1st confirmation hearing for Biden Cabinet pick Friday
Five key Senate panels have now confirmed that they will hold confirmation hearings for Biden's top national security officials before Inauguration Day -- although it remains unlikely most of his picks will be confirmed by day one.
Avril Haines will have her hearing Friday to be Director of National Intelligence, while four others will have theirs on Tuesday -- Tony Blinken for secretary of state, Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary, Lloyd Austin for Defense secretary, and Alejandro Mayorkas for Homeland Security secretary.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/avril-haines-gty-rc-201123_1606154721345_hpEmbed_2_22x15_992.jpg)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hasn't scheduled a hearing yet for Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden's pick for U.N. ambassador and a member of his Cabinet, despite her being announced in November. Bill Burns, Biden's pick to be CIA director, also doesn't have a hearing scheduled yet, but Biden only announced his intention to nominate Burns Monday.
It's unclear how long after a confirmation hearing any of these Cabinet picks can be confirmed, especially with an impeachment trial -- but they'll require a committee vote and then a full Senate vote. It's likely most won't be confirmed and in position on Inauguration Day.
Biden's team has escalated pressure this week to confirm his national security Cabinet as soon as possible.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/General/joe-biden-justice-department-nominees-01-rts-llr-210107_1610047780685_hpMain.jpg)
In contrast, on Trump's Inauguration Day, the Senate confirmed both John Kelly as Department of Homeland Security secretary and Jim Mattis as Department of Defense secretary, and 11 more Trump nominees already had their confirmation hearings. President Barack Obama had seven Cabinet chiefs confirmed on Inauguration Day, while six more had confirmation hearings by then and his Defense Secretary Bob Gates stayed on from the Bush administration, according to the U.S. Senate website.
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Molly Nagle