Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) will vote “no” on all of President Trump’s remaining Cabinet nominees in protest against the president’s sweeping and disruptive actions in the first few weeks of his administration, she indicated Thursday.
While she and all other Senate Democrats voted to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the opening hours of Trump’s term, the bipartisan cooperation has soured quickly.
Duckworth in the last week flipped her “yes” vote to a “no” on Trump’s Transportation secretary nominee, Sean Duffy, and Veterans Affairs secretary nominee, Doug Collins.
Trump has 12 Cabinet nominees confirmed. At least 10 of Trump’s Cabinet nominees are in line for a Senate floor vote.
Her opposition is unlikely to impact confirmations in the 53-seat, Republican-controlled Senate. But it is another signal of the wide gap between Republicans and Democrats, who are furious over the GOP rubber-stamping some of Trump’s most controversial nominees and policy actions.
“Until Donald Trump and unelected billionaire Elon Musk stop their relentless spree of illegal power grabs that are inflicting pain on the middle class and damaging our national security, I’ll be voting no on all remaining top-level cabinet nominees,” Duckworth said in a statement, shared exclusively with The Hill.
Democrats accuse Musk and a cadre of individuals affiliated with his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of carrying out a hostile takeover of the federal government and illegally accessing and seeking to block funds appropriated by Congress.
But Democrats have few tools to disrupt Trump’s agenda, tallying 47 votes in the chamber, including two independent senators who caucus with them. A number of Senate Democrats have flipped from “yes” to “no” votes on some of Trump’s nominees.
Similarly, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said they would exercise holds on all of Trump’s State Department nominees, a strategy that can delay votes indefinitely.
Democrats’ early stabs at partisanship on nominees and agenda items — which they would otherwise support — indicates the party is searching for ways small and big to push back on Trump.
Duckworth’s announcement comes after Democrats staged an all-night protest to delay a confirmation vote on Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said the 47-member caucus would oppose Vought’s nomination because of an OMB memo issued last month that directed agencies to temporarily freeze all federal funding.
The White House rescinded the memo, but Democrats have fumed at Trump’s other actions: an initial blanket freeze on foreign assistance, the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and DOGE’s access of classified material at USAID and secure payment systems at the Treasury Department, among other actions.
“I refuse to aid and abet these illegal and harmful power grabs by voting for any of this Administration’s remaining cabinet-level nominees,” Duckworth said in a statement.
