The confirmations on Thursday of Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be health and human services secretary, whose nomination threatened to split the GOP over his vaccine skepticism, brought the confirmation tally to 16.

The figure eclipses the prior two administrations after the same period of time: former President Joe Biden had just seven, and Trump had 11 in his first term.

“It’s hard, in particular, when you got a lot of Democrat resistance, which we do. We’re having to work through that,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Friday on Fox News. “But we’ve figured out ways to manage the clock in a way that I think maximizes the ability for the president to get his team in place as quickly as possible, and we’ll continue to do that.”

However, the progress hasn’t been without major hurdles that nearly derailed several high-profile confirmations, most notably Kennedy’s, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s.

During the presidential transition, Trump repeatedly warned that he might try to force Congress to adjourn long enough to make recess appointments and bypass the Senate’s approval. The threat created consternation among Republican senators. Many thumbed their noses at the prospect of forgoing their advice and consent role, even for the president of their own party.

Coupled with an intense pressure campaign from Trump surrogates, supporters, and conservatives on Capitol Hill, most Republicans with initial reservations for certain nominees have ultimately sided with Trump. Only three GOP senators — Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — voted against any candidates. McConnell, the former longtime party leader, has emerged as the most rebellious in his party by opposing three: Hegseth, Gabbard, and Kennedy.

Democrats anticipated a greater show of resistance from their colleagues across the aisle.

“We had hoped there might be a couple of them,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told the Washington Examiner. “I’m afraid telephone calls from certain billionaires have had an impact.”

At least one of those billionaires is Elon Musk, although it’s unclear what conversations he may have had with senators. The Trump confidant is heading the Department of Government Efficiency, which is at the center of dismantling government programs and agencies that the White House deems wasteful. Congressional Republicans are acutely aware of Musk’s threats to fund primary challengers if they stray too far from Trump’s agenda.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) used Kennedy’s confirmation as the latest example of Republicans secretly opposing Trump’s nominees but bending to his will out of fear.

“I think likely most Republicans would vote against him if there were a secret ballot,” Schumer said on the floor. “But sadly and unfortunately for America, Republicans are being strong-armed by Donald Trump and will end up holding their nose and voting to confirm Mr. Kennedy.”

Even with McConnell’s rebellious streak and the opposition by Collins and Murkowski to Hegseth, none of Trump’s nominees have succumbed to failed floor votes. The last time the Senate rejected a president’s Cabinet-level nominee was in 1989, when former President George W. Bush tapped John Tower for defense secretary.

“As these nominees have had their hearings and had a chance to meet with members who are particularly concerned about one or the other, I think that they’re satisfying most members that they’re qualified, that they’ll follow through on the president’s agenda and not go rogue,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

She cited the early reservations of Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who is staunchly anti-abortion, with Kennedy over the legacy Democrat’s history of abortion-rights views.  

“Those things can be resolved when people just say, ‘Look, my job is to carry out President Trump’s agenda,’” Lummis added.

There have been, however, other significant hiccups along the way, the latest being for one of Trump’s nominees who would garner broad bipartisan support on the floor.

The Senate is delaying the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be United Nations ambassador over concerns of further shrinking House Republicans’ razor-thin majority, sources familiar with the matter confirmed. A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the confirmation timeline “is a matter for the White House and the Senate to resolve.” Thune told reporters they were taking cues from the White House.

During Trump’s transition, two of his nominees withdrew: former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to be attorney general and Florida Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to run the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Gaetz dropped out in November after just one week of consideration under a mountain of Republican pushback to his checkered past, which included allegations of paying women for sex and having sex with minors. Gaetz denied all claims against him, and the Department of Justice ultimately dropped its investigation into the matter.

Chronister abruptly withdrew his name in December for the DEA post days after being tapped by Trump following concerns over his enforcement of COVID-19 protocols in Florida, including at a church. Trump said he pulled him because “I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters.”