DENVER — It's been nine days since the election, and the country is getting a look at what President-elect Donald Trump's second administration could look like.
On Thursday, Trump announced Robert Kennedy Jr. as the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The selection comes one day after Trump nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general.
“Donald Trump has obviously sort of reconfigured the ideology of the Republican Party away from sort of the classic, neoconservative, fiscally conservative administration towards something that is different," said Michael Greenberger, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Denver. “Donald Trump is very good at being a showman and bringing people who will garner a lot of attention. And I think that, frankly, motivates a lot of his picks is knowing that these will get him a lot of attention.”
Greenberger said Trump's selections are individuals who have been loyal to the president-elect and will carry out the wishes of his second administration.
Colorado Republicans react to nominations
Kristi Burton Brown is a lifelong Republican and the former chair of the Colorado GOP.
“People are watching this as if they're watching a sports draft," Brown said.
She does not believe Trump is solely picking nominees based on favors he owes.
“I think it’s probably accurate when it comes to Matt Gaetz, for example, I think it's highly likely that he doesn't get confirmed. He can only lose four votes in the Senate, and there's a number of Republicans who have concerns about Matt Gaetz, so it's probably true about him. But I think as a whole when you look at all his nominations, it's really not true," Brown said. “He doesn't owe Elise Stefanik. She's genuinely been a leader on antisemitism in Congress. He doesn't owe Marco Rubio. In fact, he's made fun of Marco Rubio before. They haven't always had the best relationship, but he genuinely has real credentials on national security issues, and he'd be an excellent Secretary of State. So I don't think it's fully accurate.”
Brown supports many of Trump's picks, including Sen. Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Lee Zeldin for the Environmental Protection Agency and Elise Stefanik as the UN Ambassador. She does not support the nomination of Gaetz for attorney general.
"Someone who has had credible accusations against him that have arisen with minor women and things he's known for showing on the House floor, someone like that shouldn't run the Department of Justice. He shouldn't be attorney general," Brown said. “If President Trump wants to give him another position that's unrelated to justice, fine. But to put someone with his background in a position over our judicial system isn't a good idea at all.”
Brown said the selection of RFK Jr., who has repeatedly advocated against vaccines, as Secretary of Health and Human Services is not necessarily surprising.
“Whether or not you agree with every single position RFK has taken, he certainly is pushing towards something that a lot of suburban women actually have adopted these days, especially moms feeding our kids healthier food, using some of the standards Europe uses when you cut back on chemicals in how our food is produced," Brown explained.
The process of confirming a cabinet pick
In order for the nominees to be confirmed, they must be approved by a majority vote in the Senate.
“There's a lengthy process where these appointments have to go to a Senate committee that will sort of do an investigation, do some questioning, and then put a recommendation to the full Senate. And after a simple majority vote, these nominees could be appointed," Greenberger said. “Confirming appointments is a central duty of the United States Senate.”
The Constitution allows for recess appointments, which gives presidents the ability to fill their administrations while the Senate is in recess. Robert Preuhs, political science chair at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said Trump may be able to use recess appointments depending on how Senate leadership reacts to some of his more controversial picks.
“Recess appointments aren't brand new. You know, President Obama did some, President Bush did some. This isn't necessarily new. And it's actually useful because when the Senate is in recess, there are vacancies that need to be filled," Preuhs explained. "Some of these controversial nominees, I think, are probably going to have some pushback from members of the Republican Caucus in the Senate, and so, [recess appointments] may not happen anyways.”
Preuhs said the Department of Government Efficiency, which is set to be spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, would be created within the White House Office and classified as a political office, meaning it would not be subject to a Senate confirmation.
One of the first tests for Trump will be seeing how much power the Senate is willing to give him, Preuhs explained.
“There's a lot of folks in the Senate that see their role clearly as one of important checks on the president's power," said Preuhs.
“Recess appointments used for cabinet-level nominees would be a major blow to our system of checks and balances," Greenberger said.
Colorado Democrats share different reactions to RFK Jr.'s nomination
Colorado Governor Jared Polis voiced his support for RFK Jr. on social media Thursday, taking many by surprise.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Polis said RFK Jr. "helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA."
I’m excited by the news that the President-Elect will appoint @RobertKennedyJr to @HHSGov. He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA. I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than… pic.twitter.com/cILtTYplcn
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) November 14, 2024
About an hour later, Polis clarified his thoughts after receiving backlash. The governor said, "Science must remain THE cornerstone of our nation’s health policy and the science-backed decision to get vaccinated improves public health and safety. But if as a country we follow the science we would also be far more concerned about the impact of pesticides on public health, ag policy on nutrition, and the lack of access to prescription drugs due to drug high prices. This is why I am for a major shake-up in institutions like the FDA that have been barriers to lowering drug costs and promoting healthy food choices. Lest there by any doubt, I am vaccinated as is my family. I will hold any HHS Secretary to the same high standard of protecting and improving public health."
Polis's support of RFK Jr. on Thursday seemed to go against thoughts the governor shared just three months ago. In August, Polis quote-tweeted a video of RFK Jr., saying, "Not sure how bringing back Measles and bringing back Polio makes anyone more healthy."
Not sure how bringing back Measles and bringing back Polio makes anyone more healthy… https://t.co/M2ihZHa68O
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) August 25, 2024
The governor's office issued a statement Thursday evening following Polis's social media activity.
Eric Maruyama, spokesperson for Polis, said the governor "has not changed his view as a whole on RFK Jr. or on the Governor's previously stated concerns regarding some of RFK Jr's positions."
"While opposed to RFK’s positions on a host of issues, including vaccines and banning fluoridation, [Polis] would appreciate seeing action on pesticides and efforts to lower prescription drug costs and if Trump is going to nominate someone like him then let them also take on soda, processed food, pesticides and heavy metals contamination. But he definitely does not endorse actions that would lead to measles outbreaks and opposes unscientific propaganda that undermines confidence in the lifesaving impact of vaccines," Maruyama continued.
Full statement:
“Governor Polis has not changed his view as a whole on RFK Jr. or on the Governor’s previously stated concerns regarding some of RFK Jr’s positions. While opposed to RFK’s positions on a host of issues, including vaccines and banning fluoridation, he would appreciate seeing action on pesticides and efforts to lower prescription drug costs and if Trump is going to nominate someone like him then let them also take on soda, processed food, pesticides and heavy metals contamination. But he definitely does not endorse actions that would lead to measles outbreaks and opposes unscientific propaganda that undermines confidence in the lifesaving impact of vaccines. The Governor himself was vaccinated last week with the flu vaccine and the COVID vaccine.”
Shad Murib, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, did not share Polis's feelings on RFK Jr.'s nomination. In a statement, Murib said the Health Secretary nominee "consistently undermines trust in science using his personal beliefs and conspiracy theories as evidence." The chairman accused Trump of being "more interested in 'owning the libs' during his second term than in doing anything to improve your life."
Full statement:
We don’t need to know all of Donald Trump’s nominations to know that he’s on track to install the most inexperienced and political cabinet in American history. This cabinet isn’t motivated by saving you money or making your life better – they’re motivated to make Donald Trump happy as he jacks up the cost of everything and politicizes every part of American life. As one of the healthiest states in the nation, Coloradans believe in science, evidence-based health policies, and protecting public health. Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been credibly accused of sexual assault and consistently undermines trust in science using his personal beliefs and conspiracy theories as evidence. Alongside incredibly political picks like Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, someone deeply distrusted within even his own Party, these nominations prove that Trump is more interested in ‘owning the libs’ during his second term than in doing anything to improve your life.
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