New Senate GOP Leader on Confirming Trump’s Controversial Nominees: ‘None of This Is Gonna Be Easy’
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) bluntly told Fox News on Thursday that confirming some of President-elect Donald Trump’s more controversial nominees will not exactly be a breeze.
Come January, Thune will lead the Republican-controlled chamber, which will have either 52 or 53 Republicans, pending a recount in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate election.
Trump has made several controversial appointments. These include former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth of Secretary of Defense.
After Trump announced on Wednesday that he is nominating Gaetz, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) came out against the nominee.
Thune appeared on Thursday’s Special Report on Fox News, where host Bret Baier noted there have been grumblings from some Republicans. Baier also asked Thune about the prospect of Trump bypassing the Senate by making appointments while the chamber is in recess.
“When you have Matt Gaetz, there’s already some Republicans who have spoken out and said some things,” Baier told Thune. “The numbers start to get problematic. If that is a problem and your onus – for you – is to try to get the president who he wants to be in the cabinet, do you then punt to a recess and try to recess the Senate for 10 days and get those appointments in?”
“Well, it’s an option,” Thune answered. “You have to have all Republicans vote to recess as well. So, the same Republicans that you mentioned, they might have a problem voting for somebody under regular order probably also have a problem voting to put the Senate into recess. You have to have concurrence from the House. There’s a process.”
Baier returned to Gaetz and noted the former lawmaker was the subject of a probe by the House Ethics Committee, which was supposed to vote Friday on whether to release what Punchbowl News described as a “highly damaging” report about its findings regarding allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Gaetz resigned from the House on Wednesday, effective immediately.
“Would you say that that report is going to factor into his hearings?” Baier asked.
“My guess is, at some point, it gets out there,” Thune replied. “And I’m not sure exactly what that process is at the moment.”
“There could be some fireworks here coming up,” the host replied. “I mean, this is not gonna be easy.”
Thune wholeheartedly agreed.
“No, none of this is gonna be easy,” he responded. “But again, President Trump had a huge mandate from the American people, not only the popular vote, the electoral vote. They were historic. And the people in this country want change. He wants to bring that about. And I always believe that you defer to a president when it comes to the people they want in their cabinet.”
Watch above via Fox News.
