Trump's Cabinet will hardly be appointed without the approval of these 9 Senators.
Báo Tin Tức•19/11/2024
Even excluding Democratic senators, Mr. Trump still faces many challenges within the Republican Party if he wants the Senate to approve his entire Cabinet list in the next term.
Former US President Donald Trump (center) at a New York court on October 4, 2023. Photo: AFP/TTXVN
Currently, many Republican senators are emerging as potential obstacles to President-elect Trump's somewhat controversial selection of cabinet members. Mr. Trump has had a relationship that is considered "not very good" with a number of Republican senators. With a rather fragile majority advantage in the US Senate, if all Democratic senators and 4 Republican senators do not approve, Mr. Trump's cabinet nominees will have to stop "at the threshold of heaven". In particular, the nomination of former Congressman Matt Gaetz as Attorney General and Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary - who have been the focus of controversy over the past week - has been criticized by some senators in the party. Here is a list of 9 Republican senators that Mr. Trump and his cabinet nominees must find a way to neutralize if they do not want a bad confirmation result from the Senate. First is Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. She had hinted at the possibility of opposing Mr Gaetz shortly after he was announced as Trump’s pick for attorney general, saying: “I don’t think this is a serious nomination for attorney general. We need a serious attorney general.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Source: Wikipedia
Ms. Murkowski was also seen as skeptical of Mr. Trump's choice of Mr. Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services. She also expressed surprise at Mr. Trump's choice of Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host, to head the Department of Defense. "I'm not going to comment on whether it's good, bad or normal," she said. "I'm just surprised that the names I've heard for secretary of defense don't include him." Second was Senator Susan Collins of Maine. She immediately expressed skepticism after Mr. Gaetz was nominated to be attorney general. "I'm sure there will be a lot of questions at his hearing," she said. "Obviously the president has the right to nominate whoever he wants, but I'm sure there will be a lot of questions." Ms. Collins is also expected to scrutinize Mr. Trump's choice of Mr. Kennedy because she also sits on the Senate Health Committee. She said some of Mr Kennedy’s past comments were “alarming”. The third was Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah, who leads a conservative climate group and has pushed back against climate change skeptics. Mr Curtis is not seen as having a good relationship with Mr Gaetz, who criticized him during the election.
Senator-elect John Curtis of Utah. Source: Wikipedia
Fourth is Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. He is expected to take over as chairman of the Senate Health Committee next year, which would give him the authority to nominate Kennedy to head the HHS. Cassidy is a physician and has been a strong supporter of vaccinations — the opposite of Kennedy’s HHS nominee. He was also unimpressed with Hegseth’s nomination to head the Defense Department, citing his lack of experience managing large organizations like the Pentagon. Fifth is Senator Todd Young of Indiana. He was one of several Republicans who voted for a 2022 bill to address gun violence. At the time, Gaetz said any Republican senator who supported the measure would be a traitor to the Constitution.
Sixth is Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst. Ernst said Gaetz would have to “climb uphill” to win enough votes to be attorney general. She is also considered uncertain about voting for Tulsi Gabbard’s nominee for director of national intelligence and Hegseth’s nominee for defense secretary. She said she wants to meet with Gabbard before making any decisions. Seventh is North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. He has hinted that Gaetz may not have much support in the Senate. “Congressman Gaetz will have his hearing, but I’m only interested in the vote count, and I think he’s probably going to have to work very hard to get a strong vote,” he said.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Source: Wikipedia
Mr. Tillis also said Mr. Hegseth would have to answer some tough questions at his Senate confirmation hearing. He said Mr. Hegseth’s lack of experience leading large organizations would be an issue at his confirmation hearing. The eighth was Senator John Cornyn of Texas. He is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has asked the committee to be given full access to the findings of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Mr. Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. He warned that if evidence of wrongdoing were found, Mr. Gaetz could be “an embarrassment to the president.” He also expressed surprise that Mr. Trump had chosen Ms. Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, given her past opposition to US claims that Syrian President Assad used chemical weapons against his own people and her defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine. Ninth is Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has also expressed displeasure with Mr. Trump’s nomination of Mr. Gaetz to head the Justice Department, saying it would undermine public confidence in the nation’s law enforcement. Mr. McConnell is also expected to take a hard look at Ms. Gabbard’s previous statements about Russia when she was nominated to be the Director of National Intelligence.
Binh Thanh/Tin Tuc Newspaper(According to ABC news)
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