Shortly after Donald Trump was elected in November of last year, Coins2Day released a list of women who might end up in his cabinet.
At the time, a dozen women were in the mix—ranging from Oklahoma’s controversial governor Mary Fallin to John McCain’s VP pick in the 2008 presidential campaign, Sarah Palin. But only four women have so far made the cut.
Assuming the president-elect does not add any additional women to his list (and he may—some positions, including secretary of agriculture remain open), he would be the first U.S. President in more than 20 years to have a cabinet that was less than 24% female. (Currently, there are 18 people slated to be a part of Trump’s cabinet—14 men and four women).
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The clock is ticking to fill remaining cabinet positions, as Senate’s confirmation hearing s for Trump’s picks kicked off Monday. The first female nominee to testify is Elaine Chao, the president-elect’s choice for Transportation Secretary.
Here’s a rundown of the confirmation schedule for each the four nominated women:
Elaine Chao, Transportation Secretary
Confirmation hearing date: Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 10:15 a.m.
Chao, 63, is married to Mitch McConnell, the senate majority leader of Kentucky. She was labor secretary during George W. Bush’s presidency, and was the first Asian American woman to serve in a president’s cabinet.
As a Washington insider well-known to both parties, Chao’s hearing is expected to one of the smoothest. Indeed, when Politico asked Senate Commerce Committee members to share their expectations for her hearing, ranking member Bill Nelson (D-FL) predicted it would be “a piece of cake.”
Betsy DeVos, Education Secretary
Confirmation hearing date: Originally scheduled for Jan. 11, DeVos’ meeting has been bumped to Tuesday Jan. 17 at 5 p.m.
DeVos, 58, is former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman. Shortly after her nomination, she pledged to oversee a “transformational change” in U.S. Education, something she has already pursued in her home state of Michigan. Devos is the daughter-in-law of Richard DeVos, co-founder of marketing company Amway.
DeVos’s nomination has been controversial for a variety of reasons. While the committee says it opted to push her hearing back for scheduling reasons, the decision comes in the wake of concerns from Democrats that DeVos, who is a billionaire and active Republican donor, had not yet been cleared by ethics officials or signed an agreement addressing possible conflicts of interest.
In addition to questions on education, Democrats may ask DeVos tough questions about her political donations, ties to groups opposing LGBT rights, and her efforts to oppose organized labor efforts, according to Politico.
Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Confirmation hearing date: Possibly Jan. 18, but not yet confirmed.
Nikki Haley, 44, is currently the governor of South Carolina, where she is the first woman and first Indian American to hold that position in the state. Before Trump became the Republican nominee, Haley endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in February. She is also the youngest governor in the country.
The Charleston Post Courier reports that despite Haley’s paucity of foreign policy experience, her hearing is expected to be relatively straight forward—thanks largely to her dealings with international governments and companies doing business in her state.
Linda McMahon: Head of Trump’s Small Business Administration
Confirmation hearing date: Not yet determined.
McMahon, 68, unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012. Together with her husband Vince McMahon, she co-founded the pro-wrestling company WWE.
