A handful of Democrats have expressed support for Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, but others remain skeptical of some of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks.
“I think Marco Rubio is extremely qualified for the position he has been nominated for,” said Democratic Sen.-elect Adam Schiff of California. NBC’s “Meet the Press“Sunday morning. “I still want to ask questions and I wouldn’t even completely prejudge him, but he’s qualified without a doubt.
Trump has made a series of Cabinet picks over the past two weeks, naming all 15 heads of executive departments. All eyes are now on the U.S. Senate to confirm the nominees.
A Trump ally told Rubio that Rubio is considered one of the “less MAGA” options in Trump’s circle NBC News earlier this monthsome say he is “more consistent with the president’s stance on tariffs.”
During his campaign, Trump supported the implementation of general tariffs in the 2024 election cycle, specifically imposing a severe 60% tariff on goods from China.
Rubio is notoriously tough on China and has strongly advocated the demonetization of TikTok, a social media platform owned by China’s ByteDance, in the United States. He also has a tough stance on Iran but remains ambivalent about supporting Ukraine.
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman also said in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday” that he was a “fan” of Rubio and said he would vote to confirm his nomination.
Fetterman said he would also likely vote “enthusiastically for” Rep. Alice Stefanik Served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and as a union-friendly congressman. Lori Chavez Dremer Serves as Secretary of Labor.
Fetterman also said he is open to other candidates, such as his former rival for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, Dr. Muhammad Oz. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator.
“I’m not going to hate this in advance. I’m going to have an open dialogue with anyone I’m willing to engage in,” Fetterman said.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she has a “friendship” with Rubio and said she looked forward to discussing his policies with him.
Duckworth, a wounded veteran in Iraq, also weighed in on Trump’s defense and veterans affairs choices during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday morning. While the senator said she’s open to conversations with Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins, Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, she believes Fox News host Pete Hegseth is “unfit” for the job. The position of Minister of Defense.
“He had never commanded a company, let alone a battalion, a brigade or an entire army,” Duckworth said of Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran.
“There are ways to be a disruptor without actually having someone as secretary of defense who has never run an organization larger than a platoon,” Duckworth continued, adding that Collins is a good example. “There have been serious problems with the VA’s electronic medical records program. Hopefully Doug Collins will step in and be a disruptor.”
Hegseth also faced criticism over a 2017 police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at a California hotel.
Another name that came under heavy criticism from the Senate was that of a former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence.
Sen.-elect Schiff said Gabbard lacked experience on the House Intelligence Committee and Her alleged Kremlin connectionscare about him.
Sen. Duckworth claimed Gabbard was “undermined” and said she was concerned the former congresswoman wouldn’t pass a background check.
“I think she’s someone who fully supports (Russian President Vladimir Putin) and I’m concerned that she doesn’t have America’s best interests at heart,” Duckworth said.
However, some Republicans dismissed the idea that Duckworth was a Russian asset.
“I think it’s an insult. Frankly, it’s a slur,” Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said on NBC on Sunday.Meet the media”.
Meanwhile, McMaster, who served as Trump’s national security adviser during his first term as president, said he did not believe Trump’s former national security adviser Sebastian Gorka was as critical of Trump’s national security adviser as he was in his second term. The right person to provide advice.
“I think the president (and) others who are working with him will probably make a decision very quickly,” McMaster said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
McMaster, who has been publicly critical of aspects of Trump’s foreign policy agenda since taking office, also said he was concerned that some Republican officials tended to repeat talking points from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They have to get over this weird feeling they have about Vladimir Putin,” McMaster said.
Strong opposition from congressional Democrats led Trump to float the possibility of forcing the Senate to extend its recess in 2025 to bypass the confirmation process when appointing Cabinet officials.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that the recess appointments “are and should be on the table.”
“This is a constitutionally available tool. What we want to see is Democrats working with us. But if the resistance becomes as fierce as it has been… we need to build a team around him, and (Trump “P) needs every tool available to him to do that,” Hagerty said.
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