MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) It is not uncommon for incoming presidents, such as Donald Trump when he was elected for the first time, to lose a Cabinet member to the confirmation process.
The first sign of opposition the president-elect may encounter from his own party, which includes candidates accused of sexual misconduct or other issues, is Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw his name Thursday from consideration for attorney general due to ongoing fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation.
Here are a few notable issues with presidential Cabinet selections and some critiques of Trump’s present team:
Republican skepticism
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee and one of Trump’s closest Senate allies, said Gaetz will face some difficult questions at a confirmation hearing after his selection last week.
Regarding Gaetz, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Trump detractor, stated, “I do not see him as a serious candidate.”
Questions have also raised about other Trump choices.
In 2017, a woman accused Trump’s choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, of sexually abusing her. Her accusations have been refuted by Hegseth.
Former Democratic congressman Tulsi Gabbard, who was appointed head of national intelligence, has repeatedly made false Russian claims regarding Ukrainian bioweapons and shown support for Russia. Having met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and expressed doubt that Assad was responsible for chemical assaults on his own people, Gabbard, a combat veteran who became one of Trump’s top 2024 surrogates, has come under fire.
Nikki Haley, the final significant Republican challenger to Trump for this year’s presidential candidacy, advocated against Gabbard’s confirmation, claiming that a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, or Chinese sympathizer had no place in the position.
Haley said that senators should question Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, harshly because of his anti-vaccine stance and other beliefs that public health authorities have denounced.
According to Haley, he is a leftist Democrat, environmental lawyer, and trial lawyer who has no experience in healthcare but will now be in charge of 25% of our government budget. We don’t know what judgments he will make behind the scenes when he is given control of an agency, yet some of you may think RFK is nice and appreciate that he questions the ingredients in our food and vaccines.
With 53 Senate votes in January, Republicans have the power to sever 50/50 connections with JD Vance, the vice president-elect. If all Democrats are against a Trump choice, then four Republicans would have to split to defeat any contender.
This has already occurred to Trump as well.
Trump is one of several failed Cabinet nominees that have been appointed by every recent president.
The first Trump nominee to drop out of consideration was his choice for labor secretary in early 2017. Fast food CEO Andrew Puzder resigned after Democrats complained about his business record and comments about women and employees at his company, which owns Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, and Republicans voiced their displeasure over his failure to pay taxes on a former housekeeper who was not permitted to work in the United States.
Recently, Puzder’s name has been mentioned once more as a potential choice for Trump’s second term.
Additionally, after only a few weeks on the job, Trump fired Michael Flynn, his first national security adviser, for lying about his interactions with Russian officials during the transition.
In less than eight months, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned in the first year of Trump’s first term after his expensive travel sparked probes that obscured the administration’s goals and infuriated his boss. The Brookings Institution, which monitors the turnover of presidential administrations, reports that Trump’s first term saw 14 turnovers, which is almost twice as many as the 8 turnovers that occurred under President George H.W. Bush’s tenure, which came in second.
Other presidents’ choices
After their Cabinet selections encountered difficulties, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and both Bush and his son George W. Bush were forced to come up with new names.
Obama’s search for a secretary of commerce took three tries. Following news that a grand jury was looking into claims of misconduct in the state’s contract awarding process, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson withdrew his name. Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, a Republican, withdrew, claiming that he could not agree with the Democratic president’s policies.
George W. Bush’s choice for labor secretary, Linda Chavez, quickly resigned in 2001 after it was revealed that she had taken in an illegal immigrant.
After both of his first two picks retracted after learning that they had employed illegally-immigrated individuals for domestic work and child care, Bill Clinton made multiple attempts to choose an attorney general before appointing Janet Reno.
Following many reports of accusations of alcohol abuse and womanizing, the Senate rejected former Texas Senator John Tower, George H.W. Bush’s choice for defense secretary, in 1989.
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This article was written by Nancy Benac of the Associated Press in Washington.
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You can contact Meg Kinnard at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.
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