'Wonder if it was worth it': Senators fear spending 'political capital' on Trump Cabinet picks

Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on Thursday expressed concern about Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, with the North Dakota senator wondering if it will be “worth it” to get someone like Matt Gaetz — Trump’s controversial choice for attorney generalchoice for attorney general — “across the finish line.”

Trump spent the week filling out his dream Cabinet, including Gaetz as AG, anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense and Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.

Cramer — whose state governor, Doug Burgum, was tapped Thursday for secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior — worried some of Trump’s picks can’t get confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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“I have concerns that [Gaetz] can’t get across the finish line and we’re going to spend a lot of political capital — I say we, but a lot of people will spend a lot of political capital — on something that even if they got done you’d have to wonder if it was worth it,” Cramer said.

Murkowski likewise told CNN’s Manu Raju that Trump is selecting people “he’s got a comfort level with.”

The “real question,” Murkowski said, is “does the Senate have the same level of comfort” with the president-elect’s choices.

Trump is pushing Senate to bypass the standard vetting process and “take extended breaks that would allow him to make recess appointments,” the Washington Post reports.

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“Experts in American democracy say Trump’s call is the first major post-election test for Republicans in Congress of whether they will stand up for traditional checks and balances or bend to Trump’s desire not to have his choices questioned,” the Post notes.

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