Donald Trump has nominated a number of highly controversial candidates to serve in his Cabinet – but a new poll claims they have a slight edge on public approval, with one glaring exception.
The president-elect has selected a group of hardline conservatives and MAGA loyalists to serve in his administration. Some have unorthodox views and little government experience, while others are hampered by criminal allegations.
However, an Echelon Insights poll shows nearly every member with a slight favorability.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – whose views on vaccines have been called ‘dangerous’ by his own cousin – has been nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services.
Outside of his own family, RFK Jr. has a favorability of 46%, while just 41% see him negatively.
Pete Hegseth, a military veteran and Fox News host, has been nominated to lead The Department of Defense despite little experience managing anything of that scale and complexity.
While Hegseth received a low 21% approval rating, it edges out his 20% disapproval. A total of 44% of respondents claimed they have never heard of him.
The one Trump nominee slammed in the poll was his attorney general choice Matt Gaetz, who is seen favorably by only 22% of those polled and negatively by 35%.
Donald Trump has nominated a number of highly controversial candidates to serve in his Cabinet – but a new poll claims they have a slight edge on public approval, with one glaring exception
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – whose views on vaccines have been called ‘dangerous’ by his own cousin – has been nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services . Outside of his own family, RFK Jr. has a favorability of 46%, while just 41% see him negatively
Gaetz, who left Congress while under investigation, has been besieged by accusations of having sex with underage women at drug-fueled parties. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio has the most favorable poll numbers of Trump’s Cabinet selections with 36% approval compared to 34% disapprove.
Trump’s selection for the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was seen favorable by 25% of respondents compared to 23% who don’t like her.
Tesla CEO and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chair Elon Musk, was at a +3% (46% favorable, 43% unfavorable).
Vice President-elect JD Vance, who polled poorly during the campaign, has higher favorability (43%) than unfavorability (41%).
Trump himself (49% favorable) clears that of former opponent and Vice President Kamala Harris (47%) and current President Joe Biden (42%).
The Republican Party itself (48%) has higher favorables than the Democrats (44%) with the GOP set to have a majority in both houses of Congress.
Many of the other nominees remain largely unknown to the public but are overall above ground in terms of popularity.
Pete Hegseth (pictured left) received a 21% approval rating compared to a 20% disapproval. A total of 44% of respondents claimed they have never heard of him
The one Trump nominee slammed in the poll was his Attorney General choice Matt Gaetz , who is only seen favorably by only 22% of those polled and negatively by 35%
Nominee for Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem (+1%) and UN Ambassador Elise Stefanik (+3%) showed promising numbers.
These numbers could buoy Team Trump as it heads for what is seen as a potentially fraught confirmation process.
Trump has promised to use the strategy to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing people to senior administration positions.
The president-elect has several controversial picks for his cabinet that may struggle to get the 50 votes needed for Senate confirmation, including Gaetz, Hegseth, Kennedy and Gabbard.
Republican senators, who will hold the majority in January, have all expressed some doubts about their ability to be confirmed among normal circumstances.
He has demanded that the incoming GOP Senate leader back his use of recess appointments.
On Sunday it was leaked that outgoing leader Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate.
‘Message to Trump Team: “There will be no recess appointments” Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight at a Washington gathering,’ Mayer wrote on X at around 8 pm Sunday.
Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for director of national intelligence, also did relatively well in the survey
On Sunday it was leaked that outgoing leader Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate
McConnell recently stepped down from his position as GOP leader in the Senate and was replaced by South Dakota Senator John Thune.
Still, the 82-year-old McConnell seemed confident about his prediction. It’s unclear if he will run for re-election in 2026 at 84 and could feel less influenced by his desire to keep his seat.
Mayer has since deleted the tweet without explanation, but not before it caused commotion among Trump supporters, who suspected something was foul was afoot.
The recess appointments would nix any Senate confirmation hearings, which are intended to give voters a chance to view the candidates as they are grilled on their positions.
The last time a recess appointment was used was in 2012 under former president Barack Obama.
That was before the Supreme Court ruled that the Senate must be on recess for at least 10 days before a president can use the mechanism, meaning the appointments could not be made while Congress was in pro forma sessions and making them effectively unusable.
Trump and President Biden have been unable to use them during their time in office.
The president-elect’s relationship with Congress was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers.
The president-elect’s relationship with Congress was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers
John Thune, the incoming Senate Majority Leader, will lead the effort to confirm many of the nominees
With a sweeping election victory, he has become emboldened and demanded that Senate Republicans fall in line behind his agenda.
Last week, Trump posted on X: ‘Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.
‘Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.
‘We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!’
X founder and close Trump ally Elon Musk, who is also said to be appointed the head of a new so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ backed the move.
‘This is essential. There is no other way,’ Musk commented on Trump’s post on X.
Musk then added: ‘Without recess appointments, it will take two years or more to confirm the new administration!
‘This would make it impossible to enact the change demanded by the American people, which is utterly unacceptable.’
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk – who will not need to be confirmed to run DOGE – endorsed using recess appointments
Democrats like Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have led the charge against the nominees
Unless recess appointments are used, the confirmation process may be perilously slow, as it has become a difficult process in recent years.
George H.W. Bush had seven of his 15 cabinet members already confirmed by the Senate when he took office in 1989, according to the Partnership for Public Service.
Joe Biden had just one of his 36 cabinet members approved by a Democrat-majority Senate when he was inaugurated nearly four years ago.
Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all had 200 nominees confirmed by the time they had reached 200 days in office.
In that same amount of time, both Trump (119) and Biden (118) had significantly fewer, despite both belonging to parties that had control of the Senate in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
However, Clinton, Bush and Obama all had Senate majorities of 55 seats or higher when they took office, whereas Trump and Biden have never had more than 53 Senators on their side.
The three presidents before Trump’s first term all had more than 200 nominees confirmed by 200 days in office. Trump had 119 and Biden had 118 confirmed nominees at that point, although Trump had nominated far fewer people than other presidents.
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