GOP senators leave the door open for Cabinet picks like RFK Jr., Musk
Republicans' critical Senate wins mean Donald Trump will have more leeway to pick his preferred Cabinet next year than he did in his first term — a critical difference as the president-elect floats controversial figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk.
Starting in 2017, Trump watched as several of his nominees ran aground in a narrowly GOP-controlled Senate, withdrawing his first Cabinet pick only weeks into his term. Now, Republicans are set to hold as many as 54 seats, a number that would allow Trump to sidestep the shrinking centrist GOP wing in the chamber, including the likes of Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who might oppose certain nominees.
The conference has 52 seats locked up and has a good chance at flipping the Pennsylvania seat held by Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, while the Nevada seat held by Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is still up in the air. And GOP senators and aides, basking in their election night win, say they are currently expecting the conference to be widely deferential to Trump's picks.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who is set to be the No. 2 Senate Republican come January, said that leaders are eager to get Trump's Cabinet confirmed.
"We need to make sure that we have, in line, people for the nominations, ones that we're going to be able to have the majority counted for, and then we'll get those done," he said in an interview Wednesday.
Senate Republicans and Trump's team have already been talking about nominations, a person familiar with the discussions told POLITICO, who added that the larger majority means Trump will be able to pick from a larger pool of candidates than he could if they had been capped at a 51-seat majority.
And a GOP Senate aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said that Republicans having at least 53 seats "gives Trump more leeway" and while he'll "still have to earn every vote ... it's a good margin."
That could even extend to unconventional picks like Kennedy and Musk, though those might be harder lifts. Republicans did not outright shut the door on confirming those types of picks in the immediate wake of Trump's victory. The Senate GOP aide, asked about Kennedy specifically, said that "anything could happen in committee," which currently has multiple centrists, but "there's an element of people wanting the president to have his preferred Cabinet."
And Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has also been floated as a potential pick for the incoming administration, indicated the Senate could confirm someone like Kennedy.
"Well, I think the Senate is going to give great deference to a president that just won a stunning — what I think is an electoral college landslide," Rubio said on Wednesday during an interview with CNN.
Still, while Murkowski and Collins were some of the most vocal Trump critics, there are others who could oppose more extreme Trump Cabinet picks. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has also been willing to break with the president-elect, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) previously voted to convict Trump in 2021.
Cassidy, in particular, could be significant because he is poised to head the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which would put him in a crucial role if Kennedy is tapped to lead the Food and Drug Administration. Collins and Murkowski are also on that panel.
GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who is resigning from the conference's top spot at the end of the year, declined to say on Wednesday if he would vote for either Musk or Kennedy. As a polio survivor, McConnell has been a vocal advocate for vaccines, while Kennedy has made a career of demonizing the standard preventative medicine.
McConnell added that it was generally "way too early to tell" who Trump will nominate, but that "I think the Senate will treat them fairly."
Trump has had a rockier history with the Senate Republican conference compared to the more MAGA-aligned House GOP. Trump's health care plan unraveled in the chamber in 2017, and several Republicans distanced themselves from Trump immediately after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
But many of those same Republicans have vocally supported him as he became the party's presidential nominee a third time. And more Trump-aligned members are set to join the chamber next year, as more deal-making Republicans have departed in recent cycles.
One oil lobbyist who participated in an industry call early Wednesday, granted anonymity to detail internal discussions, added that "with the Republicans winning control of the Senate, there is a concerted early push to take the gloves off with key appointments."
"No need to cater to the more moderate wings of both parties to get appointments through the Senate," the lobbyist added.
Beyond the Cabinet, there are more than 1,200 administration positions that require Senate confirmation. And Trump could tap Capitol Hill to fill some of those positions.
Robert O'Brien, Trump's former national security adviser, told conservative congresspeople at a Hill lunch a few weeks ago a few potential names for Cabinet picks, according to a Republican Hill staffer in attendance.
At the event, he said that Sens. Rubio and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and former acting National Intelligence Director Rick Grenell were vying for secretary of State.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has made a public pitch to lead the Department of Agriculture in a new Trump administration, but made clear Wednesday that he has "received no commitments or offers from President Trump's team."
