Two women Republican Senators who have often disagreed with and voted against Donald Trump—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine—are seen as likely to resist many of Trump’s controversial Cabinet nominees.
Both women voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges in his second trial. Both are seen as moderates, and have shown courage and conviction in their careers in the Senate, with Collins in the Senate since 1997 and Murkowski since 2002.
The question is whether they can gain at least two Republican colleagues to join them in fighting to reject Trump’s outrageous Cabinet nominees, including:
Matt Gaetz, Attorney General
Pete Hegseth, Defense
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
It seems clear other Republican Senators are very unhappy with some, or all of these choices, but will they be willing to challenge Trump is the unknown matter.
And sadly, future Senate Majority Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, not Trump’s “favorite”, has to deal with the likelihood of Trump deciding to call for the Senate to go into recess.
This would be an abdicating of their responsibility as a co-equal branch of government, and allowing two year “recess” appointments, which might be challenged in the courts, but with no clear answer as to what the resolution on the matter would be!