President Donald Trump's Labor Secretary nominee, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, advanced past her last procedural vote on Thursday, teeing up a final confirmation vote next week.
She is now one step closer to becoming the secretary of the Department of Labor, and she will face a final vote on Monday.
She recently managed to get past the key Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) with bipartisan backing. There was initially some uncertainty whether her nomination would be reported out favorably, as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had pledged to oppose her.
Chavez-DeRemer ultimately received 14 votes to advance from the committee last month, with 9 senators opposing.
She earned the votes of Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., in addition to nearly all Republicans, except for Paul.
In a previous statement announcing her support prior to the committee vote, Hassan said, "The Department of Labor plays an integral role in supporting workers and small businesses alike, and after hearing significant support from constituents, including members of labor unions in New Hampshire, I will support Representative Chavez-DeRemer's nomination as Secretary of Labor."
"Though we may not agree on everything, after meeting with Representative Chavez-DeRemer and listening to her testimony during her confirmation hearing, I believe that she is qualified to serve as the next secretary of labor, and I look forward to working with her to support New Hampshire's workers and small businesses," she continued.
After attending Trump's joint address to Congress on Tuesday, she told Fox News Digital she was "grateful" to have gotten some Democratic support in committee.
During her hearing, Chavez-DeRemer was questioned over her past support for the controversial Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would effectively kill state-level laws that bar employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. Republicans have long opposed overturning such Right-to-Work laws at the state level.
Trump's labor pick recently walked back her support for the policy as she was questioned by senators. "Like President Trump, I believe our labor laws need to be updated and modernized to reflect today's workforce and the business environment," she said during the hearing.
"As a member of Congress, the PRO Act was the bill to have those conversations that mattered deeply to the people of Oregon's 5th congressional district. I recognize that that bill was imperfect, and I also recognize that I am no longer representing Oregon as a lawmaker."
The forum is not officially a State of the Union address, which traditionally comes during the second, third and fourth year of a presidency.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invited Trump earlier this month to address Congress on Tuesday.
"Thanks to your strong leadership and bold action in the first days of your presidency, the United States is already experiencing a resurgence of patriotism, unity, and hope for the future," Johnson wrote in a letter to Trump first obtained by Fox News Digital.
"Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation’s history," the speaker wrote.
"To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future. I eagerly await your response."
Fox News Channel, Fox News Digital and Fox News Go will have live coverage of the event Tuesday evening.
Fox News Channel will also preview the speech during its primetime and afternoon programming.
Will Cain will have the latest on the "Will Cain Show" at 4 p.m. ET.
Following him, join Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Judge Jeanine Pirro and the hosts of "The Five" for more coverage leading up to the event.
Chief political anchor Bret Baier continues the coverage at 6 p.m. ET on "Special Report," followed by "The Ingraham Angle" with Laura Ingraham at 7 p.m. ET; before Jesse Watters offers a curtain-raiser just before the address at 8 p.m. ET on "Jesse Watters Primetime."
While it is officially an address to a joint session, historically, these speeches tend to follow the same customs as the official State of the Union forums.
The latter are required by the Constitution under Article II Sec. 3 – which stipulates that a president must provide Congress with information about the state of the Union and offer legislative recommendations.
Before the audiovisual and digital ages, the addresses tended to come in print form.
Former President Woodrow Wilson delivered the first address in-person since former President John Adams.
The title itself, "State of the Union," was standardized by former President Harry S. Truman in the 1940s. Truman also offered the first televised State of the Union, as radio gave way to TV.
Former President Lyndon Baines Johnson began the tradition of a primetime address.
During such addresses, when all three branches of government are typically present, one member of the president’s cabinet is named "designated survivor" – and stays home from the address in case terrorism or another catastrophe leads to the deaths of all assembled in the chamber.
The U.S. Senate keeps records of each designated survivor going back to 1984, when former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce Jr. was designated the potential leader of the nation if former President Ronald Reagan and everyone else in attendance perished.
Notable designated survivors have included then-future New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during former President Bill Clinton’s 1999 address, former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley – son of the famed Chicago Democratic Party boss – in 1998, and then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2009.
Most recently, former President Joe Biden’s education chief, Miguel Cardona, was 2024’s designated survivor.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard recalled the energizing atmosphere inside President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday at the White House, as his team comes together in record time.
"What I got was a high level of energy and really just a positive outlook," Gabbard told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at the White House after the meeting.
"We have a Cabinet full of great Americans who are dedicated to serving our country and the American people, ensuring safety, security, freedom and prosperity," the national intelligence director added, noting the inspiration that billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already sparked in Trump's administration.
Per Gabbard, part of what makes Trump's Cabinet so special is that "most of us have known each other for a long time. We've worked together. We're actually friends."
She went as far as calling this level of collaboration "unprecedented" in a president's Cabinet.
Trump's second-term Cabinet has accomplished several firsts, including appointing Gabbard as the first Pacific Islander director of national intelligence, Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the first Hispanic in his role and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the first Republican Cabinet member who is openly gay.
But, "you don't hear anything about it," Gabbard pointed out.
"I experienced this from my former party, even when I ran for president in 2020, that they were all about [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] unless they didn't like what a woman of color had to say, for example."
President Donald Trump signaled Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might be the next agency on the chopping block as his administration continues to unveil new cuts to the federal government.
Trump told reporters Wednesday during the first meeting with his Cabinet that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is eyeing cutting 65% of federal employees from the agency.
"I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from Environmental, and we’re going to speed up the process too at the same time," Trump said. "He had a lot of people that weren’t doing their job, they were just obstructionists, and a lot of people that didn’t exist."
Trump also suggested that the Department of Education could also face steep cuts as he renewed calls to move education back to the states. Trump historically has signaled he is considering shuttering the agency entirely through an executive order, although Article II of the Constitution stipulates Congressional approval is required to entirely eliminate a federal agency.
