Mike Allen: “Trump’s nominees face an unusual hurdle: They don’t just have to defend themselves — they’ll be barraged with questions about their boss’s tweets and campaign statements. The hearings are the highest profile chance Democrats have had to bash the president-elect, and they plan to take advantage.”

“People prepping the nominees tell me that the strategy is to answer the topic not the question, and let Trump fight his own fights. On the border wall, for example, nominees are coached to say they understand the role Congress has to play, ‘and we look forward to working with you.'”

“The one absolute rule: Don’t say anything bad about Trump.”

“President-elect Donald Trump plans to give his Cabinet secretaries and top aides significant latitude to run their federal agencies, marking a sharp departure from Barack Obama’s tightly controlled management style, according to people involved in and close to the transition,” Politico reports.

“Trump, they say, doesn’t usually like getting into day-to-day minutiae or taking lengthy briefings on issues. He doesn’t have particularly strong feelings on the intricacies of some government issues and agencies, these people say, and would rather focus on high-profile issues, publicity and his brand.”

“And he’s expected to grant his Cabinet lots of autonomy — at least until he sees something as a problem or an issue involves significant publicity or money.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) rebuffed Democratic calls to slow down rapid confirmation of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, even after a nonpartisan federal watchdog raised “great” concerns about moving ahead with hearings for nominees without their ethics reviews completed, Politico reports.

Said McConnell: “I know how it feels when you’re coming into a new situation and the other guy’s won the election. What did we do? We confirmed seven Cabinet appointments the day President Obama was sworn in. We didn’t like most of them either. But he won the election. So all of these little procedural complaints are related to their frustrations.”

Doyle McManus: “To outward appearances, Donald Trump’s transition has been humming steadily toward his inauguration on Jan. 20. The president-elect has named all but a few members of his prospective Cabinet, and some will begin confirmation hearings this week. Meanwhile, Trump Tower has issued a torrent of White House staff announcements, from a new chief of staff, Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus, to a reality TV star, Omarosa Manigault.”

“Yet there are signs of trouble, and veterans of past administrations from both parties have warned that chaos almost surely lies ahead.”

Politico: “Seated beneath bright lights that mimic the conditions of a camera-packed hearing room, President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks are being put through hours-long mock confirmation hearings this weekend to prepare for the Senate grillings that may decide their fates. Numerous murder board sessions are being run in anticipation of one of the most consequential weeks for the Trump transition: Nine of the president-elect’s Cabinet picks, many of whom have no federal government experience, will face Senate questioning this week — including hostile Democrats eager to score points on everything from the president-elect’s admiration of Vladimir Putin to the candidate’s wealth and potential conflicts-of-interest.”

“The idea is to replicate the high-pressure environment of a televised hearing where senators may lob questions in rapid succession about arcane and awkward topics in an effort to trip them up.”