Senate confirmations are well under way for Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations.
All cabinet-level positions require a majority vote of senators to be approved.
Republicans have a current 53-seat majority in the Senate, meaning Trump’s nominees can only afford to lose three Republican senators, assuming all 50 Democrats are uniformly opposed.
A handful of nominees have made it through this process so far, including secretary of state Marco Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe and defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth needed JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote to see him confirmed after allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behaviour toward women were made against the former Fox News host.
One of the most controversial selections is Russell Vought, who has been confirmed to lead the office of management and budget, a role he held during Trump’s first term.
He was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that the president tried to distance himself from during the campaign.
Elsewhere, oil and gas industry executive Chris Wright, a man with no political experience, has been confirmed as energy secretary.
He faced criticism during his confirmation hearing for disputing the ties between climate change and more frequent wildfires, calling concern over them “hype”.
Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin has also been confirmed as environmental protection agency administrator.
He told Vermont senator Bernie Sanders in his confirmation hearing that he believed in the threat of climate change and the US must “with urgency be addressing these issues”.
But Zeldin appeared to do a complete 180 on that during an interview with Breitbart this week, questioning the legitimacy of current climate science and saying timelines of the world purportedly ending have “come and gone”.
Longtime Trump ally Pam Bondi has been confirmed as attorney general. She has insisted she would ensure the justice department would remain independent of the White House. During her hearing, she failed to say that Trump lost the 2020 election.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent has been confirmed as treasury secretary, where he will have sway over America’s tax collections and its fiscal policy.
A firm backer of Trump’s tariffs, Bessent has pushed back against the idea that the president’s policies would be inflationary.
Scott Turner, a former NFL player, has been confirmed as housing secretary. He ran the White House opportunity and revitalisation council during Trump’s first term.
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has been confirmed as homeland security secretary.
Noem is a firm supporter for Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda. She made headlines last year when she released a book containing an account of her killing her hunting dog, as well as a false claim that she once met Kim Jong Un.
Doug Burgum has also been confirmed as interior secretary, while Doug Collins has been confirmed as veterans affairs secretary.