President Donald Trump is attracting bipartisan support for some of his more controversial nominees as a handful of Senate centrists buck party lines to help confirm his Cabinet.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has received the most attention for his Cabinet voting record since Trump returned to the White House. He was the only Democrat to support Pam Bondi, confirmed as attorney general earlier this month. His votes on Trump’s housing and environmental chiefs, almost universally opposed by Democrats, drew attention as well.
But Fetterman is not the only Democrat crossing party lines this Congress. Three other senators have lent bipartisan support to largely party-line nominees.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) was the lone Democrat to support Kelly Loeffler, Trump’s new small business administrator, this week. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), a progressive, joined Fetterman in voting for Scott Turner, the housing and urban development secretary. And Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) supported Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, alongside Fetterman.
Overall, 13 of the 18 Cabinet-level positions confirmed so far have attracted some degree of Democratic support, according to a Washington Examiner analysis. Seven of those nominees received Democratic votes in the double digits.
Fetterman leads that tally — he has, in total, supported nine of Trump’s Cabinet picks. But he is also tied with three others who, although they did not always stand out as lone “yes” votes, have frequently joined Republicans: Sens. Gallego, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
“I’ve met with everyone that was open to meeting, and I came at it with an open mind,” Fetterman told the Washington Examiner. “I treated everybody with respect, and I never turned it into a punching bag situation or dropped a lot of cheap heat.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, who was confirmed on Thursday, is not Cabinet-level and was not included in the tally. Several other nominees await votes, including Trump’s picks for labor and education secretary, U.S. trade representative, and United Nations ambassador. Trump is set to hold his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The vote breakdowns not only reveal which Democrats have been most willing to cross the aisle, but they also underscore fractures within a party trying to present a united front. Some have urged an across-the-board boycott in protest of actions Democrats say are flouting the law, including Trump’s freeze on funds appropriated by Congress and his overhaul of the federal workforce.
“I’m glad that we’ve come together against some of the most dangerous nominees,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told the Washington Examiner. “I just believe we are better off opposing every nominee, so long as the president is hell-bent on destroying the Constitution.”
Murphy is among 10 Democratic senators who have rejected all nominees besides their former Senate colleague Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was confirmed unanimously within hours of Trump’s inauguration. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has voted for two Cabinet nominees, and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has supported five.
“I’m hopeful that more and more members will decide to vote no on all nominees,” added Murphy, who has emerged as one of Democrats’ leading anti-Trump messengers in the Senate.
Democratic leadership, for its part, is taking a hands-off approach and not whipping members to oppose nominees.
“Each member’s making up their own mind,” Durbin told the Washington Examiner. “Some have taken that [boycott] position, others have not.”
In a statement, a Gallego spokesperson said voters in Arizona “made it clear in the past election that they want a senator who will work with anyone in D.C. who will deliver on their priorities,” including inflation, illegal immigration, and national security.
“Senator Gallego has given every nominee a fair shot, and he will hold all nominees accountable if they fail to uphold the constitution and do right by Arizona families,” the statement added.
Fetterman met with many of Trump’s nominees, including a headline-grabbing sitdown with Pete Hegseth, the scandal-plagued defense secretary who was confirmed without any Democratic votes.
To the surprise of senators on both sides of the aisle, Fetterman’s moved to the center since taking office in 2023 and is today one of the most willing to buck his party. His shift has frustrated Democrats but delighted Republicans.
“Obviously, he had a difficult beginning to the Senate,” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said, referring to health challenges stemming from a stroke during Fetterman’s 2022 campaign. “Stepping back in and, quite frankly, saying to everybody, ‘I’m just going to call them as I see them.’ It’s been interesting to be able to watch.”
“That doesn’t mean that that’s my first choice, my second choice, third choice, fourth choice,” Fetterman added of his support for Trump’s Cabinet. He noted the exception was Rubio.
Besides Hegseth, the other four Cabinet-level nominees who did not receive any Democratic support were Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and White House budget director Russell Vought. Kennedy, Gabbard, and Hegseth were each opposed by one or more Republicans but still confirmed.
In total, Rosen has supported seven Trump nominees, explaining her lone vote for Loeffer, a Republican senator of Georgia from 2020-2021, was based on the relationship the two developed when their offices were located across from one another.
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“I really felt she can advocate for Nevada small businesses, someone I know and have a relationship with, and it’s important that I make those connections,” Rosen told the Washington Examiner. “She’s someone that I hope I can work with.”
Kelly and Welch have also voted for seven Trump Cabinet picks.
