Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Thursday that he intends to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees as he has in past election cycles, “regardless of party or personal feelings.”
The statement comes amid Trump’s flurry of appointments following his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week. Some of Trump’s picks have been met with caution from lawmakers, and questions have been raised over whether some of the more controversial nominees will be able to pass a Senate confirmation hearing.
In a post to X, Graham, who represents South Carolina, wrote that “[w]ith respect to Presidents’ prerogative to nominate their cabinet and federal judges, the best indication of what I will do in the future is what I have done in the past.”
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“I have strived to be consistent over the arc of time and respected the fact that elections have consequences,” Graham continued. “My role as a United States Senator is different than that of the President. Winning an election allows the President to pick their cabinet, make executive appointments and nominate federal judges for lifetime seats.”
“Generally speaking, I vote for confirmation regardless of party or personal feelings because that is my Constitutional role as a Senator,” the senator added. “I will do the same for President Trump’s nominees.”
Graham’s comments come after many Republicans expressed doubt about Trump’s attorney general pick, Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, being confirmed by the Senate come January.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s transition team via email for comment about Gaetz’s appointment.
Trump has named several appointees that have raised eyebrows, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense sectary.
Graham noted in his statement on Thursday that each cabinet nominee “will have to acquit themselves well during the confirmation process by answering difficult questions and having their actions scrutinized.”
“This process should be the same for every nominee,” he added. “In the past, Democrats have, on occasion, abused the confirmation process. If I believe this is happening again, I will speak out loudly.”
It’s unclear what occasions Graham was referring to in his statement. In 2017, Democrats in the Senate blocked dozens of Trump’s nominees for federal offices.
Trump has asked that Republicans, who took control of the Senate last week, allow him to make appointments while the chamber is in recess, which would essentially bypass a Senate confirmation hearing for each nominee.
Newly elected Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, has promised to confirm Trump’s cabinet picks quickly “so they can implement his agenda.”
“How that happens remains to be seen,” Thune added while speaking with reporters Wednesday.
