President-elect Donald Trump has kept busy these last few days filling out the cabinet positions for his upcoming second term, many of whom have been critical of him in the past. Once Trump takes office in January, however, all of his nominations need to be confirmed first by the Senate, which, although will be under Republican rule come January, will also contain a small but decisive group of potential GOP dissidents.
Nevertheless, a new Morning Consult survey has revealed that the public seems to be aboard with Trump's picks so far, as most of his nominations received favorable approval ratings with one notable exception: Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz, who is currently engulfed in controversy and awaiting a crucial decision from the House Ethics Committee for his misconduct allegations, received a disapproval rating of 41% compared to an approval rating of 34%, marking the only instance among Trump's choices where disapproval outweighed approval. Besides Gaetz, Elon Musk at 40% was the only other pick with a disapproval rating of 40% or higher but his approval rating was higher.
On the flipside, the most popular appointees were Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated for secretary of state, and Musk, selected to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who garnered 45% approval rating each, followed by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, chosen as ambassador to Israel, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., slated to head the Department of Health and Human Services, both receiving 44% approval.
Other notable appointees include Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk's co-lead for DOGE, and Tulsi Gabbard, nominated as director of national intelligence, each with 39% approval. Elise Stefanik, named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, received 38%, while Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, and Stephen Miller were all rated favorably by more than one-third of respondents.
The survey revealed a high percentage of undecided voters regarding Trump's Cabinet choices, with more than 20% expressing no opinion for most nominees. This trend was particularly pronounced for nominees like Lee Zeldin, who was named to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, with 37% indicating uncertainty.
On the overall transition process, 54% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the process, while 38% disapproved. These figures are slightly lower than those of President Joe Biden at the same stage in 2020, when 60% of voters expressed approval.
.@realDonaldTrump is getting decent marks from voters for his handling of his transition.
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) November 19, 2024
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