President-elect Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions began appearing before Senate committees this week for confirmation hearings.  Among those who testified were Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General before the Senate Judiciary Committee; Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Elaine Chao for Secretary of Transportation before the Senate Commerce Committee; and Ben Carson for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.  Additional hearings are scheduled for next week: Wilbur Ross for Secretary of Commerce before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education before the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee.