--- title: Donald Trump Cabinet: Confirmation Hearings Contradict Him description: Many of Donald Trump's high-profile Cabinet picks have had to distance themselves from him during their confirmation hearings. canonical: https://time.com/4632952/donald-trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings-splits/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-12T18:51:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T13:33:24.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Contradicted Him og:description: In Senate confirmation hearings. og:url: https://time.com/4632952/donald-trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings-splits/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd52d570a153e26c4/6988b554f887dc2918e98ace/untitled-2.jpg?branch=production&width=900&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 900 og:image:height: 506 og:image:alt: untitled-2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Contradicted Him twitter:description: In Senate confirmation hearings. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd52d570a153e26c4/6988b554f887dc2918e98ace/untitled-2.jpg?branch=production&width=900&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Donald Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Contradicted Him > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=78506985-8cb3-48f6-8f25-04cbb4d79204&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump's Cabinet Contradictions [Watch (HLS stream): Trump's Cabinet Contradictions](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GBQT5zlB.m3u8) (2:07)  _Published 2017-01-13. In confirmation hearings this week, five of the President-elect’s nominees have distanced themselves from some of his remarks on such hot-button topics as foreign policy, immigration and the military._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:33 PM UTCPublished: Jan 12, 2017 6:51 PM UTC In confirmation hearings this week, five of the President-elect’s nominees have distanced themselves from some of his remarks on such hot-button topics as foreign policy, immigration and the military.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:33 PM UTCPublished: Jan 12, 2017 6:51 PM UTC Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks have been unafraid to contradict their future boss. In confirmation hearings this week, five of the President-elect’s nominees have distanced themselves from some of his remarks on such hot-button topics as foreign policy, immigration and the military. Some of that is to be expected. After all, Trump has shown himself to be ideologically flexible, and he’s apt to contradict some of his own prior positions. And in some cases, the nominees may need to take a different tack to ensure they can overcome potential objections from key lawmakers, since it would only take a handful of Republican defections to spike a nomination. Trump himself praised their independence Friday, tweeting, “All of my Cabinet nominee are looking good and doing a great job. I want them to be themselves and express their own thoughts, not mine!” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/819858926455967744) Below, here’s where Trump’s picks for attorney general (Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions), secretary of State (former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson), Homeland Security (retired Gen. John Kelly), secretary of Defense (retired Gen. James Mattis) and director of the CIA (Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo) have parted ways. **Russia** _What Trump has said:_ Trump has repeatedly called for friendlier relations with Russia and Vladimir Putin, even in the face of evidence of Russian hacks on the United States. For months he publicly cast doubt about the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia was behind the election-related hacks in 2016, only acknowledging for the first time Wednesday that [Russia was to blame](http://time.com/4631556/donald-trump-russia-fake-news-crap-sick-people/). _Mattis:_ Russia continues to be “an adversary in key areas,” Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense told the Armed Services Committee. “Since Yalta, we have a long list of times that we’ve tried to engage positively with Russia,” Mattis said. “We have a relatively short list of successes in that regard.” _Pompeo:_ In his CIA director hearings before the Intelligence Committee, Pompeo said he accepts the report that found Russia responsible for the hacks: “It is pretty clear what happened here,” he said. He also said it was “clear” that the hacking was designed to affect American democracy and that Russia is in “violation of law of war” for targeting civilians in Syria. _Kelly:_ Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security nominee told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that he believes the intelligence community’s findings on Russian hacks “with high confidence.” **North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)** _What Trump has said:_ Trump has been [skeptical of NATO](http://time.com/4569578/donald-trump-nato-alliance-europe-afghanistan/?iid=sr-link1), repeatedly calling it “obsolete” or suggesting he would renegotiate the terms of the alliance. He also suggested he would only defend NATO allies “if they fulfill their obligations” to the U.S. He has argued forcefully against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying he’ll pull the U.S. out of the trade deal [on his first day in office](http://time.com/4579580/china-donald-trump-tpp-obama-asia-rcep-business-trade/?iid=sr-link1). _Tillerson:_ “I do not oppose TPP,” Tillerson said in his hearings for Secretary of State before the Foreign Relations Committee. He also said Article 5 of NATO, which says an attack on one member country is an attack against all, is “inviolable” and the U.S. will defend NATO allies. _Mattis:_ Mattis affirmed support for NATO, calling it “the most successful military alliance, probably, in modern world history, maybe ever.” **Other aspects of foreign policy** _What Trump has said:_ Trump has said he would back out of the Iran nuclear deal, [saying](http://time.com/4267058/donald-trump-aipac-speech-transcript/?iid=sr-link1), “My number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.” Trump