Gabbard, Kennedy Headed for Key Senate Confirmation Votes This Week
Senate Republicans are gearing up to dedicate another week of floor time to confirming President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, continuing their focused push for approvals.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune introduced five additional Trump nominees for review, setting the stage for an intense week. However, to confirm all nominees, Republicans will need to negotiate a timeline with Senate Democrats.
At the forefront of this week’s confirmations are two of Trump’s more polarizing choices: former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to Punchbowl News.
On Monday evening, the Senate will vote to end debate on Gabbard’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence. Once considered the most vulnerable nominee, Gabbard overcame challenges last week, securing support from Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Todd Young (Indiana) to advance.
While her confirmation is expected, Senators John Curtis (Utah) and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) could still influence the outcome. If the Senate invokes cloture, the final vote on Gabbard will likely take place late Tuesday or early Wednesday, as Senate rules mandate a 30-hour waiting period. It is unlikely that Democrats will expedite the process by relinquishing their time.
Following Gabbard’s vote, the Senate will address Kennedy’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Despite initial opposition from Senator Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), Kennedy secured Cassidy’s backing during the committee stage and appears poised for confirmation. McConnell, who contracted polio as a child, is expected to vote against Kennedy, though GOP defections are unlikely to exceed three votes, with Cassidy firmly in the “yes” camp.
Thune also introduced three more nominees last Thursday: Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture, Howard Lutnick for Secretary of Commerce, and former Senator Kelly Loeffler (Georgia) for Small Business Administrator. It remains uncertain whether these candidates will receive confirmation votes this week.
In addition to these developments, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a significant vote on Thursday regarding Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI. Democrats successfully delayed this nomination for a week, leveraging Judiciary Committee rules.
“One by one, Republicans have acquiesced to Trump’s picks, even those whose personal history, lack of experience, and unorthodox views would have once made them hardly imaginable for a Cabinet. It’s a striking demonstration of how GOP lawmakers are standing by as Trump, in a show of force, disrupts the federal government and installs loyalists to lead key departments,” the Associated Press observed.
The GOP, holding a slim three-seat majority in the Senate, has closely monitored these nominations, particularly the four seen as most at risk of losing Republican support.
“There’s never any guarantees, but we’re trending in the right direction,” said Thune (R-S.D.) as the Senate wrapped up its session last Thursday. Many Republicans subsequently traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump over the weekend.
Thune’s optimism followed a challenging week for Gabbard and Kennedy, whose confirmations faced potential derailment due to opposition from Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Todd Young. Both senators, known for maintaining distance from Trump, were hesitant. However, Vice President JD Vance led extensive discussions, including last-minute phone calls, to sway the holdouts.
Ultimately, Cassidy and Young agreed to back the nominees after receiving assurances that they would moderate their more controversial stances.
This shift in resistance has underscored how even the GOP’s most independent lawmakers are willing to align with Trump to avoid conflict. Unlike his first term, when Trump frequently issued threats to skeptics within his party, this time he has relied on Vance’s diplomatic efforts to address concerns.
“You can’t think of this just as a normal president coming into office for the first time,” said Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who played a role in rallying support. “Everyone I spoke to was genuinely undecided, trying to get to ‘yes,’ so it was all about navigating the process.”