Flurry of Trump confirmation hearings begins

WASHINGTON - A marathon of Senate confirmation hearings starting Tuesday will give Democrats the chance to put Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees on trial even though they have little chance of actually causing a casualty.

Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is in talks with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the full scope of the hearings demanding, among other things, full paperwork in advance and at least two days of hearings on eight of the most troublesome nominees for Democrats.

A ninth candidate - Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, picked to become attorney general - also will face heavy fire but isn't on Schumer's list.

All of Trump's picks are expected to win confirmation, barring unexpected revelations or major gaffes. Republicans with a 52-48 majority ultimately control whether any nominees will be rejected after Democrats eliminated the 60-vote threshold in 2013.

Here are eight picks Schumer's office cited as most troublesome for Democrats, along with Sessions, whose hearing begins Tuesday:

Rex Tillerson

Secretary of State

Tillerson, who stepped down as chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. upon his nomination, comes from outside the foreign policy establishment but has the backing of some of its biggest names, including former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Democrats will focus on his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and whether Tillerson can put U.S. interests first after a 40-year career focused on boosting Exxon's shareholder value. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to impose new sanctions on Russia for election-related computer hacking. Tillerson has spoken out against sanctions.

Steven Mnuchin

Secretary of Treasury

The former Goldman Sachs partner was national finance chairman for Trump's campaign and would play a key role in tax policy and foreign trade agreements.

Democrats will point out that Mnuchin profited from the 2007-2008 housing crash when he and investors bought a failed mortgage lender that was accused of unfair practices when Mnuchin was chief executive, including backdating mortgage documents to speed foreclosures.

Wilbur Ross

Commerce Secretary

Ross would be one of the most seasoned former business leaders on Trump's economic team. He restructured companies across a range of industries including steel, banking and textiles.

But Ross's background opens him to the same line of attack Mitt Romney faced when he ran for president in 2012 - that he was a corporate raider who flipped companies for profit while firing workers.

Tom Price

Health and Human Services Secretary

Price, the House Budget Committee chairman until his nomination, will face questions from Democrats on his trades in health care stocks while handling legislation that could affect them.

Price is a leading opponent of Obamacare, proposing in 2015 to focus on providing tax credits to buy insurance, expanding health savings accounts and revising malpractice laws.

Mick Mulvaney

Office of Management and Budget

Mulvaney, chosen to shepherd Trump's budget proposals through, was elected to the House from South Carolina as part of the tea party wave of 2010. He's a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which pushed to shut down the government in 2015 rather than continue funding Planned Parenthood.

Andy Puzder

Secretary of Labor

Puzder, chief executive of the company that owns the Hardee's and Carl's Jr. burger chains, opposes the Obama administration rule to expand the number of workers eligible for overtime and its proposal to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10.

In a July opinion piece, Puzder said legal immigration is an asset and that it would be 'unworkable” to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants. But he said Trump's proposal to build a border wall was reasonable.

Scott Pruitt

Environmental Protection Agency

Pruitt, Oklahoma's attorney general since 2010, is an oil industry ally and foe of the Obama administration's climate agenda. He joined other attorneys general in suing the EPA to block the Clean Power Plan. He helped get a court order blocking an EPA rule to expand the scope of the Clean Water Act, a rule opposed by many farmers, but has criticized biofuel mandates.

Jeff Sessions

Attorney General

It would be rare for a sitting senator not to get confirmed, despite Sessions' being rejected for a judgeship in the 1980s over racial comments.

The senator will face questions on his opposition to legal status for undocumented immigrants, especially those brought here as children.

And he can expect grilling on the Voting Rights Act, a key piece of which was struck down by the Supreme Court.

Betsy DeVos

Secretary of Education

DeVos has spent more than two decades promoting expanded charter schools and taxpayer-funded school vouchers.

In her home state of Michigan, she helped shepherd a charter-school sector that has been criticized as lacking quality and oversight.