Trump picks loyalists for top jobs, testing GOP loyalty in SenateExBulletin

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks after being elected Senate Majority Leader for the 119th Congress following the Senate Republican leadership elections on November 13. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images .

switch captionKevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Nominees for several key government posts in President-elect Donald Trump's new administration caught Washington officials off guard this week and unleashed a storm of criticism, which didn't just come from Democrats.

At this point, new Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota is hedging his bets. “None of this is going to be easy,” he said Thursday.

That's an understatement, as at least four of Trump's second-term picks so far could be considered “problem candidates.” Any of them could attract negative media coverage and cause enormous discomfort for Republican senators who must vote to confirm.

Trump has made it clear that he expects members of his party to fall in line, and if they don't, he has often found ways to get around them. Thune is respected by his colleagues and highly appreciated by his fellow Republicans. He worked hard and raised impressive amounts of money to help his party regain the majority this fall. But soon he will essentially face a choice between Trump's demands and the political and personal preferences of the Republican senators who chose him as leader. When these coincide, as they usually do, fine. Otherwise, Thune will have to find a compromise or choose sides.

The lanky South Dakotan faces a daunting challenge. Trump has made clear that he does not consider the Senate's constitutional duty to advise and consent to such appointments sacrosanct. He wants to be allowed to fill these positions using the “recess appointment” power. Originally created to deal with genuine emergencies and travel difficulties in the 18th century, this power was used from time to time to circumvent a recalcitrant Senate.

President George W. Bush used it to install John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 (bypassing a Senate committee that included top Democrat Joe Biden and a first-term member named Barack Obama.) Bolton actually held this position. and continued his long career as a leading hawk on military and foreign policy. He even served as Trump's national security advisor during his first term.

That experience led Bolton to write a scathing critique of Trump in 2020. This week, he called Trump's choice of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence (DNI) “the worst cabinet appointment in history.”

The week started off quietly enough with the announcement that Trump wanted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state. Senators rarely object to one of their own being elevated to Cabinet rank, provided he is as politically reliable as Rubio has been.

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on December 15, 2016. Evan Vucci/AP .

switch captionEvan Vucci/AP

Real trouble began brewing when Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran known for his weekend commentary on Fox News, was named Secretary of Defense. Although he is a veteran of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, he lacks the experience senators expect of a Defense Department appointee. Hegseth's frequent attacks on the uniformed leadership of the armed forces have included dismissal of current generals, including at the highest levels. Some outside observers found it hard to believe that Trump was serious about his choice, suggesting that the president-elect was mostly giving the Pentagon a chance.

But Trump 2.0 was only just beginning.

Consider Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's choice for new director of national intelligence. Gabbard is another veteran who has criticized the “forever wars.” She was also briefly a Democratic member of the House before becoming a Trump fan. But all this would pose little or no problem for senators.

Here's what could be the case: Gabbard has no military or national security experience and has earned a reputation as a defender of Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which she attributes to hostile posturing of President Biden and the NATO alliance towards Russia. Commentators, including some conservatives, wondered aloud how far Gabbard's sympathy for Putin's positions could extend.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard takes the stage at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump on November 3 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images .

switch captionMichael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Yet those burgeoning controversies were overshadowed by the announcement that Trump had chosen embattled Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general. Gaetz was the subject of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into allegations of sex trafficking and drug use that began in 2021. Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress before a report from the committee could be published. Chairman Mike Johnson then urged the committee not to release its report.

The allegations were also investigated by the FBI, but no charges were filed. Gaetz denounced the whole thing as another anti-Trump witch hunt.

Gaetz made it clear that his anger at the Justice Department was as intense as Trump's.

Gaetz has some fans in the Senate, but there too a more than normal share of criticism. If you get all your news from television, you might well think his nomination is the biggest story since the last Trump-related scandal or outrage. Moderate senators voice their concerns while emphasizing the importance of the Senate's advice and consent process.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., takes the stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images .

toggle captionChip Somodevilla/Getty Images

And then, to cap a weeklong spectacle, Trump announced that anti-vaccine activist and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be his secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. This gives him responsibility for the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and countless programs providing medical care and protecting the public. Trump said he and Kennedy would “make America safe and healthy again.”

There have been controversial choices in the past, but those choices seemed very likely to upset the agencies they would oversee. In fact, that seemed to be the intention.

If there were just one controversial candidate facing all the pressure, a reversal of defeat in committee or on the floor might seem likely, even probable.

But in the 119th Congress, it is far from certain that a significant number of Republican senators will show up to oppose either nominee. They can make their objections known in a variety of ways, including making informal comments. But that won't matter unless at least four of them come together to take a unified position in the Senate (53 votes to 47). But it could have enormous consequences for the few Republican senators who resisted.

Trump is renowned for his rhetorical bluster and force of personality. Its supporters can invade the Internet and amplify these effects. But as unpleasant as such a flame can be, at least a few senators have shown they can withstand a little heat.

What they're probably worried about is Trump voters, especially now that Trump has won a second election and won the popular vote as well as his largest share of the electoral college to date.

Republican elected officials know that Trump voters are largely their voters. They know that if they run again, they will need those votes in the general election and quite possibly in a Republican primary as well.

Not all Republican voters would be unhappy if their senator stood up to Trump, not by a long shot. But prepare for Senate Republicans to calculate that opposing Trump on anything notable over the next two years is inviting a primary challenger in their next election cycle.

And even if incumbent leaders are confident they can repair obstacles and fend off a major challenge in the meantime, primary fights are draining their campaign resources. They also force incumbents to take a harder partisan line to retain their nomination. And they give the president of the same party considerable power of influence. This has long been the case, even before Trump's personality was involved.

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