A look at the approval process for President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks

DENVER — It’s been nine days since the election and the country is looking at what President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration might look like.

Trump announced Thursday Robert Kennedy Jr. as a candidate to head the Department of Health and Human Services. The election came a day after Trump was nominated Representative Matt Gaetz for Attorney General.

“Donald Trump has restructured the ideology of the Republican Party from classic, neoconservative, fiscally conservative governance to something different,” said Michael Greenberger, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Denver. Donald Trump is very good at being an entertainer and bringing people together that will attract a lot of attention. Frankly, I think what motivates most of his picks is that he knows they’re going to attract a lot of attention to him.

Greenberger said the people Trump will choose will be people who are loyal to the president-elect and will carry out the wishes of his second administration.

Colorado Republicans react to nominations

Kristi Burton Brown is a lifelong Republican and former chair of the Colorado GOP.

“People are watching this like they’re watching a sports draft,” Brown said.

He doesn’t believe Trump chooses candidates based solely on favors he is owed.

“I think that’s probably true when it comes to Matt Gaetz; for example, I think it’s quite possible that he won’t be confirmed. He may only lose four votes in the Senate, and a lot of Republicans have concerns about Matt Gaetz, so that’s probably true for him. But when you look at all of her nominations as a whole, I think that’s actually not true,” Brown said. “She doesn’t owe a debt to Elise Stefanik. Elise Stefanik really became a leader on anti-Semitism in Congress. He doesn’t owe anything to Marco Rubio. In fact, he’s made fun of Marco Rubio before. They didn’t always have a great relationship, but he has a real background in national security issues and I don’t think he would make a great Secretary of State. completely true.”

Brown as Secretary of State. He supports many of Trump’s picks, including Marco Rubio, Lee Zeldin for the Environmental Protection Agency, and Elise Stefanik for U.N. Ambassador. He does not support Gaetz’s candidacy for attorney general.

“Someone who has made credible allegations against himself regarding underage women and who is known for his actions in the House of Representatives should not be running the Department of Justice. He should not be attorney general,” Brown said. “If President Trump wants to give him another position that has nothing to do with justice, that’s fine. “But putting someone with his background in a position on our judicial system is not a good idea.”

Brown said it was little surprise that RFK Jr., who has repeatedly advocated against vaccines, was chosen as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“Whether or not you agree with every stance RFK takes, he’s certainly moving towards something that a lot of suburban women are embracing these days, especially mothers feeding our children healthier food, using some of the same standards Europe uses when making cuts.” We are going back to chemicals in the production of our food,” Brown explained.

The process of approving cabinet selection

To be confirmed, nominees must be approved by a majority vote in the Senate.

“There’s a long process where these appointments have to go to the Senate committee, which will do some sort of investigation, do some questioning, and then make a recommendation to the full Senate. These candidates can be appointed after a simple majority vote, Greenberger said. “Confirmation of appointments is the primary duty of the United States Senate.”

The Constitution allows recess appointments, which gives presidents the ability to fill out their administrations while the Senate is in recess. Robert Preuhs, chair of political science at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said Trump could use recess appointments depending on how the Senate leadership responds to some of his more controversial picks.

“Recess appointments are not brand new. You know, President Obama did some, President Bush did some. This isn’t necessarily new. And that’s actually beneficial because when the Senate is in recess there are vacancies that need to be filled,” Preuhs explained. “I think some of these controversial nominees are probably going to face some pushback from members of the Republican Party in the Republican Party. “Senate and similar (recess appointments) may not happen anyway.”

Preuhs said that the Department of Government Efficiency, which will be spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, will be created within the White House Office and will be classified as a political office, meaning it will not be subject to Senate approval.

Preuhs said one of the first tests for Trump will be to see how much power the Senate is willing to give him.

“There are many people in the Senate who clearly see their role as one of the important checks on the president’s authority,” Preuhs said.

“Recess appointments for booth-level candidates would be a major blow to our system of checks and balances,” Greenberger said. he said.

Colorado Democrats react differently to RFK Jr.’s candidacy

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis surprised many by voicing his support for RFK Jr. on social media Thursday.

One Publish on XPolis, formerly Twitter, said RFK Jr. “helped us get through the vaccine mandate in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and the FDA.”

About an hour later Police clarified his thoughts after getting response. The governor said: “Science must remain the cornerstone of our nation’s health policy, and a science-backed decision to vaccinate improves public health and safety. But if we as a country follow the science, we will also be much more concerned about the impact of pesticides on public health.” , agricultural policy on nutrition, and lack of access to prescription drugs due to high drug prices. So, lest there be any doubt, I am in favor of vaccination, as are my parents. I have been and will hold any HHS Secretary to the same high standard of protecting and improving public health.”

Polis’ support for RFK Jr. on Thursday appeared to run counter to sentiments the governor shared just three months ago. In August, Police cited and tweeted a video of RFK Jr.“I’m not sure how bringing back measles and polio is going to make people healthier.”

The Governorship made a statement on Thursday evening following the Police’s social media activity.

Police spokesman Eric Maruyama said the governor “has not changed his view of RFK Jr. as a whole or the Governor’s previously expressed concerns regarding some of RFK Jr.’s positions.”

“Although he opposes RFK’s positions on many issues, including vaccines and banning fluoridation, (Polis) would welcome action on pesticides and efforts to lower prescription drug costs, and if Trump were to nominate someone like him, he would allow them to take on the mantle. “We fight against soda, processed food, pesticides and heavy metal pollution, but we strongly disapprove of actions that would lead to measles outbreaks and oppose unscientific propaganda that would undermine confidence in the life-saving effect of vaccines,” Maruyama said. “It’s coming out,” he continued.

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Shad Murib, chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party, did not share Polis’ feelings about RFK Jr.’s candidacy. Murib said in a statement that the Health Minister candidate “has consistently undermined trust in science by using his personal beliefs and conspiracy theories as evidence.” The president accused Trump of being “more interested in ‘having libraries’ than doing anything to make your life better in his second term.”

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