"We’re cutting down government … we’re bloated, we’re sloppy," Trump said Wednesday.
The EPA and White House press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump’s remarks come as his administration and the newly created Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) led by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are seeking to dramatically shrink the size of the federal government and workforce.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell issued a memo on Wednesday directing agencies to brace themselves for "large-scale reductions in force" and establish downsizing plans by mid-March.
Additionally, DOGE has been tasked with eliminating government spending, waste and streamlining efficiency and operations, and Trump said Saturday he wanted to see DOGE take an even more aggressive approach moving forward.
Musk, who said Wednesday that the U.S. will "go bankrupt" without DOGE cuts, has launched several initiatives to drastically cut the federal workforce. For example, Musk requested all federal workers respond to a personal productivity email — that he described Wednesday as a "pulse check review" — the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) sent out by Monday at 11:59 p.m. listing five things they accomplished the previous week.
Musk warned that those who failed to comply would lose their jobs. While some agencies instructed their staffers to ignore the email, Musk said Wednesday another email would go out as DOGE seeks to eliminate people who are on the government payroll but don’t exist.
Likewise, Musk said Wednesday that DOGE is seeking to preserve jobs for everyone who is an essential worker and is performing well, but warned that those who aren’t could lose employment.
The White House said Tuesday that one million federal workers did comply with Musk's productivity email request and that employees should look to their individual agency for guidance on how to proceed.
EXCLUSIVE: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said his state can take the lead on being the best prescription for putting America back on the right track in multiple ways, including energy dominance, job growth and reducing government debt.
In an exclusive interview Thursday with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the National Governors Association and Republican Governors Association winter meetings, Dunleavy said he is excited to work with President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on these matters in the Last Frontier.
Burgum’s experience in North Dakota and his openness to pursue Trump’s vision of an energy-independent America based on responsible stewardship is exactly what the country needs, Dunleavy said.
"What President Trump is doing is getting us back to what the purpose of all of this was," he said of the original intent to use federal lands not primarily for parks but for responsible stewardship of natural resources.
"And if we do that, we can eliminate a lot of ills: debt, job creation, reliance on foreign actors. The solutions are here. He knows what the solutions are and is implementing the solutions now," Dunleavy said.
He also said he hopes to work with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on expanding hydroelectric infrastructure in the Tongass National Forest – an area on the Inland Passage between Juneau and Petersburg that the late Rep. Don Young championed.
Rollins’ role overseeing the U.S. Forest Service – rather than Interior doing so as they do the National Park Service – is another hint that wide expanses of national forests were not meant to be off limits to resource development.
Just as the Department of Agriculture works with farmers in the Lower 48 to produce food and goods, its original mission therefore includes utilizing forest resources, he said.
One area of "tremendous" potential is Ambler, an area at the foot of the Brooks Range west of the Dalton Highway – better recognized as the 800-plus-mile "Ice Road Truckers" carriageway.
There is a 30-mile section of the line between Ambler and the Dalton Highway that crosses federal land, Dunleavy said – noting the original law gives Alaska the right to cross federal land.
"[The law says] we can't be prevented from accessing our leases through federal lands."
He said he expects Trump’s team to finally allow passage to take advantage of the area's rich mineralization opportunities.
"There was no excuse [to stop passage through federal lands] – same as there was no excuse for stopping the legally-executed [oil and gas] lease sales that were part of [Trump’s] 2017 bill."
"Two of our large national forests are larger than several states. If they were to be managed on a sustainable basis so that we could grow timber, we could mine properly, we could use the hydro resources."
Of the ANWR-1002 oil lease President Biden was mandated to market but purportedly "set up to fail," Dunleavy said investors recognized the January "sham" and are eager to see how Trump cures that particular ill.
Expansion of Alaska’s gas pipeline infrastructure and well-intended lease opportunities in ANWR-1002 are the right path to energy dominance on a global scale, Dunleavy said.
The governor added that the native communities on the North Slope are supportive of responsibly exploring ANWR-1002 as it has and would create jobs and opportunities for the far-flung residents.
"Our gas lines would also impact… our Asian allies; our position in the Pacific – It's not just a gas project for Alaska. It's a gas project for the Pacific and our allies," he said.
Another field Trump could pursue would be harnessing what are the second-strongest tides in the world, Dunleavy has said.
In another recent Fox News Digital interview, that time from Mat-Su Borough, Alaska itself, the governor said Cook Inlet's tides can be a "green" energy that works.
Cook Inlet, which extends south from the state's largest city, Anchorage, down the Kenai Peninsula and into the Gulf of Alaska, has an incredibly powerful push-pull dynamic.
Dunleavy said he is encouraging investment in harnessing Cook Inlet tides to produce a reliable energy source, particularly "green hydrogen," while rejecting the idea that the debate over "green" vs. fossil fuels is a zero-sum game.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a White House spokesman said, "President Trump is committed to unleashing American energy and will work with state officials across the country to release our natural resources. Governor Dunleavy knows President Trump is right – unleashing our energy will boost the economy and make America energy independent once again."
With the successful confirmation of Loeffler, Republicans and Trump officially outpaced former President Joe Biden, who had just seven nominees confirmed at the same point in 2021.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso's office pointed out that former President Barack Obama had only 17 Cabinet officials confirmed by February 19, 2009, during his first term, meaning that Trump outpaced him as well with Loeffler's confirmation.
His office noted that 18 Cabinet nominees were not confirmed for Obama in 2009 until he had been in office for 36 days, citing official congressional records. Biden did not see 18 Cabinet nominees confirmed for 57 days.
The GOP-led Senate confirmed Kash Patel as FBI director last week, giving Trump another win, even though Patel is not a member of the president's Cabinet.
"By the end of today, we will have confirmed 18 of President Trump’s nominees. These nominees are bold and well-qualified," Barrasso said on the Senate floor before Patel's vote.
"That is more nominees than President Obama had in 2009. It is more than President Biden had in 2021. More than twice as many," he said.
