The Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe Doescher suggested there is more than one nominee for Trump’s Cabinet who faces “danger” in his confirmation, despite the brunt of attention being given to former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
Doescher noted that presidents rarely get to have all of their nominees confirmed by Congress, with the most recent president to achieve this feat being former President Ronald Reagan. With Gaetz’s nomination receiving the most controversy and doubt, Doescher noted it has become “pretty clear” Trump is willing to go “onto the mat” for the former Florida congressman, which includes having Vice President-elect J.D. Vance back Gaetz among Republican senators.
“Optics are the policy here, right?” Doescher stated on Fox News’s Your World with Neil Cavuto. “He really cares about this pick in a way that he made it a key part of his campaign, right? Draining the swamp, cleaning up the DOJ, and Gaetz’s whole defense is going to be that the Biden DOJ decided not to press charges against him for the allegations of drug abuse, sex trafficking, that he vehemently denies. The real danger for President Trump could wind up being RFK Jr., even if he winds up getting some Democrat support.”
Robert Kennedy Jr., who ran as an independent presidential candidate before endorsing Trump’s presidential run in August, was nominated by Trump last week for the position of Health and Human Services secretary.
Doescher noted that winning over moderate senators is only the start of the challenges that Gaetz and RFK Jr. face, as they also have to win over senators who have “nothing to lose” and those who have “stuff to prove.” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), for example, falls into the former category since he will no longer be the Republican Party’s Senate leader, whereas senators such as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) want to show they won’t “rubberstamp” everything Trump presents them with since he is up for reelection in 2026.
Despite this, Doescher contended that Trump’s more “outlandish” nominees could be portrayed as “fairly inspired,” referencing Trump’s nomination of former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. She added that the ex-Democrat, who benefits from “cross-party appeal” while also being someone who has “served this country,” was nominated by Trump to be the director of national intelligence.
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“It comes down to people are most scared about Gaetz and RFK Jr., and both could wind up having a heavy charm-defensive that could work, but we’ll see,” Doescher concluded.
Ahead of the confirmation of Trump’s nominees, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, boasted the highest approval among Trump’s Cabinet picks, with 45% of those in approval against 34% who don’t. Billionaire Elon Musk, who was picked to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, Mike Huckabee, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel, and RFK Jr. were considered the next most favored in the survey.
