President-elect Donald Trump was elected with one term last week. Now he’s using it to challenge Republican senators to confirm his Cabinet picks, which range from the predictable to the downright unconventional.
Trump began by fleshing out his incoming administration with conventional figures. Susie Wiles, a respected GOP strategist who ran his successful campaign, would make sure the rains left on time as his chief of staff. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, an institutionalist who has embraced Trump’s “America First” agenda, would handle diplomacy as secretary of state. Tim Homan, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would return to a role in border enforcement.
He then announced the candidates that caught the MP off guard. Fox News anchor and US Army veteran Pete Hegseth was chosen to lead the Pentagon. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat-turned-Trump ally who previously met with Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, was slated to become director of National Intelligence.
Pete Hegseth rides into an elevator with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on December 15, 2016.
Evan Vucci/AP
And finally, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida would head the Justice Department despite the House Ethics Committee investigating allegations of sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl. He has denied the claims, and the Justice Department — the agency he would lead if elected — declined to press charges after a similar investigation. Spokesman Mike Johnson announced Wednesday night that Gaetz had resigned from Congress effective immediately. His resignation will mark the end of the Ethics Commission’s investigation.
Now, as the new Senate majority prepares to take control in January and work with the president-elect, Trump is flexing, betting that they will push through after Republicans on Capitol Hill touted the need for unity.
“He’s nominating the exact people he wants, knowing he can confirm if he has enough Republicans,” said former Senate GOP aide Brian Darling. “And I think it will be confirmed that Trump’s threats to Republican primaries in the past have really scared many Trump Republicans into retirement and caused many of them to lose primaries.”
“It’s challenging,” Darling said. “I think they all get confirmed. Not without controversy, but I think they get confirmed.”
The recent nominations of Hegseth, Gabbard and Gaetz were not announced before Washington, Gaetz especially raised eyebrows shortly after Trump announced that selection.
While Hegseth and Gabbard are “likely” to be confirmed, a current Senate Republican aide predicted, Gaetz is “on the bubble.”
“I don’t think this is a serious appointment for attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general and I look forward to the opportunity to consider someone who is serious. This was not in my bingo card,” Alaska. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key GOP swing vote, told reporters after Gaetz’s nomination was announced.
“That’s why the Senate’s consultation and consensus process is so important. I’m sure there will be many, many questions at Mr. Gaetz’s hearing,” added Maine Sen. Susan Collins, another moderate Republican.
The reality of the upcoming confirmation battles is hitting Republicans who have just completed a contentious and high-profile process to create a new Senate leadership team.
“Ninety-nine percent of the discussion has been, who’s going to be the new leader, what are the rules going to be, how do we work with the transition team. Getting into the weeds on specific candidates, I’ve heard no. Talk about that,” said the current Senate Republican aide.
Earlier Wednesday, the new Senate GOP leaders were projecting the need for unity and cooperation with Trump.
“What we’re going to do is make sure we’re processing his nominees to put him (Trump) in a position to implement his agenda,” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate Republican leader, starting next year. , he said Wednesday before announcing Gaetz’s appointment. “Obviously, we’re going to look at and look at every option to make sure they move and make sure they move quickly.”
Senate Majority Leader-elect John Thune, with his newly elected leadership team, answers a question from the media after the Senate Republican leadership vote at the U.S. Capitol, November 13, 2024, in Washington.
Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
However, the more controversial picks stand out from more conventional Cabinet picks like Rubio and could create friction between at least some Republican senators and a president-elect who is undoubtedly the leader of his own party.
“When you have candidates like Marco Rubio who are going to get through the Senate with more than 90 votes, and then you get some of these other people who are probably looking at party votes, it’s hard to say,” one outside consultant said. He told a member of the new Senate leadership team when asked if some of the more controversial picks could be confirmed. “Some of these candidates certainly have more work to do than others.”
“I think (Trump) feels empowered, sure, to find a way to run and govern, and in many ways, these picks reflect that,” the person added. “As a body, I think they’re going to work closely together. They’ve got a lot of things to do in the next two years, hopefully four years.”
Some activists belittled Trump by arguing that he was challenging Senate Republicans, arguing that Trump was pushing his administration to be workers’ comp after being elected by voters hungry for change.
“He doesn’t see it as, ‘I’ve got to find common ground with these guys.’ These are my choices. It’s not like he’s daring them. He’s saying, ‘These are the ones I want, people told me to make changes, and I’m going to do it,'” he said. said Sean Spicer, press secretary of the Trump White House.
Rep. Matt Gaetz leaves after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland on February 23, 2024.
Alex Brandon/AP
Trump could also go through the Senate: Before the leadership election, Republicans insisted that he be given the ability to make temporary appointments while Congress is out of session, a request that the GOP majority in the Senate quickly approved.
But if Trump were to put his nominees through the typical confirmation process, he would assert his dominance within the Republican Party and generally seek GOP unity, much to the surprise of some lawmakers, with some of his most contentious choices.
“He’s definitely saying, ‘I’m in charge. I won the popular vote. I won the Electoral College, and we have to come together,'” said Martha Zoller, a Republican Senate aide in Trump’s first campaign. the term
Still, Zoller said, “I think there’s going to be more than one of those candidates that we can go to No. 2.”