"Americans voted for a bold, new direction in Washington. Senate Republicans are delivering it," he said.
While they still have a handful of Cabinet nominees left to confirm, the approval of Patel marked a crucial accomplishment for the party, as they officially put in place each of the president's most controversial picks.
Trump nominated Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard and Patel, each of whom managed to lose the support of at least one Republican.
And while their confirmations were at some points uphill battles for the administration, each of them successfully got past the finish line.
Those still left to be confirmed to Trump's Cabinet are Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Secretary of Labor, Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education, U.S. Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer and Elise Stefanik to be ambassador to the United Nations.
The Senate on Thursday voted 51-49 to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted "yes" on the conservative firebrand's confirmation, even while moderates Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted "no."
A vote to invoke cloture and begin two hours of debate on the nominee passed 51 to 47 earlier Thursday.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted earlier this month, 12 to 10, to advance Patel to the full floor for a vote.
Still, Patel faced a rockier path to confirmation, even in the Republican-majority chamber, after Democrats on the panel used their political weight to delay Patel’s confirmation vote earlier this month.
Top Judiciary Democrat Dick Durbin claimed on the Senate floor that Patel had been behind recent mass firings at the FBI, citing what he described as "highly credible" whistleblower reports indicating Patel had personally directed the ongoing purge of FBI employees prior to his confirmation.
But that was sharply refuted by Senate Republicans, who described the allegation as a baseless and politically motivated attempt to delay Patel's confirmation, and by a Patel aide, who described Durbin's claim as categorically false.
This person told Fox News Digital that Patel flew home to Las Vegas after his confirmation hearing and had "been sitting there waiting for the process to play out."
Patel, a vociferous opponent to the investigations into President Donald Trump and one who served at the forefront of Trump's 2020 election fraud claims, vowed during his confirmation hearing last month that he would not engage in political retribution against agents who worked on the classified documents case against Trump and other politically sensitive matters.
But his confirmation comes at a time when the FBI’s activities, leadership, and personnel decisions are being closely scrutinized for signs of politicization or retaliation.
Thousands of FBI agents and their superiors were ordered to fill out a questionnaire detailing their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation, prompting concerns of retaliation or retribution.
A group of FBI agents filed an emergency lawsuit this month seeking to block the public identification of any agents who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations, in an attempt to head off what they described as potentially retaliatory efforts against personnel involved.
"There will be no politicization at the FBI," Patel told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. "There will be no retributive action."
But making good on that promise could prove to be complicated.
Trump told reporters this month that he intends to fire "some" of the FBI personnel involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, characterizing the agents' actions as "corrupt," even as he stopped short of providing any additional details as to how he reached that conclusion.
"We had some corrupt agents," Trump told reporters, adding that "those people are gone, or they will be gone— and it will be done quickly, and very surgically."
The White House has not responded to questions over how it reached that conclusion, or how many personnel could be impacted, though a federal judge in D.C. agreed to consider the lawsuit.
And in another message meant to assuage senators, Patel said he didn’t find it feasible to require a warrant for intelligence agencies to surveil U.S. citizens suspected to be involved in national security matters, referring to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
"Having a warrant requirement to go through that information in real time is just not comported with the requirement to protect American citizens," Patel said. "It’s almost impossible to make that function and serve the national, no-fail mission."
"Get a warrant" had become a rallying cry of right-wing conservatives worried about the privacy of U.S. citizens, and almost derailed the reauthorization of the surveillance program entirely. Patel said the program has been misused, but he does not support making investigators go to court and plea their case before being able to wiretap any U.S. citizen.
Patel held a number of national security roles during Trump's first administration - chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, senior advisor to the acting director of national intelligence, and National Security Council official.
He worked as a senior aide on counterterrorism for former House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, where he fought to declassify records he alleged would show the FBI's application for a surveillance warrant for 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page was illegitimate, and served as a national security prosecutor in the Justice Department.
In public comments, Patel has suggested he would refocus the FBI on law enforcement and away from involvement in any prosecutorial decisions.
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, he suggested his top two priorities are to "let good cops be cops" and transparency, which he described as "essential."
"If confirmed, I will focus on streamlining operations at headquarters while bolstering the presence of field agents across the nation," he wrote. "Collaboration with local law enforcement is crucial to fulfilling the FBI’s mission."
Patel went on: "Members of Congress have hundreds of unanswered requests to the FBI. If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for congressional oversight, ensuring that the FBI operates with the openness necessary to rebuild trust by simply replying to lawmakers."
The Senate voted 51-49 to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director on Thursday.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted "yes" on the conservative firebrand's confirmation, even while moderates Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted "no."
A vote to invoke cloture and begin two hours of debate on the nominee passed 51 to 47 earlier Thursday.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted earlier this month, 12 to 10, to advance Patel to the full floor for a vote.
Still, Patel faced a rockier path to confirmation, even in the Republican-majority chamber, after Democrats on the panel used their political weight to delay Patel’s confirmation vote earlier this month.
Top Judiciary Democrat Dick Durbin claimed on the Senate floor that Patel had been behind recent mass firings at the FBI, citing what he described as "highly credible" whistleblower reports indicating Patel had personally directed the ongoing purge of FBI employees prior to his confirmation.
But that was sharply refuted by Senate Republicans, who described the allegation as a baseless and politically motivated attempt to delay Patel's confirmation, and by a Patel aide, who described Durbin's claim as categorically false.
This person told Fox News Digital that Patel flew home to Las Vegas after his confirmation hearing and had "been sitting there waiting for the process to play out."
Patel, a vociferous opponent to the investigations into President Donald Trump and one who served at the forefront of Trump's 2020 election fraud claims, vowed during his confirmation hearing last month that he would not engage in political retribution against agents who worked on the classified documents case against Trump and other politically sensitive matters.
But his confirmation comes at a time when the FBI’s activities, leadership, and personnel decisions are being closely scrutinized for signs of politicization or retaliation.
