With Gabbard’s Confirmation and Kennedy’s Advancement, Trump’s Most Controversial Nominees Get Their Senate Blessing

Despite months of hand-ringing about the possibility of defections from Senate Republicans on his most controversial nominees, every member of President Trump’s Cabinet is on track to win their confirmations following the Senate’s support of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, and their decision to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the secretary of health and human services. Until recently, around half-a-dozen key senators were silent on how they felt about both Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Kennedy, though lawmakers apparently thought both nominees held their own in their respecting confirmation hearings despite some tough questioning. On Wednesday, Ms. Gabbard won her Senate confirmation vote with 52 votes in favor, and 48 votes against. Senator McConnell joined with every Democrat to oppose her confirmation. In a statement, Mr. McConnell said that Ms. Gabbard was “unworthy” of the public’s trust. “When a nominee’s record proves them unworthy of the highest public trust, and when their command of relevant policy falls short of the requirements of their office, the Senate should withhold its consent,” Mr. McConnell said. “The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment.”Mr. McConnell specifically mentioned the former Democrat and Hawaii’s congresswoman’s strident defenses of Edward Snowden, who is responsible for one of the most significant leaks of American intelligence in history. Other Republican senators also had concerns, especially about her decision to sponsor a bill in Congress that would have called on the executive branch to drop charges against Mr. Snowden. “Edward Snowden broke the law and I do not agree with how he chose to release information, and the extent of the information and the intelligence that he released,” Ms. Gabbard told Senator Young at her confirmation hearing when asked if she thought Mr. Snowden was a traitor. “It’s notable you didn’t say, ‘yes, he clearly hurt, in various ways, our national security,’” Mr. Young noted in response. Mr. Young, along with Senators Collins and Lankford who also raised concerns about Ms. Gabbard’s support for Mr. Snowden, later said that her answers satisfied them. The only remaining nominee who could realistically face some kind of problem in the Senate is Mr. Kennedy, whose vaccine skepticism and lucrative career in suing insurance companies had many Republicans wondering if he was the right man for the job. Senator Hawley withheld judgment on Mr. Kennedy’s nomination for weeks, until the former independent presidential candidate made assurances that he would issue rules at the health department that would scale back the use of public funds for abortions. Just after Ms. Gabbard’s confirmation on Wednesday, the Senate voted to invoke cloture — or end debate — on Mr. Kennedy’s nomination, meaning that the senators will now deliver speeches for up to 30 hours on the nominee before a vote. The Senate invoked cloture on Mr. Kennedy’s nomination on a party-line vote by a margin of 53 to 47. Senator Kaine told the Sun on Monday that he and his Democratic colleagues would hold the floor for the full 30 hours, meaning Mr. Kennedy will get a vote on Thursday evening. It appears that he is on track for confirmation following the endorsements of Senator Murkowski and Senator Collins, two key holdouts who, along with Mr. McConnell, both voted against Secretary Hegseth. Mr. Kennedy’s chances at getting confirmed shot up to nearly 100 percent when Ms. Murkowski announced on Monday that she would support his nomination. “Instead of focusing on who covers our exorbitant healthcare costs, we need to reduce these costs by directing our attention to prevention and keeping people healthy,” Ms. Murkowski said in a post on X. “This is the appeal of RFK, and many Alaskans have shared that view with me. Chronic conditions are a significant source of illness and major drivers of public debt; he recognizes this and is committed to addressing it.”Ms. Murkowski says that while she has concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccine safety, she says that he assured her that “he would do nothing to make it difficult for people to take vaccines or discourage vaccination efforts.”

With Gabbard’s Confirmation and Kennedy’s Advancement, Trump’s Most Controversial Nominees Get Their Senate Blessing

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