for other purposes.

• S. 1376, Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act of 2025

• S. 1876, Stratton Ridge Air Force Memorial Act

• S. 638, A bill to amend the Act of June 22, 1948.

• S. ______, To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a parcel of property of the Forest Service to Perry County, Arkansas, and for other purposes.

• S. 1462, Fix Our Forests Act (S1462 Substitute Amendment)

Klobuchar notes the Padilla-Hickenlooper version is supported by EDF, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Theodore Roosevelt Partnership

Tuberville withdrew his amendment known as the Disaster Reforestation Act to give tax breaks to landowners for losses of uncut timber in the wake of storms or other climate disasters. Withdrawn as he recognizes it is under jurisdiction of Finance Committee. Warnock supported the amendment.

Bennet introduced amendment with Schiff to require tribal collaboration. Failed on party lines 11-12.

Schiff introduced amendment #3 to ensure funding for Forest Service wildfire mitigation. Failed on party lines 11-12.

Booker introduced amendment #2 with Durbin and Fetterman to strike section 121 which restricts judges’ decisions and limits judicial review from 6 years to 150 days. Durbin noted this should be a province of the Judiciary Committee. Failed on party lines 11-12.

Lujan withdrew amendment #4 which deals with controlled burns that go out of control.

Vote to report favorably S. 1462 as amended: Klobuchar, Lujan, Warnock, Welch, Fetterman, Slotkin aye with all Republicans: 18-5.