AMNA NAWAZ: Today, more of president-elect Donald Trump's picks for key Cabinet positions faced questions from senators on Capitol Hill in another mammoth day of confirmation hearings.

Our Lisa Desjardins has been covering these all, and she joins me now with the latest.

Another busy day, Lisa.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let's start with the nominee for Treasury secretary.

What do we need to know about him and how he sees the office?

LISA DESJARDINS: Scott Bessent is actually someone who's very well-known in high finance, famous even, and he has a distinct resume.

So, let's talk about it.

He used to work as a top executive for George Soros.

He was a Democrat at times.

He's a hedge fund founder, but he has more recently been a Donald Trump megadonor.

He is openly gay, Amna, and that would be historic because, if confirmed, he would be the first Republican Cabinet secretary to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Now, a major focus in this hearing was, of course, taxes, which he would oversee, tax policy.

And the 2017 tax cuts by Donald Trump, which would end at the end of this year, tax rates would go up for most of us and for businesses as well.

He said that this would be cataclysmic for the economy, but Democrats say tax cuts should only be kept in place for those making under $400,000.

Otherwise, they say it's a giveaway to the wealthy.

He disagrees, as you can hear in this exchange.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Do you agree that ending the tax cuts for those making more than $400,000 would help close the deficit and reduce our national debt?

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. Treasury Secretary Nominee: Senator Warnock, I do not.

I believe that you would capture an inordinate amount of small business people.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: What about $1 billion?

SCOTT BESSENT: Sir, again, that I think that these are the job creators.

LISA DESJARDINS: So, it's a real debate over who would benefit here.

Another big topic, tariffs, as we have been focusing on as an organization.

He defended Trump's tariff push as something that is sound and can be used in multiple ways.

But Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said, no, this is something that would hurt average Americans, people who can afford it the least.

So, I want to play their exchange.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): It's going to be paid for by workers and small businesses.

So, your response?

SCOTT BESSENT: Yes, Senator, I would respectfully disagree.

Foreign manufacturers, especially China, especially China, which is trying to export their way out of their current economic malaise, they will continue cutting prices to maintain market share.

SEN. RON WYDEN: That's an academic view of it.

But what I know is the history of this is it clobbers people of modest means.

LISA DESJARDINS: This is a critical debate not just for this country, but for the world, depending on how Trump moves forward with tariffs.

Overall, though, Bessent was very measured throughout and there really is a feeling that he's on a glide path to confirmation.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let's turn from the Treasury now to the top environmental officer.

The man nominated to lead the EPA also face senators.

Tell us about that.

LISA DESJARDINS: Right.

All right, we're talking about Lee Zeldin.

He's someone who's a former congressman from New York and ran for governor, lost that race, but he's generally seen as someone who's a little bit more moderate.

He has been a very strong Trump supporter.

Here, we're talking about a situation where Trump has made it clear that he wants to actually dismantle the EPA and roll back some protections that Democrats feel are important.

Zeldin has said he is more pro-energy as well.

He was asked about that idea of dismantling the EPA today.

He said he professed ignorance over that concept, which we know Trump has talked about, didn't really answer those questions.

But he was really more held to account for his own past words on climate.

We know the Environmental Protection Agency key in what is pollution, what is affecting the climate.

In 2016, he said this.

He said that the U.S. must move away from fossil fuels and pursue green energy.

So I want to play an exchange where he was asked about those words and where he is on those today.

They pressed him on that.

SEN. EDWARD MARKEY (D-MA): I said, do you believe it's imperative that we, using our words, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels?

Do you still believe that?

LEE ZELDIN, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Nominee: In considering all factors, in an ideal world, we would be able to pursue always the cleanest, greenest energy sources possible.

SEN. EDWARD MARKEY: Well, I'm not hearing you say you agree with Lee Zeldin in 2016.

LISA DESJARDINS: So we have to really watch him on the job and see if he's now a different person regarding the climate.

Overall, he did question whether some pollutants are pollutants, and we're going to track that as well.

AMNA NAWAZ: Another key figure in energy and environment also took questions from senators today.

What stood out to you from North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who's nominated to be interior secretary?

LISA DESJARDINS: Our viewers know from your reporting too, Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, presidential candidate.

Now, he is also an energy expert.

One thing that stood out, Amna, is what he was not asked about.

I'm going to get to that in a second.

He talked about drilling.

He talked about saying he's open to all forms of energy.

Now, this hearing, though, comes in an important time, one day after Donald Trump put this out on TRUTH Social about energy.

He wrote that he does not want any windmills built during his time in office.

He wants that to stop.

Burgum was asked about this, and he said he does want to prioritize fuel, that is, fossil fuel.

That's something that renewable fuel people need to pay a lot of attention to.

Now, what was he not asked about?

His potential conflicts.

He also is a multimillionaire, and he is not divesting from everything.

But that didn't come up.

It's just another sign that he's on a glide path.

This was not contentious.

Democrats are accepting that his fait is pretty much accompli.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, another piece of news in the Republican Party I want to ask you about, a rare move by the speaker of the House to oust a chairman, in this case from the Intelligence Committee.

What do we know about this?

LISA DESJARDINS: It's so stunning.

Mike Turner, the Republican former chairman of the Intelligence Committee, someone very pro-NATO, also pro-some intelligence maneuvers like the FISA program, which is used to gain intelligence, now, he was asked to leave.

He's been pushed out by Speaker Mike Johnson.

Turner said to CBS that he was told Mar-a-Lago is involved, that this was something to do with Trump.

Johnson has denied that.

But there is real concern, there is split concern over whether this is Trump trying to sort of change the intelligence community to his benefit.

Others say, no, Turner was not a good chairman.

He kind of didn't tell some colleagues earlier last year when he made a big statement about threats, and he wasn't popular.

So we're still going to -- this is another thing.

I keep saying this, but we're going to have to watch it very closely.

AMNA NAWAZ: We will watch very closely indeed.

Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.