{"id":2402937,"date":"2025-02-15T07:50:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/with-little-gop-resistance-senate-delivers-trump-his-confirmations-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T07:50:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T12:50:56","slug":"with-little-gop-resistance-senate-delivers-trump-his-confirmations-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/with-little-gop-resistance-senate-delivers-trump-his-confirmations-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"With little GOP resistance, Senate delivers Trump his confirmations &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwith-little-gop-resistance-senate-delivers-trump-his-confirmations-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2402937&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Senate has been\u200b rapidly confirming President Donald Trump&#8217;s cabinet nominees with minimal Republican resistance,achieving a tally of 16\u2064 confirmations shortly after the new administration \u2064began. This surpasses the numbers for former \u2062Presidents Joe Biden and Trump during the same time frames. notably, controversial appointments, such \u2062as Brooke Rollins for\u200d the Department of Agriculture and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for \u200cHealth and Human Services, \u200bfaced initial hurdles but ultimately received confirmation. Despite a few dissenters, including Senators Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski, \u2062most Republicans\u200b have aligned with Trump, largely due to pressure from the president&#8217;s allies. The opposition expected from Democrats has not \u2063materialized to the extent \u200banticipated, which has allowed confirmations to proceed. However, there have been notable challenges\u200b and\u200c pitfalls during the nomination process, including the withdrawal of some nominees under controversy. The situation \u2064reflects both the swift pace of confirmations and\u2064 the underlying tensions \u2062within the Republican Party\u2062 concerning\u200c Trump&#8217;s influence.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Senate delivers Trump confirmations at breakneck pace with little GOP resistance<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1993243\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>For all the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3230811\/trumps-demand-recess-appointments-faces-headwinds-controversial-cabinet-picks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"heartburn over recess appointments\">heartburn over recess appointments<\/a> to confirm President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet, the Senate is breezing through even the most controversial nominees thanks to limited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3320020\/mcconnell-emerges-trump-greatest-gop-foe-cabinet-confirmations-overnight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republican opposition\">Republican opposition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The confirmations on Thursday of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3319320\/brooke-rollins-confirmed-trump-agriculture-secretary-bipartisan-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Brooke Rollins\">Brooke Rollins<\/a> to lead the Department of Agriculture and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3318709\/rfk-jr-confirmed-hhs-secretary-party-line-senate-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> to be health and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-to-release-revised-guidance-reducing-covid-19-quarantine-time-from-14-days-to-7-10\/\" title=\"CDC to release revised guidance reducing COVID-19 quarantine time from 14 days to 7-10\">human services secretary<\/a>, whose nomination threatened to split the GOP over his vaccine skepticism, brought the confirmation tally to 16.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard, in particular, when you got a lot of Democrat resistance, which we do. We&rsquo;re having to work through that,&rdquo; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Friday on Fox News. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;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&rsquo;ll continue to do that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leftist-run-city-in-vermont-having-2nd-thoughts-after-it-defunded-police-a-mistake\/\" title=\"Leftist-Run City in Vermont Having 2nd Thoughts After It Defunded Police: \u2018A Mistake\u2019\">progress hasn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t been without major hurdles that nearly derailed several high-profile confirmations, most notably Kennedy&rsquo;s, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard&rsquo;s, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&rsquo;s.<\/p>\n<p>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&rsquo;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.<\/p>\n<p>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 &mdash; Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) &mdash; voted against any candidates. McConnell, the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-a-party-writes-its-platform-every-four-years-ahead-of-convention-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"How a ... writes its platform every four years ahead of convention - Washington Examiner\">longtime party leader<\/a>, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3320020\/mcconnell-emerges-trump-greatest-gop-foe-cabinet-confirmations-overnight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"emerged as the most rebellious\">emerged as the most rebellious<\/a> in his party by opposing three: Hegseth, Gabbard, and Kennedy.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats anticipated a greater show of resistance from their colleagues across the aisle.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We had hoped there might be a couple of them,&rdquo; Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid telephone calls from certain billionaires have had an impact.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At least one of those billionaires is Elon Musk, although it&rsquo;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&rsquo;s threats to fund primary challengers if they stray too far from Trump&rsquo;s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) used Kennedy&rsquo;s confirmation as the latest example of Republicans secretly opposing Trump&rsquo;s nominees but bending to his will out of fear.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think likely most Republicans would vote against him if there were a secret ballot,&rdquo; Schumer said on the floor. &ldquo;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.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters after a meeting with Republican leadership at the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Washington. From left, Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-OH), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Trump, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). (AP Photo\/Steve Helber)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even with McConnell&rsquo;s rebellious streak and the opposition by Collins and Murkowski to Hegseth, none of Trump&rsquo;s nominees have succumbed to failed floor votes. <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">The last time the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/legislative\/NominationsRejectedorWithdrawn.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Senate rejected<\/a>&nbsp;a president&rsquo;s Cabinet-l<\/span>evel nominee was in 1989, when former President George W. Bush tapped John Tower for defense secretary.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;re satisfying most members that they&rsquo;re qualified, that they&rsquo;ll follow through on the president&rsquo;s agenda and not go rogue,&rdquo; said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).<\/p>\n<p>She cited the early reservations of Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who is staunchly anti-abortion, with Kennedy over the legacy Democrat&rsquo;s history of abortion-rights views. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Those things can be resolved when people just say, &lsquo;Look, my job is to carry out President Trump&rsquo;s agenda,&rsquo;&rdquo; Lummis added.<\/p>\n<p>There have been, however, other significant hiccups along the way, the latest being for one of Trump&rsquo;s nominees who would garner broad bipartisan support on the floor. <\/p>\n<p>The Senate is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3320784\/stefanik-nomination-stalls-gop-narrow-house-majority\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"delaying the nomination\">delaying the nomination<\/a> of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be United Nations ambassador over concerns of further shrinking House Republicans&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">razor-thin majority<\/a>, sources familiar with the matter confirmed. A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the confirmation timeline &ldquo;is a matter for the White House and the Senate to resolve.&rdquo; Thune <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MZanona\/status\/1890175290917404684\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">told reporters<\/a> they were taking cues from the White House.<\/p>\n<p>During Trump&rsquo;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.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Chronister&nbsp;abruptly withdrew his name in December for the DEA post days after being tapped by Trump following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3316869\/trump-names-new-dea-pick-terry-cole\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"concerns\">concerns<\/a> over his enforcement of COVID-19 protocols in Florida, including at a church. Trump said he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3249845\/trump-clarifies-why-pick-for-dea-backed-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"pulled him\">pulled him<\/a> because &ldquo;I did not like what he said to my pastors and other supporters.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1993243\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1993243\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate confirms Trump nominees quickly with minimal GOP pushback<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2402938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/senate-confirms-trump-nominees.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50435,6203,5894,3740,3634],"class_list":["post-2402937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-confirmations","tag-gop","tag-politics","tag-senate","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/senate-confirms-trump-nominees.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2402937"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402941,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2402937\/revisions\/2402941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2402937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2402937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2402937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}