Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. often talked like fairly conventional Democrats when they ran for that party’s presidential nomination. Senate Republicans are treating that past political history as water under the bridge.
That’s not to suggest either nominee — both of whom very publicly left the Democratic Party — will get a free pass during the confirmation process. Republicans have promised tough questions for Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, over his position on abortion rights and anti-vaccine views. And Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, is sure to face questions about prior meetings with (now former) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her positioning on national surveillance.
Yet despite those potential roadblocks, Republicans largely seem unfazed by Kennedy and Gabbard’s fairly recent support for mainstream Democratic policies in areas as diverse as climate change, raising the minimum wage and stricter regulation of big banks.
“We’re focused on today. I can’t explain what happened four years ago,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who’s supporting Kennedy for the health perch after meeting with him.
Kennedy started out his 2024 campaign in the Democratic primary against President Joe Biden before switching to an independent bid, while Gabbard was one in a crowded field of Democratic contenders in 2020. Both have begun making the rounds with Republicans on Capitol Hill — Gabbard started with defense hawks while Kennedy Jr. is flooding the zone this week with GOP lawmaker meetings.
“These are the president’s nominees and he has full trust and faith in them regardless of their party,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of Senate leadership. “Having voices that are not exclusively Republicans is probably a good idea.”
Still, some GOP senators are vowing to press the nominees for answers on their political evolutions through the confirmation process.
“Typically, there are policy differences that distinguish the political parties and so changing horses like this makes me wonder where people are coming from,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told POLITICO.
Without any Democratic votes, Kennedy or Gabbard could only afford three GOP defections to get confirmed — and only then with Vice President-elect JD Vance breaking a tie.
One notable potential red flag from Republican senators is Kennedy’s vague and at times contradictory record on abortion, which has fired up some conservatives. During his presidential run, Kennedy and his running mate voiced support for a national 15-week ban before walking it back and offered scant policy details on how he’d approach abortion in office. Many Republicans have said they’ll be pressing Kennedy for clarity on where he is on the issue as he makes the rounds on Capitol Hill.
And Gabbard drew plenty of skepticism and outright condemnation for some idiosyncratic decisions while in office — she met with Assad in 2017 and voted ‘present’ on the first impeachment of Trump — but largely voted like a traditional Democrat.
She had a 100 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ+ rights group, during her final term in Congress; she boasts a 92 percent lifetime score from influential green group the League of Conservation Voters and has just a ten percent lifetime score from the conservative Heritage Foundation.
But many Republicans see the fact that Kennedy and Gabbard don’t hail from traditional Republican backgrounds as a major selling point given the need, in their minds, to significantly revamp how the federal government operates.
“I’m looking for the best person to help us, and he’s got a lot of great ideas,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said of Kennedy. “Hey, he’s outside the box.”
