Thursday’s news that Matt Gaetz was removing himself from consideration for Attorney General represented the first nominee of President-elect Donald J. Trump not to make it across the finish line.
Additional nominees are causing concern for establishment politicians in Washington D.C. Earlier this week, The Hill wrote a story on the nine Republican senators who could derail Trump’s cabinet picks.
The story went on to name the likely potential roadblocks and started with liberal Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. Murkowski didn’t vote for Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the story, and called the nomination of Gaetz not serious.
Murkowski is expected to be reluctant to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination and already said she was “surprised” by the nomination of Pete Hegseth. Murkowski also voted to convict Trump of inciting insurrection in 2021.
Collins is on record as calling some of Kennedy’s past statements “alarming.”
Also included on the list — Sen. Joni Ernst. Prior to Gaetz removing himself from consideration, Ernst said he had an “uphill climb” ahead of his nomination. Ernst noted she needs to sort through various things related to Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination. And she’s said to be taking a “wait-and-see” approach with Hegseth also.
Incoming Sen. John Curtis, who is replacing Sen. Mitt Romney, was included as a likely source of resistance, along with Senators Bill Cassidy, Todd Young, Thom Tillis, John Cornyn and Mitch McConnell.
