Trump's outsider Cabinet picks are rapidly gaining support for confirmation

[January 16, 2025]  By LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON (AP) — One by one, all the president-elect’ s men, and women, are falling into place in his Cabinet.

While Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth's nomination was teetering toward collapse just weeks ago, he now appears on track for confirmation after a fiery Senate hearing that focused on his drinking, views of women in combat and lack of high-profile management experience for the top U.S. military job.

President-elect Donald Trump’s other nominees pushed Wednesday through a gauntlet of confirmation hearings with the help of allied Senate Republicans carrying them toward the finish line, despite Democratic objections. One of them, potential FBI director Kash Patel, popped into a private Senate GOP lunch Wednesday to say hello.

“These nominees are bold choices,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the GOP whip, in earlier remarks.

He predicted the Senate will begin start voting on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, to confirm Trump's picks.

A long haul for some of Trump's picks

To be sure, Trump’s more controversial choices of Patel, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., have yet to come before senators for public questioning. Once they do, they face a long haul ahead in winning over skeptics from both sides of the political aisle, Republicans and Democrats alike.

In a letter to Republican senators Wednesday, an organization headed by Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, said it was “deeply concerned” over Kennedy over his views on abortion, and urged senators to reject him for secretary of Health and Human Services.

But Hegseth’s ability to mount a political comeback, take the fight to his critics and turn his nomination into a litmus test of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement stands as a powerful example of the incoming White House’s ability to get what it wants. The Trump team's allies, including billionaire Elon Musk and others, amplified support for Hegseth, pushing him forward.

“If anyone in the Senate GOP votes against confirming Pete Hegseth after his stellar performance today, there will be a primary challenge waiting for you,” wrote Trump ally Charlie Kirk on X. “You can take that to the bank.”

Momentum for Hegseth — and some others

The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to vote on Hegseth’s nomination on Monday, sending it to the full Senate for consideration, with confirmation possible later that week.

With a nod of support from GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who initially had questions for Hegseth, the former Army National Guard veteran powered past his biggest potential roadblock. Ernst faced an onslaught of personal and political attacks as she wavered on supporting Hegseth, an early signal to others.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said the criticism of Hegseth was not as powerful as the image of “a warrior with dust on his boots who’s actually done the things.”

On Wednesday, a half dozen more Trump nominees appeared before Senate committees as his team floods the zone, senators dashing between hearing rooms to participate in as many sessions as possible.

Pam Bondi, the nominee for Attorney General, was grilled by Democrats probing whether she believed Trump lost the 2020 election, she said Biden won, or would stand up to presidential pardons for those convicted of crimes in relation to Jan. 6, 2021.

“You say the right things, that you're going to be the ‘people’s lawyer,'" said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense secretary, gives a thumbs-up at the completion of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“But I believe being the ‘people’s lawyer' means you have to be able to say no to the president of the United States,” he said. "You have to be able to say Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, you dodged that question... You have to be able to say Jan. 6 insurrectionists who committed violence shouldn't be pardoned."

Bondi responded: “I don't have to say anything. I will answer the questions to the best of my ability, and honestly.”

Another Trump nominee, Russ Vought, a Project 2025 architect tapped to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget, was asked if he would commit to releasing congressional approved funding for Ukraine. He vowed to "always commit to upholding the law.”

And California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla asked Trump's Energy nominee Chris Wright if he still believes “wildfires are just hype,” in the aftermath of the devastating Southern California fires that have killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Wright said he stood by his past comments. He then said climate change is real before Padilla cut him off.

Republicans eye quick votes after Trump's inauguration

On Monday, Trump is expected come inside the Capitol after he is inaugurated to sign the paperwork to formally nominate his picks for top Cabinet and administrative positions, launching the confirmation process.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the Senate will vote on nominees as soon as they are ready.

First up could be Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a former Trump rival for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, who is now the president-elect's choice for secretary of state.

Rubio promised an “America First” foreign policy agenda during his own confirmation hearing Wednesday. As a well-known senator, he is expected to have broad support from Republicans, as well as Democrats. His confirmation vote could be as soon as Monday evening.

Other nominees, including Hegseth, are expected to face a tougher path to confirmation.

Republicans narrowly hold a majority in the Senate, 53-47, but they are down to 52 after Vice President-elect JD Vance resigned his seat last week ahead of taking office. That means Trump's nominees need support from almost every GOP senator for majority confirmation over objections from Democrats.

Moreover, Democrats are expected to mount procedural hurdles that would require Hegseth and other nominees to go through multiple steps before final confirmation. Consideration of Hegseth and others could drag toward the end of next week.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer all but acknowledged Democrats, as the minority, are essentially powerless to prevent Trump from getting his desired team.

“It’s important to have a record of these nominees,” Schumer said Wednesday as the hearings pushed ahead. “Even if they get confirmed in the end.”

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Matt Brown, Farnoush Amiri and Josh Boak in Washington and Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

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