Molly Ball

I would say mixed. I mean, Republicans and people in the administration are pretty thrilled with how it's going. They feel like he's racking up wins. Democrats are also sort of getting their moxie back because they see him as doing too much too fast. And they feel like this is going to cause a backlash that's going to bring them back to relevance.

Let's do it.

Let's do it.

Let's do it.

And I'm Molly Ball.

And I'm Molly Ball.

And I'm Molly Ball.

Well, it's been a bit of a battle on Capitol Hill this week. These nomination hearings were pretty rocky. These nominees got grilled pretty hard, particularly by Democrats, of course. But there was some skepticism from Republicans as well. And you can tell that while these Republicans want to be loyal and give the president his team, some of them have misgivings.

Well, it's been a bit of a battle on Capitol Hill this week. These nomination hearings were pretty rocky. These nominees got grilled pretty hard, particularly by Democrats, of course. But there was some skepticism from Republicans as well. And you can tell that while these Republicans want to be loyal and give the president his team, some of them have misgivings.

Well, it's been a bit of a battle on Capitol Hill this week. These nomination hearings were pretty rocky. These nominees got grilled pretty hard, particularly by Democrats, of course. But there was some skepticism from Republicans as well. And you can tell that while these Republicans want to be loyal and give the president his team, some of them have misgivings.

And you heard them pressing, you know, RFK, for example. not just for his views on issues important to them, like abortion, like agriculture, but also just his basic knowledge of the way the department works that he's going to be tasked to run. And he stumbled over things like understanding what Medicaid does and how it relates to Medicare.

And you heard them pressing, you know, RFK, for example. not just for his views on issues important to them, like abortion, like agriculture, but also just his basic knowledge of the way the department works that he's going to be tasked to run. And he stumbled over things like understanding what Medicaid does and how it relates to Medicare.

And you heard them pressing, you know, RFK, for example. not just for his views on issues important to them, like abortion, like agriculture, but also just his basic knowledge of the way the department works that he's going to be tasked to run. And he stumbled over things like understanding what Medicaid does and how it relates to Medicare.

And that, of course, is something he would be tasked with overseeing. So I think there's a real sense on Capitol Hill that these are sort of going down to the wire and could really go either way.

And that, of course, is something he would be tasked with overseeing. So I think there's a real sense on Capitol Hill that these are sort of going down to the wire and could really go either way.

And that, of course, is something he would be tasked with overseeing. So I think there's a real sense on Capitol Hill that these are sort of going down to the wire and could really go either way.

So I think what we saw with Hegseth is there are Republican senators who feel relatively impervious to Trump's threats. There are at least three, Lisa Murkowski, who has survived a primary challenge before, Susan Collins, who represents a very blue state, and Mitch McConnell, who's not running for reelection again and has strong views, particularly on national defense. Mm-hmm. So that's three.

So I think what we saw with Hegseth is there are Republican senators who feel relatively impervious to Trump's threats. There are at least three, Lisa Murkowski, who has survived a primary challenge before, Susan Collins, who represents a very blue state, and Mitch McConnell, who's not running for reelection again and has strong views, particularly on national defense. Mm-hmm. So that's three.

So I think what we saw with Hegseth is there are Republican senators who feel relatively impervious to Trump's threats. There are at least three, Lisa Murkowski, who has survived a primary challenge before, Susan Collins, who represents a very blue state, and Mitch McConnell, who's not running for reelection again and has strong views, particularly on national defense. Mm-hmm. So that's three.

And if there is one more senator who feels that one of these nominees is a bridge too far, that's it. They're not going to get through.