President Obama had seven of his Cabinet-level nominees confirmed on the day of his inauguration in 2009, as did George W. Bush before him. However, the odds of President-Elect Donald Trump heeding the same result are looking slim.
As of Thursday, Senate committee hearings have already been held for 14 of Trump’s nominees for the 15 Cabinet positions. If the nominees have unanimous approval from the Senate, they can often bypass a committee vote and receive full approval on the day Trump enters office. However, with strong Democratic opposition to several of Trump’s controversial picks, this seems unlikely. If you want a more comprehensive view of how the Cabinet appointment process works, Ballotpedia gives a good explanation.
There are a few cabinet-hopefuls that have garnered bipartisan support, though, including Gen. James Mattis for secretary of defense, Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly for homeland security secretary and Elaine Chao for transportation secretary.
Get to know Trump’s Cabinet picks and what they’ve said in their Senate committee hearings below:
