4 Trump cabinet nominees confirmed so far, with 2 more on deck

Going into the second week of the second Trump administration, the Senate has confirmed just four Trump cabinet nominees out of 22.

However, this week marks an important test for President Donald…

Going into the second week of the second Trump administration, the Senate has confirmed just four Trump cabinet nominees out of 22.

However, this week marks an important test for President Donald Trump, with several controversial picks face questioning in the Senate and after one of the most controversial nominations was affirmed narrowly by the Senate late last week.

The easiest confirmation so far came for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who received a unanimous vote from the Senate, a privilege usually reserved for nominees who previously served in the Senate, as in the case of Rubio.

The Senate voted 99-0 to confirm Rubio on the first day of Trump’s presidency.

Three days later the Senate voted 74-25 to approve John Ratcliffe as the CIA director. Ratcliffe previously served as a representative from Texas in the U.S. House. The vote giving Ratcliffe the nod came even though Democrat Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut tried to delay the vote with a procedural move blocking the nomination. 

Ratcliffe previously served as Director of National Intelligence under Trump. Ratcliffe was widely credited with helping expose the Russian collusion hoax and the cover-up of the Hunter Biden laptop story, reported Townhall. 

Then late Friday night, Trump’s most controversial nominee, Pete Hegseth, nominee for Secretary of Defense, was approved with 51 votes in favor and 50 opposed, needing the vote of Vice President J.D. Vance to break the tie. 

Vice presidents, who preside over the Senate in accordance with the Constitution, only vote in the cases of a tie. 

Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, voted against the confirmation of Hegseth. 

The close vote resulted in a warning from a White House official that Trump was the head of the GOP and members opposing his nominees did so at their own peril. 

“It’s pass-fail. You either support everyone or you don’t,” a senior White House official told NBC News about the defectors. “The Senate needs to advise and consent, not advise and adjust.” 

On Saturday, the Hegseth confirmation was followed by a 59-34 vote to confirm former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as director of homeland security.  

Noem has been given a broad mandate by Trump to aggressively seal the border and deport illegal immigrants, reported the National Review.  

Seven Democrats voted for the confirmation, including Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Jeanne Shaheen, also of New Hampshire, and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.  

With the exception of Fetterman’s Pennsylvania, each of the states of the defecting Senate Democrats has a U.S. Senate election in 2026, although only Shaheen is up for reelection.  

Five Democrats who did not vote are Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Tina Smith of Minnesota,  Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Ron Wyden, also of Oregon.  

Smith and Merkley are also scheduled to face voters in 2026.  

The defection of so many Democrats (12 total) in a vote on the public face of the Trump deportation policies could mean that Democrats, in the Senate at least, will largely cede the issue to the president. 

This week USAToday reports that Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent and nominee for Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy are expected to be confirmed on bipartisan votes. 

The sledding will likely get tougher for several nominees who have yet to have confirmation hearings. 

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is nominated for director of national intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated for secretary of Health and Human Services, and Kash Patel, nominated as director of the FBI, will appear this week before Senate committee hearings. 

Each hearing is expected to initiate fireworks on both sides. 

Gabbard is an intelligence professional for the Army, but is suspect by Washington insiders on both sides of the aisle because of her refusal to back U.S. intervention all over the world, including in Ukraine.  

Kennedy is a champion of consumer protection in the healthcare and food industry, but is likewise not trusted by establishment figures, who Kennedy says are too closely aligned against consumers, calling the Food and Drug Administration “corrupt.” 

Patel has been charged by Trump with cleaning up an FBI that has been plagued with controversial investigations and prosecutions, including multiple actions taken against President Trump, investigations of pro-life leaders and prosecutions of Jan. 6 trespassers. 

The Washington Examiner quoted a source close to the Trump administration predicting that Patel will be confirmed. 

Other nominees who have passed out of committee or are expected to pass out of committee and are awaiting a full Senate vote are: 

  • Interior secretary nominee, Gov. Doug Burgum, North Dakota  
  • Environmental Protection Agency nominee, former Rep. Lee Zeldin, New York 
  • Attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, Attorney General of Florida  
  • Department of Veterans Affairs nominee, former Rep. Doug Collins, Georgia  
  • Department of Energy nominee, Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy 
  • Ambassador to the United Nations nominee, Rep. Elise Stefanik, New York  
  • Housing and Urban Development nominee, Scott Turner, a former NFL playerÂ