The fate of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks will come down to a handful of Republican lawmakers, a number of whom have a history of breaking with the party or have clashed with the incoming president during his first term.
Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority, which means four senators can sink any nominee since Democrats are largely expected to vote against many of Trump’s picks. Confirming administration positions will be among the top priorities when the Senate convenes in January and is set to jump into 10 straight weeks of the new session without a recess.
While it is customary for the Senate to largely defer to the president’s nominees, a number of Trump’s picks have already drawn skepticism. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), his first choice for attorney general, and Chad Chronister, his pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, bowed out soon after being named amid criticism. His nominee for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also is facing allegations about his personal behavior.
Here’s who to watch as prospective nominees meet with senators:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
The moderate Republican, who opposed Trump’s presidential bid and supported his impeachment conviction over Jan. 6, has already signaled her hesitance on some of his cabinet picks.
In Trump’s first administration, she voted against Betsy DeVos for education secretary and was the only Republican who opposed his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh. Although she comes from a GOP leaning state, she has charted an independent course and in 2010 after losing a primary she successfully waged a write-in campaign to retain her seat.
Murkowski said she’ll be meeting with Hegseth this week and plans to ask questions about allegations he’s faced and his position on women in combat. “I’m going to ask him about that and more,” she said.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
The Maine moderate voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges after Jan. 6 and voted against his picks for the Education Department and the Environmental Protection Agency in his first term. Collins, who expressed skepticism about Gaetz before he withdrew, said it’s important the Senate goes through its process with background checks and a public hearing for nominees.
She has won five terms in a blue state that Trump lost three times. Collins, who is in line to chair the powerful Appropriations Committee, already said she plans to run for re-election in 2026 and may be looking to reinforce her independent reputation.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
McConnell steps into a new role in the next Congress as he moves on from being the party’s top leader after 18 years, and suggested he’ll capitalize on his newfound freedom in the chamber.
The Kentuckian has tangled with Trump over the years, particularly on defense and foreign policy. He has announced he intends to seek the chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, a perch from which he can push his priorities. He has been largely silent on Trump’s picks but said it was a good thing when Gaetz withdrew.
Sen.-elect John Curtis (R-Utah)
Retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) became a prominent GOP critic of Trump during the president’s first term. Now the spotlight will be on the senator taking his seat, and whether he will pick up that torch in the new session. Curtis beat out Republican contenders in the primary for the seat that included a candidate backed by Trump. Gaetz told allies that Curtis was one of the four senators who opposed him, including McConnell, Murkowski and Collins.
“I’m trying to be very disciplined and let the process work,” Curtis said about the nominations at a recent event. “We saw with the first nomination for the attorney general that it solved itself.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)
The Louisiana Republican is in line to be the next Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chair, giving him influence over several Trump picks. Cassidy, who is a physician, has advocated for vaccines, which could put him at odds with Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
Cassidy bucked Trump when he voted to convict the former president in the impeachment trial after Jan. 6. That has already brought him a primary challenge for his re-election in 2026, with Louisiana Treasurer and former Rep. John Fleming announcing he’d run to unseat him for that reason. Facing re-election in a state Trump won handily, Cassidy will have to carefully weigh the political consequences of opposing him on nominations.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)
Rounds faced criticism from Trump after the senator said he lost re-election in 2020 and showed support for current FBI Director Christopher Wray after Trump announced he planned to tap loyalist Kash Patel for the post. Rounds has said that there’s a “healthy” separation of powers in the nomination process. Rounds is also from the same state as incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and may have his ear on important nominations. He is up for re-election in 2026 in a solidly Republican state.
“The president gets the benefit of the doubt with his nominees, but we still have a role to play,” Rounds said.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)
Although Ernst does not have a history of vocally opposing Trump, she will be key when it comes to his picks for the Pentagon. She’s a veteran as well as a sexual assault survivor, which could well inform her judgment of Hegseth, as he faces allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of veteran groups.
Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services committee, said she had a thorough conversation with Hegseth. In a statement Monday, Ernst said, “As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.” Ernst has said in 2026 she will seek a third term in a state that has increasingly trended Republican.
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