The GOP-led Senate has now confirmed 20 of President Donald Trump’s nominees for leading roles during the first fives weeks of his second-term administration.
On Wednesday, Jamieson Greer received approval to become United States Trade Representative through a 56-43 vote, with Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joining with the majority of Republicans in supporting the nominee. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole Republican to vote against the nominee. C-SPAN’s Craig Caplan noted Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) missed the vote as he is recovering after a fall.
“The Senate Republicans are now 20-0 on confirmations,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who has been using his X account to keep the public apprised of the Senate’s work, in a post to the social media platform that acknowledged how none of Trump’s nominees have failed so far in final votes.
RELATED: How Republicans Quickly Confirmed Trump’s Cabinet: ‘Kept That Clock Running 24/7’
Greer is the 19th Cabinet-level pick to be confirmed in a process that includes confirmation hearings and multiple procedural votes for each nominee.
Other Cabinet members include: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler.
The Senate, which is led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), has also confirmed Kash Patel to become FBI Director. However, that position is not a Cabinet-level role.
A simple majority is needed for success in a final confirmation vote. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning GOP leadership can afford to lose only a couple party members for votes in which Democrats and the independents who caucus with them unite in opposition.
Some of the confirmation votes have been very tight while some nominees have breezed through. The closest vote happened last month when Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaker to confirm Hegseth. Patel was confirmed in a 51-49 vote, Gabbard in a 52-48 vote, and Kennedy Jr. in a 52-48 vote. Rubio, himself a former U.S. senator from Florida, received the most bipartisan support among all the nominees with a 99-0 vote.
Now just three Cabinet-level nominees remain: Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer; Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon; and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), nominee to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Other nominees are making their way through the Senate confirmation process. Among them is Harmeet Dhillon, the nominee to become Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Trump held his first Cabinet meeting of his second term at the White House on Wednesday. Elon Musk, an adviser to the president who is overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, delivered remarks in which he said Trump “has put together, I think, the best Cabinet ever, literally.”
A small number of Trump’s second-term nominees have withdrawn from consideration, albeit before they ever got any votes. They include: the president’s initial choice for U.S. Attorney General, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL); and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, who had been selected to become administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
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The GOP-led Senate has now confirmed 20 of President Donald Trump’s nominees for leading roles during the first fives weeks of his second-term administration.
On Wednesday, Jamieson Greer received approval to become United States Trade Representative through a 56-43 vote, with Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joining with the majority of Republicans in supporting the nominee. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole Republican to vote against the nominee. C-SPAN’s Craig Caplan noted Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) missed the vote as he is recovering after a fall.
“The Senate Republicans are now 20-0 on confirmations,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who has been using his X account to keep the public apprised of the Senate’s work, in a post to the social media platform that acknowledged how none of Trump’s nominees have failed so far in final votes.
RELATED: How Republicans Quickly Confirmed Trump’s Cabinet: ‘Kept That Clock Running 24/7’
Greer is the 19th Cabinet-level pick to be confirmed in a process that includes confirmation hearings and multiple procedural votes for each nominee.
Other Cabinet members include: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler.
The Senate, which is led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), has also confirmed Kash Patel to become FBI Director. However, that position is not a Cabinet-level role.
A simple majority is needed for success in a final confirmation vote. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning GOP leadership can afford to lose only a couple party members for votes in which Democrats and the independents who caucus with them unite in opposition.
Some of the confirmation votes have been very tight while some nominees have breezed through. The closest vote happened last month when Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaker to confirm Hegseth. Patel was confirmed in a 51-49 vote, Gabbard in a 52-48 vote, and Kennedy Jr. in a 52-48 vote. Rubio, himself a former U.S. senator from Florida, received the most bipartisan support among all the nominees with a 99-0 vote.
Now just three Cabinet-level nominees remain: Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer; Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon; and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), nominee to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Other nominees are making their way through the Senate confirmation process. Among them is Harmeet Dhillon, the nominee to become Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Trump held his first Cabinet meeting of his second term at the White House on Wednesday. Elon Musk, an adviser to the president who is overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort, delivered remarks in which he said Trump “has put together, I think, the best Cabinet ever, literally.”
A small number of Trump’s second-term nominees have withdrawn from consideration, albeit before they ever got any votes. They include: the president’s initial choice for U.S. Attorney General, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL); and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, who had been selected to become administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
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