New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there isn't "clarity" just yet if all of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees will have the full support of Republican senators.
Thune predicted that "a lot of them will get through, and we'll see about all of them."
Thune, who took over as Republican leader in the upper chamber Friday as the 119th Congress was sworn in, made the comments to CBS News for an interview that will air Sunday. Thune was asked if he knew of Republican senators who might not vote to confirm Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and/or Kash Patel for FBI director.
"We don't have, at this point I don't think, clarity on that," Thune told "Face the Nation." "I think these are nominees who are new enough, they've been going around and conducting their meetings, which I think, frankly, have gone very well, but they still have to make their case in front of the committee."
Republicans will have a 53-47 advantage over Democrats, but there has been pushback from a handful of GOP senators over Hegseth, Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
"We don't know all the information about some of these nominees," Thune said. "I think we know a lot about them, but they deserve a fair process, and that's what we've committed to and promised, and I expect to deliver on.
"I do think that in most cases, at least most of our Republican senators are inclined to give the president the people that he wants in these positions, given, you know, the process that they go through and whether or not they can manage the committee process and ensure that they get to the floor for a vote."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.