Are You Smarter Than a Trump Cabinet Appointee?
Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks struggled to answer basic questions during their Senate confirmation hearings this week.
There was litany of obfuscation and waffling across the board, and such evasive action in response to “gotcha” questions is par for the course. But many non-answers—or outright wrong answers—came when befuddled nominees were asked about the departments and agencies they hope to oversee.
A trio of Trump’s nominees especially fell flat with their responses, but can you do better? Here are the five questions they failed to answer correctly:
1. Can you name a country in ASEAN?
Pete Hegseth was the first to flunk a pop quiz during his confirmation hearing.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth asked Hegseth, who hopes to soon lead the Pentagon, how many countries are in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and if he could share what “type of agreement we have with at least one of those nations?”
Duckworth: How many nations are in ASEAN?
Hegseth: We have allies in South Korea, Japan, and Australia
Duckworth: None of those countries are in ASEAN pic.twitter.com/ZlbjthS4wQ— Acyn (@Acyn) January 14, 2025
Hegseth, 44, quickly conceded he did not know how many countries were in the association. More unfortunate, however, was what he said next: “I know we have allies in South Korea, in Japan, and… in Australia.”
Duckworth immediately cut Hegseth off to point out that none of the countries he mentioned are actually in ASEAN. “I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations,” she said.
(ASEAN comprises 10 nations: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.)
2. As a matter of law, is carbon dioxide a pollutant?
Next up was Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Zeldin, 44, is a former congressman from New York and member of the Army Reserve who has no environmental background. Perhaps that is why Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse lined up “really basic, no tricks questions about climate change” for him to answer.
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE: Is carbon dioxide a pollutant?
LEE ZELDIN: As far as carbon dioxide emitted by you during that question, I would say no. pic.twitter.com/XPnv1aPHWQ— Rowan Saydlowski (@rsaydlowski) January 16, 2025
“As a matter of law, is carbon dioxide a pollutant?” Whitehouse asked to start.
Zeldin gave a convoluted—and sassy—response: “As far as carbon dioxide emitted from you during that question, I would say no. As far as carbon dioxide that is emitted in larger masses, that we hear concern about from scientists, as well as from Congress, that’s something that certainly needs to be focused on for the EPA.”
Whitehouse was not satisfied. “As a matter of law, [carbon dioxide] is a designated pollutant, correct?” he asked again.
“Senator, while carbon dioxide is not named as one of the six in the Clean Air Act, the EPA has been treating it as such,” Zeldin incorrectly responded.
Whitehouse then informed Zeldin the Supreme Court had ruled in 2007 that carbon dioxide is a pollutant as a matter of law.
3. How does car pollution affect the atmosphere?
Zeldin’s pop quiz did not get much better from there.
“What effect are carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion having in the atmosphere?” Whitehouse asked next.
Zeldin did not answer the question head on, instead saying he is “someone who believes strongly that we should work with the scientists, leaving the science to the scientist, the policy to the policymakers, and that we all work together.”
Zeldin added that he is not there “as a scientist.”
“Fortunately, at EPA we do have many talented scientists who provide that research,” he said. “They have that talent to be able to tell us exactly what the metrics are of their research—”
Whitehouse cut him off, pointing out that he asked a simple science question. He requested a straightforward answer.
“Uh, trapping—trapping heat, senator,” Zeldin responded, stuttering.
That answer wasn’t particularly nuanced for someone hoping to lead a federal agency tasked with protecting the environment and human health. However, carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles does contribute to the buildup of greenhouse gases—or as Zeldin put it, “trapping heat”—that is believed to accelerate climate change.
4. What’s the 1.5 degree risk threshold and its importance?
Perhaps it’s best for you to quit your confirmation hearing out of sheer awkwardness at this point? No one actually said this to Zeldin, but Whitehouse might have been thinking it as he hit the nominee with more climate questions.
Next up, he asked Zeldin if Earth had hit the “1.5 degree risk threshold” and why that threshold is important.
Zeldin again wiggled his way out of a straight answer, saying he would “defer to the talented scientists to be able to provide that advice on an ongoing basis.”
The correct answer would have been: Yes. The world briefly hit that warming threshold last year. (PBS reported that remaining at or above this threshold will lead to “increased deaths, destruction, species loss, and sea level rise.”)
Whitehouse did not press for a better answer on the threshold, but did ask Zeldin if he could name any key climate “tipping points.” The EPA appointee was unable to offer up a single one.
5. Did Trump lose to Joe Biden in the 2020 election?
It’s the MAGA world’s least favorite question: Did President Joe Biden actually defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election?
Despite the president-elect’s years of objections, the resounding answer—backed by election agencies across the country—is in the affirmative.
Even more than four years later, however, Trump’s attorney general nominee Pam Bondi was visibly uncomfortable giving a straight answer when Sen. Dick Durbin flat out asked her: “Are you prepared to say today, under oath, without reservation, that Donald Trump lost the presidential contest to Joe Biden in 2020?”
Pam Bondi REFUSES to admit that Donald Trump LOST the 2020 election.
"I think that question deserved a yes or no, and I think the length of your answer is an indication that you weren't prepared to answer yes." pic.twitter.com/VlL0NWoBza— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) January 15, 2025
Instead, Bondi responded: “President Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.”
The 59-year-old former Florida attorney general continued by suggesting she witnessed voter fraud in Pennsylvania—a swing state that famously broke Biden’s way in 2020.
“When I went to Pennsylvania as an advocate for the campaign… I saw many things there,“ Bondi claimed. ”But do I accept the results? Of course, I do.”
Durbin was not impressed with her answer, suggesting her word salad of a response to a simple question revealed how she truly felt.
“I think that question deserved yes or no, and I think the length of your answer is an indication that you weren’t prepared to answer yes,” he said.
Now the question is: Were you as flummoxed as these nominees?