The Republican senators who could be headaches for Trump's nominees

<p class="ingestion featured-caption">Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and Susan Collins could all emerge as key swing votes when it comes to confirming Trump's more controversial nominees.J. Scott Applewhite/AP Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump is rolling out new nominees for his administration.</li><li>Some of them will have to be confirmed by the Senate — and could face headwinds.</li></ul><p><a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump">President-elect Donald Trump</a> has begun <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-white-house-staff-cabinet-picks-list-2024-11">rolling out nominees</a> for his administration, and some of them — particularly those nominated for <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cabinet-picks-so-far-loyalty-resumes-11">Cabinet-level positions </a>— will have to be confirmed by the Senate.</p><p>Trump has begun pushing the idea of "recess appointments," which would allow him to staff up his administration without the Senate's input. But it's unclear whether senators will fully acquiesce to that demand.</p><p>In the meantime, Trump will have to deal with a 53-47 Senate. If he nominates a candidate who Democrats uniformly oppose, he will only be able to lose three votes from his own party.</p><p>Some of his appointees are likely to have an easy time. For example, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida appears likely to get significant Democratic support in a confirmation vote to be Secretary of State.</p><p>But others are far more controversial, including Pete Hegseth's nomination to be Secretary of Defense and <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nominates-matt-gaetz-attorney-general-2024-11">former Rep. Matt Gaetz's</a> nomination to be Attorney General.</p><p>Trump is dealing with a <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-republican-party-more-compliant-this-time-2024-11">more obedient party</a> than he was during his first term, owing to successive election cycles where some of his intraparty antagonists have either retired or gone down to defeat.</p><p>Still, there will be a handful of senators to watch as the Senate begins holding confirmation hearings in January.</p>