has suggested that it might be beneficial for the U.S. if Japan and South Korea [develop nuclear weapons](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-japan-south-korea-might-need-nuclear-weapons/). _Tillerson:_ Tillerson broke with Trump on the idea that Japan or South Korea should have nuclear weapons. “I do not agree,” he said. “One of the vital roles for the State Department to play … has to be the pursuit of nuclear nonproliferation.” _Mattis:_ Mattis said he would honor the “imperfect arms control agreement” with Iran. “When America gives its word we have to live up to it and work with our allies,” he said. **Treatment of Muslims** _What Trump has said_: In December 2015, Trump proposed temporarily [blocking all Muslim immigration](http://time.com/4139476/donald-trump-shutdown-muslim-immigration/?iid=sr-link9) to the U.S. He has also spoken in favor of putting surveillance on mosques and making American Muslims [register in a database](http://time.com/4121511/donald-trump-muslims-database-terrorism/?iid=sr-link4). _Tillerson:_ “I think what’s important \[is\] that we are able to make a judgment about the people that are coming into the country and so I do not support a blanket-type rejection of any particular group of people,” Tillerson said of the proposed Muslim immigration ban. _Sessions_: In his [hearings for Attorney General ](http://time.com/4630738/jeff-sessions-donald-trump-attorney-general-hearing/?iid=sr-link3)before the Judiciary Committee, the Alabama senator said, “I do not support the idea that Muslims as a religious group should be denied entry to the United States.” He also said, “I would not favor a registry of Muslims in the United States, no I would not. … And I think we should avoid surveillance of religious institutions unless there’s a basis to believe that dangerous or threatening illegal activity is going on there.” _Kelly:_ Kelly said establishing a Muslim database or putting mosques under surveillance could be unconstitutional. He also said he was against banning Muslim immigration to the United States. “I don’t think it is ever appropriate to focus on something like religion as the only factor,” he said. **Torture** _What Trump has said:_ In 2015, Trump said he would [reinstate waterboarding](http://time.com/4123587/donald-trump-waterboarding/?iid=sr-link3): “I would bring it back. I think waterboarding is peanuts compared to what they’d do to us,” he said. And in 2016, he [defended torture](http://time.com/4247397/donald-trump-waterboarding-torture/?iid=sr-link1) at a Republican debate: “We should go for waterboarding and we should go tougher than waterboarding,” he said. _Sessions:_ “Congress has taken an action now that makes it absolutely improper and illegal to use waterboarding or any other form of torture in the United States,” Sessions said. _Pompeo:_ Pompeo said he would not obey orders if Trump asked him to torture. “I can’t imagine that I would be asked that by the President-elect,” he said. _Kelly:_ Kelly said he disagrees with Trump’s plan to expand acceptable torture methods. “I don’t think we should ever come close to crossing a line we Americans expect to follow in terms of interrogation techniques,” he said. **The border wall** _What Trump has said:_ Trump’s central campaign promise is to build a wall along the border with Mexico to help curb illegal immigration. He launched his candidacy in June 2015 saying of undocumented Mexican immigrants, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” _Tillerson:_ “I would never characterize an entire population with any single term at all,” Tillerson said when asked if he would characterize Mexicans as “rapists” or “criminals.” “Mexico is a long standing neighbor and friend of this country.” _Kelly:_ “A physical barrier in and of itself will not do the job,” Kelly said of Trump’s wall. “It has to be layered defense. If you build a wall from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, you still have to back that up with human beings, sensors.” ## Transcript [00:00] Russian involvements in efforts to hack. I do not oppose T [00:01] P P. I have a high degree of confidence in our intelligence [00:06] community. I'm not for the collection or the mass collection [00:09] of data on people. If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider [00:14] that an asset not a liability. I don't think anybody knows it [00:17] was Russia that broke into the DNC. That's pretty clear [00:20] about what took place, about Russian involvement and [00:23] efforts to hack information and to have an impact on [00:26] American democracy. Russia must know that we will be [00:29] accountable to our commitments and those of our friends [00:34] And that Russia must be held to account for its actions. We [00:37] have a long list of times that we've tried to engage [00:40] positively with Russia. We have a relatively short list of [00:44] successes in that regard. We are spending a tremendous [00:47] amount to NATO and other people proportionately less, no [00:51] good. NATO from my perspective Give, having served once [00:54] as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander, is the most [00:58] successful military alliance, probably in modern world [01:01] history, maybe ever. Donald J. Trump is calling for a total [01:02] and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United [01:02] States until [01:10] our country's representative. Can figure out what [01:15] the hell is going on. No I do not support a blanket type [01:19] rejection of any particular group of people. I have no belief [01:24] and do not support the idea that Muslims as a religious [01:28] group should be denied admission to the United States. I [01:32] don't agree with It's registering people based on ethnic or [01:35] religion, or anything like that. And they said, what do you [01:39] think of waterboarding? I said it's absolutely fine. Senator, I [01:42] don't think we should ever come close to crossing [01:46] the line that is beyond what we as Americans would expect [01:50] to follow in terms of interrogation techniques. We will build [01:52] a great wall along The southern border. A physical [01:58] barrier in it of itself will not do the job. It has to really a [02:01] layered defense. 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