With confirmation hearings coming up soon for Trump’s nominees to his cabinet, we’re taking a step back to answer some basic questions.

A lot of us haven’t studied civics since 7th grade, so here are some useful refreshers on the process and what these leaders of government departments actually do.

First up: why do we even have confirmation? 🧵

https://theconversation.com/why-does-the-senate-confirm-trumps-picks-for-key-posts-and-how-a-legal-scholar-explains-the-confirmation-process-and-the-constitutional-loophole-of-recess-appointments-243646?notice=Article+has+been+updated.

Here’s what the Attorney General does:

https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-us-attorney-general-actually-do-a-law-professor-explains-245117

Here’s what the Secretary of Education does: #edusky

https://theconversation.com/us-secretary-of-education-helps-set-national-priorities-in-a-system-primarily-funded-and-guided-by-local-governments-245139

Here’s what the Director of National Intelligence does, written by someone who used to work very closely with the DNI:

https://theconversation.com/how-a-director-of-national-intelligence-helps-a-president-stay-on-top-of-threats-from-around-the-world-245138

The Director of the FBI isn’t a cabinet position, but we thought we’d explain what they do, too:

https://theconversation.com/fbi-director-guides-the-agency-in-confronting-complex-international-threats-investigating-federal-crimes-and-running-55-field-offices-245506

We’ll be publishing a bunch more of these profiles in January, so watch for the links here or subscribe to our free Politics Weekly newsletter:

https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/subscribe/?promoted=politics-weekly-74