Gabbard and another contentious Trump pick — Pete Hegseth, who has been tapped to lead the Defense Department — came under sharpened scrutiny Sunday as the spotlight shifted from Matt Gaetz, Trump’s toppled choice to be attorney general.
Trump’s pick of Hegseth is also facing uncertainty after the release last week of a 2017 police report detailing an alleged sexual assault in California.
But the withdrawal of Gaetz — who was already widely disliked in Congress — may leave senators feeling they owe the president-elect on his other highly controversial choices.
Trump’s new selection for attorney general, Pam Bondi, is meanwhile being welcomed by many Republicans, suggesting she’ll have an easier path to confirmation than Gaetz.
But that would still leave the question of who is acceptable to Trump while being confirmable in the Senate.
Persons:
Donald Trump’s, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, Defense Department —, Matt Gaetz, Trump’s, ” Democratic Sen, Tammy Duckworth, Bashar al, Assad, she’s, Republican Sen, Markwayne Mullin, Dana Bash, Duckworth, Gaetz —, Pam Bondi, general’s, ”, Russell Vought, Trump, Tesla, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald, They’ll, Mike Waltz, ” Trump, Vladimir Putin’s, —, he’s, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Gabbard, ” Sen, Adam Schiff of California, Gabbard’s, Mullin, “, ” Missouri Sen, Eric Schmitt, Tennessee Sen, Bill Hagerty, she’d, Hagerty, ” Oklahoma’s, James Lankford, Bashar, Lankford, Bondi, We’re, ’ ” Lankford, Christopher Wray, Kash Patel, Patel, Trump’s MAGA, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, ” Patel
Organizations:
CNN, Trump, Defense Department, CNN’s, Union, ” Democratic, Republican, Fox News, Justice Department, Management, GOP, Treasury, “ Fox, Florida Republican, Electoral College, Senate, Democratic, US, Transportation, Trump’s “, House Intelligence, Press, Oklahoma Republican, Army, ”, NBC, ABC, “, intel, CNN Bondi, of Justice, FBI, Fox Business, Department of Justice
Locations:
CNN’s “ State, The Illinois, Washington, California, Florida, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Hawaii, Syria, Russian, Duckworth, “ State, Oklahoma and Missouri, ” Missouri, Japan, United States, Lago