Texas’ senators plan to support Trump’s Cabinet picks

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WASHINGTON — Texas’ two senators plan to support President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, including some of his most controversial choices, and are urging their peers not to delay the confirmation process.

“My attitude, about nominations generally, is that President Trump won this election decisively,” Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday after a meeting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary. “He's entitled to his team because that's the team that will help him follow through on the promises that he made on the campaign trail, and then those people will then be accountable to him to accomplish the goals that he has set out for them.”

Several of Trump’s picks for top positions have given members of Congress pause for their past comments or unconventional résumés. Even some Republicans gave criticism to some of the picks’ past comments.

Kennedy has questioned the efficacy of vaccines, drawing rebukes from members of both parties as he seeks to lead the agency in charge of the nation’s drug regulation.

Former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who was named to lead the U.S. intelligence community, alarmed national security-focused lawmakers due to her past comments sympathizing with ousted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kash Patel’s selection to head the FBI concerned Democrats, who view him as an ideologue set on dismantling the agency he was chosen to lead.

Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to run the Defense Department nearly faltered following allegations of sexual abuse and alcoholism. He has denied any disqualifying impropriety and met with Republican senators individually to make his case.

Sen. Ted Cruz has been supportive of all of Trump’s Cabinet picks who are still in the running, expressing confidence they will all be confirmed.

“Under the Constitution, the Senate has a responsibility to advise and consent. But I believe at the end of the day, that all of the Trump Cabinet nominees are going to be confirmed,” Cruz said in a December interview with Dallas’ WFAA.

In a statement after meeting Hegseth last month, Cruz called Hegseth a “strong pick to help President Trump carry out his vision.” Cruz has also called Patel a “very strong nominee,” citing his work as a staffer on the House Intelligence Committee and on the National Security Council during the first Trump presidency. Cruz has also said he was impressed with Gabbard’s service as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and said she was “smart” and “serious.”

Cornyn kept his opinions on several Cabinet picks private until he had met with them individually, scheduling meetings throughout December and January in his Capitol Hill offices. After having meetings with Patel, Hegseth and Kennedy, Cornyn said he planned to support each of them. He initially offered a more vague assessment after meeting with Gabbard, saying he found her “impressive” and looked forward to her confirmation hearing. Cornyn sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Cornyn said Thursday that absent extraordinary circumstances, he would support all of Trump's nominees, including Gabbard.

Cornyn and Cruz advocated for an expedient confirmation for Trump’s picks. Speaking after his meeting with Kennedy on Thursday, Cornyn bemoaned that extended background checks by the FBI were delaying confirmation hearings.

“Democrats are not entitled to sabotage this president by denying him his Cabinet, and I intend to do everything I can to see that they are speedily confirmed,” Cornyn said. “It's unacceptable for the FBI or anyone else to basically sabotage President Trump's ability to get his Cabinet and his team in place.”

One of Trump’s picks has already fallen through. Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s selection to lead the Justice Department met bipartisan outcry for his lack of experience and long history of allegations of sexual abuse and drug use. The House Ethics Committee released a report in December alleging Gaetz paid to have sex and obstructed Congress’ investigation, but the allegations against him date back long before the report. The Justice Department also pursued allegations that he paid to have sex with a minor but dropped the investigation in 2023. Gaetz was also personally disliked by many of his Republican colleagues for his obstructionist tendencies.

Gaetz withdrew from consideration in November when it became clear he did not have sufficient support in the Senate to secure confirmation. Before Gaetz’s withdrawal, Cornyn said he was entitled to a “fair hearing” but that he wanted to see all the details of his case before deciding to support him. Cruz said at the time he found the pick “surprising” and that he would assess Gaetz but didn’t commit to supporting him.

Trump has since named Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general. While Democrats have raised issues with her past on Trump’s 2020 impeachment defense team and support for overturning the 2020 presidential election, Bondi was a much more palatable candidate for Republicans than Gaetz. Cruz and Cornyn backed her bid.