Thousands of FBI agents and their superiors were ordered to fill out a questionnaire detailing their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation, prompting concerns of retaliation or retribution.
A group of FBI agents filed an emergency lawsuit this month seeking to block the public identification of any agents who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations, in an attempt to head off what they described as potentially retaliatory efforts against personnel involved.
"There will be no politicization at the FBI," Patel told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. "There will be no retributive action."
But making good on that promise could prove to be complicated.
Trump told reporters this month that he intends to fire "some" of the FBI personnel involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, characterizing the agents' actions as "corrupt," even as he stopped short of providing any additional details as to how he reached that conclusion.
"We had some corrupt agents," Trump told reporters, adding that "those people are gone, or they will be gone— and it will be done quickly, and very surgically."
The White House has not responded to questions over how it reached that conclusion, or how many personnel could be impacted, though a federal judge in D.C. agreed to consider the lawsuit.
And in another message meant to assuage senators, Patel said he didn’t find it feasible to require a warrant for intelligence agencies to surveil U.S. citizens suspected to be involved in national security matters, referring to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
"Having a warrant requirement to go through that information in real time is just not comported with the requirement to protect American citizens," Patel said. "It’s almost impossible to make that function and serve the national, no-fail mission."
"Get a warrant" had become a rallying cry of right-wing conservatives worried about the privacy of U.S. citizens, and almost derailed the reauthorization of the surveillance program entirely. Patel said the program has been misused, but he does not support making investigators go to court and plea their case before being able to wiretap any U.S. citizen.
Patel held a number of national security roles during Trump's first administration - chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, senior advisor to the acting director of national intelligence, and National Security Council official.
He worked as a senior aide on counterterrorism for former House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, where he fought to declassify records he alleged would show the FBI's application for a surveillance warrant for 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page was illegitimate, and served as a national security prosecutor in the Justice Department.
In public comments, Patel has suggested he would refocus the FBI on law enforcement and away from involvement in any prosecutorial decisions.
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, he suggested his top two priorities are to "let good cops be cops" and transparency, which he described as "essential."
"If confirmed, I will focus on streamlining operations at headquarters while bolstering the presence of field agents across the nation," he wrote. "Collaboration with local law enforcement is crucial to fulfilling the FBI’s mission."
Patel went on: "Members of Congress have hundreds of unanswered requests to the FBI. If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for congressional oversight, ensuring that the FBI operates with the openness necessary to rebuild trust by simply replying to lawmakers."
President Donald Trump derided former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as "not equipped mentally" after he went from being the face of the GOP in the upper chamber to opposing his entire conference and voting with the Democrats on Trump's key Cabinet nominations in just a matter of months.
"He wasn't equipped ten years ago, mentally, in my opinion," Trump told reporters at the White House after McConnell refused to vote in favor of confirming his controversial Health and Human Services (HHS) pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"He's a, you know, very bitter guy," Trump added of McConnell, with whom he has had a strained relationship with over the years, including during his previous presidency.
While such a shift from GOP leader to defiant Republican might be optically jarring, the move was unsurprising to Jim Manley, former senior communications advisor and spokesman for former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Senate Democratic Caucus.
"He was living on borrowed time the last couple of years," he told Fox News Digital of McConnell. Manley speculated that if he hadn't decided to step down from leadership voluntarily before the 119th Congress, he would have had significant trouble being re-elected. "[I]t's evident just how exactly out of step he is with the caucus," he said, noting that it has become "much more conservative."
In three pivotal Senate votes on Trump's most vulnerable Cabinet nominees in the last few weeks, McConnell bucked his party. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's nomination was confirmed by a razor-thin margin, 51-50, after Vice President JD Vance was called in to break the tie.
Moderate GOP Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined him in voting against the controversial defense pick.
However, McConnell was the only Republican to vote against the similarly controversial Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee Tulsi Gabbard and HHS pick Kennedy. Even Collins, Murkowski, and several other senators with reputations for being somewhat hesitant got behind them.
"If Senator McConnell was looking to accelerate the deterioration of his legacy as the former Republican Senate leader, he’s succeeded," a Senate GOP source remarked. They described the Kentucky Republican's actions as "an attempt to embarrass the president and the Republican Party" and evidence "of why he was no longer fit to lead our conference."
McConnell released lengthy statements following each vote, explaining his reasoning. He also wished each of them well and committed to working with them.
A defense hawk and chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, McConnell was unconvinced that Hegseth or Gabbard were the best national security selections.
As for Kennedy, McConnell recalled his childhood experience with polio and touted the effectiveness of vaccines, of which the now-HHS secretary has been consistently critical.
McConnell did vote in favor of Trump's other, less-controversial and lesser-known Cabinet nominees.
Republican strategist Matt Dole called the former leader "an enigma."
"[H]e sought to rule the Republican Caucus with an iron fist when he was leader," he pointed out.
"That makes his own, lonely, votes stand out as all the more egregious."
McConnell's successor, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reacted to the "no" votes in an interview with Fox News Digital. "I think he knows better than anybody how hard it is to lead a place like the United States Senate, where it takes 60 votes to get most things done, and that you got to have everybody, sort of functioning as a team," he said.
According to Thune, McConnell "is still active up here and still a strong voice on issues he's passionate about, including national security, and so when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to."
He explained that while the conference doesn't necessarily agree with him, "we respect his positions on these, some of these [nominations], and I know that a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he's going to be with us. He's a team player."
One former top Senate Republican strategist explained the former leader has "nothing to lose" at this point. In fact, they said, the feelings he is expressing about Trump's most controversial selections actually reflects those of a number of other senators. But they can't oppose the picks themselves "for fear of retribution by Trump or primary voters that will make a difference on whether or not they remain in power."
"Not being in leadership can be quite liberating," GOP strategist John Feehery added.
According to Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, "I think he wants to make a symbolic statement in favor of an older Reagan-era type of conservatism and a more traditional Republican Party—this is the way he wants to be remembered."
McConnell's office declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
"Senate Republicans have been committed to getting President Trump's nominees through," Thune, who's been on the job steering the Senate for six weeks, told Fox News in an exclusive national digital interview.
Thune was interviewed ahead of Brooke Rollins's confirmation as secretary of agriculture, which brought to 16 the number of Trump nominees approved by the Senate.
Only 11 Cabinet nominees were approved by this date eight years ago during Trump's first term in the White House.
And on this date four years ago, the Senate had confirmed only seven of then-President Biden's Cabinet nominees.
Rollins' confirmation followed the confirmations of two of Donald Trump's most controversial nominees: former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services.
Gabbard and Kennedy were confirmed on near party-line votes in a chamber the GOP controls with a 53-47 majority.
"I think that the Senate Republicans have proven that we are united," the South Dakota Republican said.
Thune, a two-decade Senate veteran who served in GOP leadership the past few years before succeeding longtime leader Sen. Mitch McConnell as the top Republican in the chamber, emphasized the team effort.
"What you try and do is just try and make the people around you better," Thune said. "We've got a lot of talent in the Senate, people who … we want to deploy and utilize and let them use their gifts and talents [to] get things done around here that need to be done."
The senator pointed to his father, a former college athlete and coach, who he said would advise him to "make the extra pass if somebody’s got a better shot. So what we've been trying to do is look for an opportunity to make the extra pass. And I think that it does really utilize the great talent we have here in the Senate."
Thune says he's been meeting "fairly regularly" with the president, in person, on the phone and through text.
"It's a regular pipeline," he said. "His team has been really good, too, about working with our team here. I think we've had a very constructive working relationship. And I tell people, our incentives are aligned. We all want to get to the same destination."
Thune hasn't always had a constructive relationship with the often unpredictable Trump.
Trump was critical of Thune in the years after his first term and briefly considered backing a primary challenge against the senator as he ran for re-election in 2022.
Thune said that "like a lot of people," he's had "differences with the president in the past."
"But I think right now, we understand the things that we want to get done in the course of his term and the opportunity that we have, which is rare in politics, to have unified control of the government, House, Senate and White House. We need to maximize that, and in order to do that, we've got to have a very constructive relationship in which there's regular communication," Thune emphasized.
McConnell was the only Senate Republican to vote against confirming Kennedy and Gabbard. McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines, was critical of Kennedy's history of high-profile vaccine skepticism.
"I'm a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I've watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles," McConnell said after the Kennedy vote.
Trump, who's long criticized McConnell, took aim again.
"I have no idea if he had polio. All I can tell you about him is he shouldn’t have been a leader. He knows that. He voted against Bobby. He votes against almost everything. He’s a very bitter guy," Trump charged.
Thune, interviewed after Gabbard's confirmation and ahead of the final vote on Kennedy, said the 82-year-old McConnell is "still active up here and still a strong voice on issues he's passionate about, including national security."
"So when it comes to those issues, he has outsized influence and a voice that we all pay attention to," Thune said. "He's got views on some of these nominees that maybe don't track exactly with where I or other Republicans have come down, but we respect his positions on these, some of these noms, and I know that on a lot of big stuff ahead of us, he's going to be with us. He's a team player."
Thune added, "I've had plenty of consultations with him through the years and in recent months and weeks, and we'll continue to reach out to him when we think it makes sense to get a lay of the land that, based on his experience, he can help us navigate."
While he's enjoyed a slew of confirmation victories this week, Thune is realistic.
"I feel good about how it's gone so far, but we've got some really hard sledding ahead. We know that, and we just have to keep our heads down and do the work," he cautioned.
While confirming Trump's Cabinet is currently job No. 1, Thune is juggling numerous tasks.
"Obviously, most of our time has been occupied moving the president's team and getting his nominees confirmed, and we'll continue to do that. But as we go about that process, we’re looking for windows, too, to move important legislation," he said.
He pointed to the Laken Riley Act, quickly passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law by Trump.
The controversial measure, which is named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia's campus, requires federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes.
Thune pointed out that the legislation grabbed bipartisan support, but he added that it's "a bill that was responsive to the election mandate, and it was a bill that divided Democrats and united Republicans."
He also chastised his predecessor as Senate majority leader, Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York.
Thune argued that during Schumer's tenure "the floor would get bogged down. You know, votes would take forever. We're just trying to make more efficient use of people's time and get this place kind of operating on a schedule again. We're going to continue to do that and getting back to regular order."
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Small Business Administration, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday, clearing the path for her final confirmation vote.
The Senate’s vote this afternoon to invoke cloture ended the debate on the Georgia Republican’s nomination, as she now moves on to the confirmation stage.
The final cloture vote was 51-43 in favor of invoking cloture.
"Like President Trump, Senator Loeffler left behind a successful career in the private sector to advance the America First agenda," Loeffler spokeswoman Caitlin O'Dea told Fox News on Jan. 28.
"Should she be confirmed, she will continue the practice of donating her federal salary to charities and nonprofits across the country — and put her full focus on working to make the Small Business Administration a gateway to the American Dream for entrepreneurs across the country."
Loeffler, whose net worth is estimated at roughly $1 billion, previously donated her annual Senate salary of $174,000 between 2019 and 2021 to more than 40 Georgia charities and nonprofits.
Those organizations included food banks, faith groups and organizations opposed to abortion, foster care/adoption groups as well as organizations promoting health care, agriculture, education, law enforcement and disaster relief.
Loeffler previously worked at several top financial firms, including Intercontinental Exchange. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, whom she met at ICE, is the current chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
Loeffler also previously bought a minority stake in the WNBA Atlanta Dream, but is reportedly no longer associated with the team.
Loeffler also sparred with Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass, during her confirmation hearing over the Trump administration’s announcement that it would freeze federal funds and grants.
After Trump fired SBA inspector general Hannibal Ware in January, Markey -- the top Democrat on the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee – expressed anger and called for a pause on Loeffler’s confirmation consideration.
Markey said the process should be halted "either until Inspector General Ware is reinstated or until a qualified and impartial nominee to replace him is confirmed by the Senate."
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the committee’s chairwoman, called Loeffler the "perfect person for the job" in an Osceola Sentinel-Tribune column.
"Throughout her career, she rose through the ranks at multiple companies due to her determination and grit. She also started many businesses and knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur," said Ernst.
"Most importantly, she knows what it means to be overrun by Washington’s bureaucratic overreach — and that the government must instead get out of the way so businesses can thrive."
Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy and Deidre Heavey contributed to this report
President Donald Trump secured two more Cabinet confirmations on Thursday, including his pick to lead the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Brooke Rollins.
Rollins was easily confirmed by the Senate shortly after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as Trump's Health secretary.
Most recently, Rollins has served as president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) think tank, which she co-founded after Trump's first term.
In Trump's first administration, she was his director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council.
The newly elected president announced his selection of Rollins for USDA chief in November, recalling she did "an incredible job" during his first term.
"Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none," he said.
"As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American Farmers, who are truly the backbone of our Country. Congratulations Brooke!"
The USDA nominee had a hearing before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee last month, before advancing past the key hurdle.
The committee decision to move her nomination forward was unanimous, giving her bipartisan backing going into her confirmation vote.
Rollins is now the 16th Cabinet official confirmed to serve in Trump's new administration. With the help of the Republican-led Senate, Trump has managed to confirm his picks at a pace far ahead of either his first administration or former President Joe Biden's.
At the same point in his first term, Trump only had 11 confirmations and Biden had seven. Neither had 16 confirmed until March during their respective administrations.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary in President Donald Trump's cabinet.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 52-48 nearly entirely along party lines to confirm Kennedy. The final showdown over his controversial nomination was set in motion hours earlier, after another party line vote on Wednesday afternoon which started the clock ticking toward the confirmation roll call.
Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump, needed a simple majority to be confirmed by the Senate.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against Kennedy's nomination. McConnell, the former longtime GOP Senate leader, suffered from polio as a child and is a major proponent of vaccines.
Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings late last month, when Trump's nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
During the hearings, Democrats also spotlighted Kennedy's service for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children's Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children.
With Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voting not to advance Kennedy, the spotlight was on Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Cassidy issued a last minute endorsement before the committee level vote, giving Kennedy a party-line 14-13 victory to advance his confirmation to the full Senate.
Cassidy had emphasized during Kennedy's confirmation hearings that "your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," which left doubt about his support.
However, after speaking again with the nominee, Cassidy rattled off a long list of commitments Kennedy made to him, including quarterly hearings before the HELP Committee; meetings multiple times per month; that HELP Committee can choose representatives on boards or commissions reviewing vaccine safety; and a 30-day notice to the committee, plus a hearing, for any changes in vaccine safety reviews.
"These commitments, and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again, is the basis of my support," the senator said.
Earlier this week, another Republican senator who had reservations regarding Kennedy's confirmation announced support for the nominee.
"After extensive public and private questioning and a thorough examination of his nomination, I will support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced on Tuesday.
Another Republican who was on the fence, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, also voted to advance Kennedy's nomination.
Murkowski noted that she continues "to have concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies," but that the nominee "has made numerous commitments to me and my colleagues, promising to work with Congress to ensure public access to information and to base vaccine recommendations on data-driven, evidence-based, and medically sound research."
Former longtime Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, a major proponent of vaccines, also voted to advance Kennedy's nomination.
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.
The push is part of his "Make America Healthy Again" campaign.
"Our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong. It is going to be destroyed if we get this issue wrong," Kennedy said as he pointed to chronic diseases. "And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic."
The 71-year-old scion of the nation's most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against then-President Joe Biden in April 2023. However, six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.
Trump regularly pilloried Kennedy during his independent presidential bid, accusing him of being a "Radical Left Liberal" and a "Democrat Plant."
Kennedy fired back, claiming in a social media post that Trump's jabs against him were "a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims."
However, Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump.
While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
After months of criticizing him, Trump called Kennedy "a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share."
Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.
The final vote on Kennedy's nomination came one day after another controversial pick, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote.
The Senate is expected on Thursday to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary in President Donald Trump's cabinet.
The final showdown over Kennedy's controversial nomination was set in motion after the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday - in a 53-47 party-line vote - invoked cloture, which started the clock ticking toward the final confirmation roll call.
Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump, needs a simple majority to be confirmed by the Senate.
Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings late last month, when Trump's nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
During the hearings, Democrats also spotlighted Kennedy's service for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children's Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children.
With Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voting not to advance Kennedy, the spotlight was on Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Cassidy issued a last minute endorsement before the committee level vote, giving Kennedy a party-line 14-13 victory to advance his confirmation to the full Senate.
Cassidy had emphasized during Kennedy's confirmation hearings that "your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," which left doubt about his support.
However, after speaking again with the nominee, Cassidy rattled off a long list of commitments Kennedy made to him, including quarterly hearings before the HELP Committee; meetings multiple times per month; that HELP Committee can choose representatives on boards or commissions reviewing vaccine safety; and a 30-day notice to the committee, plus a hearing, for any changes in vaccine safety reviews.
"These commitments, and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again, is the basis of my support," the senator said.
Earlier this week, another Republican senator who had reservations regarding Kennedy's confirmation announced support for the nominee.
"After extensive public and private questioning and a thorough examination of his nomination, I will support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced on Tuesday.
Another Republican who was on the fence, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, also voted to advance Kennedy's nomination.
Murkowski noted that she continues "to have concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies," but that the nominee "has made numerous commitments to me and my colleagues, promising to work with Congress to ensure public access to information and to base vaccine recommendations on data-driven, evidence-based, and medically sound research."
Former longtime Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, a major proponent of vaccines, also voted to advance Kennedy's nomination. But on Thursday, all eyes will be on McConnell, who suffered from polio as a child, to see if he's the only Republican to vote against Kennedy's final confirmation.
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.
The push is part of his "Make America Healthy Again" campaign.
"Our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong. It is going to be destroyed if we get this issue wrong," Kennedy said as he pointed to chronic diseases. "And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic."
The 71-year-old scion of the nation's most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against then-President Joe Biden in April 2023. However, six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.
Trump regularly pilloried Kennedy during his independent presidential bid, accusing him of being a "Radical Left Liberal" and a "Democrat Plant."
Kennedy fired back, claiming in a social media post that Trump's jabs against him were "a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims."
However, Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump.
While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
After months of criticizing him, Trump called Kennedy "a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share."
Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.
The final vote on Kennedy's nomination comes one day after another controversial pick, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to advanceKash Patel's nomination for FBI director to the Senate floor after a fiery confirmation hearing last month and fierce opposition from Democrats.
Committee members voted 12-to-10 Thursday to advance Patel to the full floor vote, which could come before the chamber as early as next week.
The vote comes after Democrats had successfully delayed Patel's committee vote by seven days last week, in an effort to force the Trump nominee to testify a second time.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa., said attempts by Judiciary ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and others to force Patel to testify again were "baseless" as he already sat before the committee for more than five hours and disclosed "thousands of pages" of records to the panel, as well as nearly 150 pages of responses to lawmakers' written questions.
"Now we all know that Mr. Patel, and other nominees, undergo rigorous vetting" before their Senate confirmation hearings, Grassley said Thursday before the committee vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee "has examined every detail of [Patel's] life," Grassley said Thursday, "and he has been subjected to relentless attacks on his character during this whole period of time."
The vote comes after Durbin alleged earlier this week on the Senate floor that Patel had been behind mass firings at the FBI, citing what he described as "highly credible" whistleblower reports indicating Patel had been "personally directing the ongoing purge of FBI employees prior to his Senate confirmation for the role."
An aide to Patel denied Durbin's claim, telling Fox News Digital the nominee flew home to Las Vegas after his confirmation hearing and has "been sitting there waiting for the process to play out."
Patel, a vociferous opponent to the investigations into President Donald Trump and who was at the forefront of his 2020 election fraud claims, vowed during his confirmation hearing that he would not engage in political retribution.
However, the conservative firebrand was likely chosen for his desire to upend the agency.
In his 2023 book, "Government Gangsters," he described the FBI as "a tool of surveillance and suppression of American citizens" and "one of the most cunning and powerful arms of the Deep State."
Patel has said intelligence officials are "intent" on undermining the president, but he promised he would not go after agents who worked on the classified documents case against Trump.
"There will be no politicization at the FBI," Patel said. "There will be no retributive action."
Additionally, in another message meant to assuage senators' concerns, Patel said he did not find it feasible to require a warrant for intelligence agencies to surveil U.S. citizens suspected to be involved in national security matters, referring to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
"Having a warrant requirement to go through that information in real time is just not comported with the requirement to protect American citizens," Patel said. "It’s almost impossible to make that function and serve the national, no-fail mission."
"Get a warrant" had become a rallying cry of right-wing conservatives worried about the privacy of U.S. citizens and almost derailed the reauthorization of the surveillance program entirely. Patel said the program has been misused, but he does not support making investigators go to court and plead their case before being able to wiretap any U.S. citizen.
Patel also seemed to break with Trump during the hearing on the pardons granted to 1,600 persons who had been prosecuted for their involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, particularly around those who engaged in violence and had their sentences commuted.
"I have always rejected any violence against law enforcement," Patel said. "I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual that committed violence against law enforcement."
Patel held a number of national security roles during Trump's first administration – chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, senior advisor to the acting director of national intelligence, and National Security Council official.
He worked as a senior aide on counterterrorism for former House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, where he fought to declassify records he alleged would show the FBI's application for a surveillance warrant for 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page was illegitimate, and served as a national security prosecutor in the Justice Department.
Patel's public comments suggest he would refocus the FBI on law enforcement and away from involvement in any prosecutorial decisions.
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, he suggested his top two priorities were "let good cops be cops" and "transparency is essential."
"If confirmed, I will focus on streamlining operations at headquarters while bolstering the presence of field agents across the nation. Collaboration with local law enforcement is crucial to fulfilling the FBI’s mission," he said.
Patel went on, saying, "Members of Congress have hundreds of unanswered requests to the FBI. If confirmed, I will be a strong advocate for congressional oversight, ensuring that the FBI operates with the openness necessary to rebuild trust by simply replying to lawmakers."
The Senate voted Wednesday to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s controversial nomination to serve as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary in President Donald Trump's Cabinet, sending him on a path to final confirmation.
The vote to invoke cloture on Kennedy's nomination ends debate and starts the clock ticking toward the final Senate vote on his confirmation.
The Senate agreed to advance the nomination by a party-line, 53-47 vote.
Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump, needed a simple majority to advance to a final vote in the chamber, which Republicans control by a 53-47 majority.
Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings late last month, when Trump's nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
During the hearings, Democrats also spotlighted Kennedy's service for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children's Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children.
With Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voting not to advance Kennedy, the spotlight was on Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Cassidy issued a last minute endorsement before the committee level vote, giving Kennedy a party-line 14-13 victory to advance his confirmation to the full Senate.
Cassidy had emphasized during Kennedy's confirmation hearings that "your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," which left doubt about his support.
However, after speaking again with the nominee, Cassidy rattled off a long list of commitments Kennedy made to him, including quarterly hearings before the HELP Committee; meetings multiple times per month; that HELP Committee can choose representatives on boards or commissions reviewing vaccine safety; and a 30-day notice to the committee, plus a hearing, for any changes in vaccine safety reviews.
