Senate races to confirm Rubio and other Trump Cabinet picks

Senate Republicans are working to ⁣swiftly confirm several Cabinet nominees put ‌forward by President Donald Trump, including Marco Rubio⁣ as Secretary of State,⁢ with ⁢a vote possibly occurring instantly after the inauguration. Discussions between ​Republicans ​and Democrats are ongoing ⁢to agree on a timeline to expedite Rubio’s⁤ confirmation, which is anticipated to receive strong bipartisan support. other ⁣nominees, such as John Ratcliffe for CIA Director, Gov. Kristi Noem⁤ as⁢ Secretary of Homeland Security, and ​Pete ⁣Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, are also​ on the ‌fast‌ track for confirmation this week. ⁣However,‍ Democrats ⁤plan to disrupt Hegseth’s nomination process due to concerns over his qualifications and past allegations of misconduct. Rubio’s nomination is expected to advance favorably‍ from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.


Senate races to confirm Rubio and other Trump nominees after inauguration

Senate Republicans are attempting to fast-track several of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees this week, including the confirmation of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state as early as Monday in the hours following inauguration.

Republicans were in talks with Democrats to reach a timing agreement to circumvent procedural hurdles and allow for swift confirmation of Rubio after Trump was sworn back into office for his second term, according to GOP aides. Rubio’s confirmation is expected to clear with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Several other nominees will receive prioritized floor time in hopes of confirming them this week, including John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as homeland security secretary, and Pete Hegseth as defense secretary.

Democrats plan to exercise powers at their disposal to slow-walk Hegseth’s nomination and draw out the procedural process by several days over their opposition to the former Fox News host and military veteran who they say is unqualified to run the Pentagon. Hegseth appears to have the Republican support needed to be confirmed, despite allegations including sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse that threatened to derail his nomination.

Rubio’s nomination will advance from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday afternoon, along with a vote in the Homeland Security Committee to advance Noem and Russell Vought to be director of the White House budget office, a position he held during Trump’s first administration.

Trump was on track to have just one Cabinet member, Rubio, installed on his first day in office. The statistic would mark a minor departure from his first term, even with Trump in recent months naming nominees during the presidential transition at a historic pace. Two Trump nominees were confirmed on the day he was inaugurated in 2017: James Mattis as defense secretary and John Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, other nominees, and appointees pose for a photo at the National Gallery of Art on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. First row from left, Elise Stefanik, John Ratcliffe, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Howard Lutnick, Pete Hegseth, Doug Burgum, Brooke L. Rollins, Marco Rubio, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; second row from left, Scott Turner, Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Duffy, Linda McMahon, Lee Zeldin, Kristi Noem, Chris Wright, Doug Collins, Kelly Loeffler, and Scott Bessent; and third row from left, Stephen Miran, Jamieson Greer, Kevin Hassett, Kash Patel, and Russell Vought. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

By the second week, just two additional nominees, Elaine Chao for transportation secretary and Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, were confirmed.

None of former President Joe Biden’s nominees were confirmed on Inauguration Day. Three of his nominees, Lloyd Austin for defense secretary, Antony Blinken for secretary of state, and Janet Yellen as treasury secretary, were confirmed within one week and another two by the second week.

INAUGURATION DAY LIVE UPDATES: DONALD TRUMP SWORN IN AS 47TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The Trump and Biden terms marked stark departures from the Day One confirmation senators afforded 10 of former President Barack Obama’s nominees, eight of whom were confirmed by voice vote.

Confirmation hearings in related committees have occurred or been scheduled at a faster clip than Biden and on pace with Obama and former President George W. Bush, according to the Center for Presidential Transition.



" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Sponsored Content
Back to top button
Available for Amazon Prime
Close

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker