This week, the U.S. Senate begins holding confirmation hearings on President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Below is a snapshot of the political contributions made by or to those appointees.

For nominees who have run for federal office, MapLight has looked at the top donors to their campaigns. For other appointees, MapLight has analyzed their contributions to political committees -- campaigns, parties, PACs, and super PACs.

This post will be updated as hearings are scheduled.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)

U.S. Attorney General nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 10 before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Sessions has been in the U.S. Senate since 1997.
Here are the top donors to Sessions’ most recent Senate campaign in 2014, including corporate PACs and executives of those companies.

Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, a super PAC, spent $13,500 to support Sessions’ campaign.

Gen. John Kelly (Ret.)

Homeland Security secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 10 before the Senate Homeland Security Committee
No known campaign contributions

Elaine Chao

Transportation secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 11 before the Senate Commerce Committee
Chao, the wife of Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), served as Labor Secretary under President George W. Bush.

Here are the top recipients of Chao’s contributions since 1999:

Chao has also given $11,000 total to support her husband’s Senate campaigns (1996, 2002, and 2014).

Rex Tillerson

Secretary of State nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 11 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, retired from the oil giant at the end of 2016.

Here are the top recipients of Tillerson’s contributions since 1999:

During the 2016 election cycle, Tillerson gave $35,000 to the Republican National Committee, $33,400 to the NRSC, and $5,000 to the NRCC.

Here are the top recipients of the ExxonMobil PAC contributions 2007-2016:

ExxonMobil has reported spending $8.8 million to lobby the federal government in 2016. Since 2008, the company has spent over $140 million.

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas)

CIA director nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 12 before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Pompeo was first elected to Congress in 2012.
Top donors to Pompeo’s most recent campaign in 2016, including corporate PACs and employees of those firms:

Dr. Ben Carson

Housing secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 12 before the the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, was a 2016 Republican presidential candidate.

Individual donors contributed nearly all of the money Carson raised for his presidential campaign. Of those people, 42 percent gave $200 or more.

The following outside groups were the top spenders on ads, mailers, and other communications to support Carson’s campaign:

Gen. James Mattis (Ret.)

Defense secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 12 before the Senate Armed Services Committee
Mattis retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2013, after a 41-year career.
No known campaign contributions.

Betsy DeVos

Education Secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 17 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
DeVos is a charter school advocate and co-owner, along with her husband, Richard, of the Windquest Group, a private equity firm. Previously, Richard DeVos was president of Amway, the company his father co-founded.

Here are the top recipients of Betsy DeVos’s contributions since the 1990 election cycle:

About half of all of Devos’s lifetime contributions were made during the 2016 election cycle.

Wilbur Ross

Commerce secretary nominee
Confirmation hearing: Jan. 18 before the Senate Commerce Committee
Ross, a billionaire, is the founder of the investment firm WL Ross & Co.

Here are the top recipients of Ross’s contributions since the 2012 election cycle:

See original report here: Trump's Cabinet Nominees Campaign Contributions