"These commitments, and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again, is the basis of my support," the senator said.
Earlier this week, another Republican senator who had reservations regarding Kennedy's confirmation announced support for the nominee.
"After extensive public and private questioning and a thorough examination of his nomination, I will support Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services," moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced on Tuesday.
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.
The push is part of his "Make America Healthy Again" campaign.
"Our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong. It is going to be destroyed if we get this issue wrong," Kennedy said as he pointed to chronic diseases. "And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic."
The 71-year-old scion of the nation's most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination against then-President Joe Biden in April 2023. However, six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.
Trump regularly pilloried Kennedy during his independent presidential bid, accusing him of being a "Radical Left Liberal" and a "Democrat Plant."
Kennedy fired back, claiming in a social media post that Trump's jabs against him were "a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims."
However, Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
After months of criticizing him, Trump called Kennedy "a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share."
Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.
President Donald Trump continued his successful Cabinet confirmation roll on Wednesday, with Tulsi Gabbard officially being approved by the Senate to become his director of national intelligence (DNI).
She became his 14th Cabinet confirmation following the 52-48 Wednesday vote. The vote was party-line, with the exception of former GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opposed Gabbard.
Despite an uphill battle before her first hurdle in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the former Democratic Rep. managed to come back and get key Republicans to support her in her bid to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies.
With the coordinated and persuasive assistance of Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice President JD Vance, crucial senators who had lingering concerns about Gabbard were convinced to back her in the crucial committee vote last week, including Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Todd Young, R-Ind.
Her success came despite the impassioned plea of Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Democrats, who all opposed Trump's DNI pick.
"We need leaders in the Intelligence Community and throughout government who are prepared to stand up to short-sighted attempts to attack our workforce at the expense of our national security. Unfortunately, I do not believe Ms. Gabbard is such a leader. Nor is she well-suited, by dint of experience or judgment, to serve as Director of National Intelligence," he explained on the chamber floor on Monday.
But Warner failed to persuade any Republicans, and Gabbard's nomination advanced past its last obstacle on Monday evening. The vote passed by a party-line margin of 52-46.
Gabbard's Senate comeback was achieved despite concerns regarding her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her previous FISA Section 702 stance and her past support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Trump announced his selection of Gabbard for DNI in November shortly after being elected. "I am pleased to announce that former Congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI)," he said in a statement at the time.
"For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans. As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties - She is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!"
Gabbard notably left the Democratic Party and subsequently endorsed Trump in the 2024 election.
Former Interior Sec. Deb Haaland has announced a New Mexico gubernatorial bid.
The politician, who served in a cabinet post during most of former President Joe Biden's White House tenure, previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"But the problems we face now are bigger than ever, and we must be fierce to solve them. That's why I am running for governor of the great state of New Mexico," she said in a video.
"New Mexico is rich in tradition and spirit, rich in natural resources. So why can't our families pay our bills? Crime, poverty, homelessness, addiction — they will keep pulling us down if we do the same things and expect a different result," she declared.
Last month on Jan. 20 — the day President Donald Trump was inaugurated — Haaland suggested in a post on X that the new administration does not care about "regular people."
"With the inauguration of President Trump, there’s a lot at stake. He surrounds himself with super-rich people who look down on us and our communities. We will need to do the hard work of getting important things done and pushing back against an administration that couldn’t care less about regular people," Haaland tweeted.
Current New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who has served as governor since 2019, is not eligible to run in 2026.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., both announced that they would vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence.
In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture.
"I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence," Murkowski declared in a post on X.
"While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security," the senator continued.
"As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected."
Murkowski voted against confirming Pete Hegseth to serve as Defense Secretary last month.
"President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence," Cassidy said in a statement. "I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation."
Gabbard, who served in Congress from early 2013 to early 2021, announced in 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic Party.
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Labor, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., has left Republicans in the Senate with some questions over her pro-union stances, but at the same time, she has generated some interest from pro-labor Democrats.
In particular, the moderate Republican will need to explain to Republicans her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), a controversial piece of legislation that was proposed a few years ago.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that "support for the PRO Act is not something that most Republicans have tolerated in the past, but I think she's attempted to address that, and my hope is that she can further clarify her position on some of those issues when she goes through the hearing process."
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act was championed by Democrats and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters upon introduction. But others, such as most Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opposed it.
The legislation would effectively kill state-level laws that prohibit employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment.
Chavez-DeRemer will have her hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Wednesday.
One committee member she'll have to answer to is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has already said he doesn't plan to support her.
"Her support for the Pro Act, which would not only oppose national right to work, but it would preempt state law on right to work. I think it's not a good thing, and it'd be sort of hard for me since it's a big issue for me to support her. So I won't support her," the senator previously told reporters.
This puts Chavez-DeRemer in a difficult position, as she will need to rely on Democrats to help her advance out of the HELP committee favorably if Paul follows through on his commitment to voting against her.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who is far from the most pro-union Republican in the upper chamber, is full speed ahead in favor of Trump's pick as Chavez-DeRemer gears up for her hearing and eventual committee vote.
In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, he explained that he and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien were involved in Trump's selection of her for the key Cabinet role. Mullin further detailed the significance of union members in Trump's winning 2024 election coalition.
He claimed Democrats have "come to us and actually said this is actually a really good pick" because it puts them in a difficult position and is hard to vote against with her support among labor unions.
The senator didn't give away any names of Democrats that might see her appeal, however.
Paul previously predicted he wouldn't be the only one unwilling to back her in the Republican conference.
"I think she'll lose 15 Republicans and she'll get 25 Democrats. She's very pro-labor, she might get all the Democrats. Who knows? So, we'll see," he said.
If his vote leaves her nomination tied at the committee level, it could still be reported and scheduled for a floor vote, but without a favorable recommendation. In this case, she would need to amass 60 votes in the full Senate to move on to confirmation.
