A handful of Democratic lawmakers have said they have confirmed Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as secretary of state, but others continue to question President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of his Cabinet.
“I think Marco Rubio is very qualified for the position he has nominated,” Adam Schiff, the Democratic senator-elect from California, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday morning. “I still want to ask a question. I’m not even going to completely prejudge him, but he’s undoubtedly qualified.”
Trump has made numerous Cabinet picks over the past two weeks, including nominating all 15 heads of his administration. Now, eyes turn to the U.S. Senate to confirm the nominee.
A Trump official told NBC News earlier this month that Rubio is considered one of the “less MAGA” options on Trump’s side, while another said he has become “much more aligned with the president on the tariff issue.”
Trump campaigned in the 2024 election cycle in support of universal tariffs, specifically imposing a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.
Rubio is notoriously tough on China and has strongly advocated demonetizing TikTok, a social media platform owned by China’s ByteDance, in the United States. He is also hawkish on Iran but remains ambivalent on support for Ukraine.
Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman also said in an interview with Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday” that he was a “fan” of Rubio and would vote to confirm him.
Fetterman also said he might vote “hard for” Rep. Elise Stefanik as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and union-friendly Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor secretary.
Fetterman also said he is keeping an open mind about other candidates, such as his former rival for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, Dr. Mehmet Oz for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“I’m not going to hate this in advance. I’m going to make it an open conversation for anyone who is willing to engage in that conversation,” Fetterman said.
Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said she has a “friendship” with Rubio and looks forward to speaking with him about his policies.
Duckworth, a veteran wounded in Iraq, also spoke about Trump’s defense and veterans candidacy during an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. The senator said he would be willing to talk to Republican Georgia Representative Doug Collins, who was nominated by President Trump to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, but Fox News host Pete Hegseth deemed him “unqualified” for the post.
“He has never commanded a company, let alone a battalion, brigade or entire military unit,” Duckworth said of Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran.
“There are ways to be a disruptor without appointing someone as Secretary of Defense who has never run an organization larger than a platoon,” Duckworth continued, adding that Collins would be a good example. “The VA has serious problems with its electronic health records program. I hope Doug Collins steps in and becomes a disruptor.”
Hegseth was also investigated by police for sexual assault at a California hotel in 2017.
Another name that has drawn significant criticism from the Senate is Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
Senator-elect Schiff said he was concerned about Gabbard’s lack of experience on the House Intelligence Committee and her known ties to the Kremlin.
Senator Duckworth has claimed Gabbard has been “compromised” and is worried the former congresswoman will not pass a background check.
“I think she is someone who fully supports and supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, and I worry that she may not have America’s best interests at heart,” Duckworth said.
But some Republicans are refuting the claim that Duckworth is a Russian asset.
“I think it’s insulting, frankly, it’s a slur,” Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Meanwhile, HR McMaster, who served as national security adviser during President Trump’s first term, said he did not see Trump’s former national security adviser, Sebastian Gorka, as the right person to advise on national security in his second term.
“I think the president (and) others who work with him will probably make a decision pretty quickly,” McMaster said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
McMaster, who has been publicly critical of some aspects of Trump’s foreign policy agenda since taking office, said he was also concerned that some Republican officials had a tendency to parrot Russian President Putin’s talking points.
“They shouldn’t exploit this strange affection for Vladimir Putin,” McMaster said.
Due to strong opposition from the Democratic Party in Congress, President Trump raised the possibility of placing the Senate into an extended recess in 2025 to bypass the confirmation process when appointing cabinet officials.
Republican Sen. Bill Haggerty of Tennessee told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday that a recess promise “should be on the table.”
“This is a constitutionally available tool. What we’d like to see is the Democratic Party working with us. But if the resistance movement becomes as heavy as it was before… we need to build a team around him, and (Trump) needs to He needs every tool available to him to do that,” Hagerty said.
