Bipartisanship in the Trump administration? Democrats are open to some picks and plans
WASHINGTON – The 2024 election was divisive and polarizing. These next four years are expected to be much of the same.
Yet there may be select moments of agreement between political opponents.
Since winning last month, President-elect Donald Trump and his team have moved swiftly to prepare for a second term in the White House. Controversial picks for Cabinet positions and the decision to launch a new Department of Government Efficiency headed by Trump-supporting businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, have been scrutinized by Democrats and some wavering Republicans.
But there are Democrats also openly favoring certain moves by the former and future president as the party looks to have a seat at the table in a Congress with Republican majorities in both chambers but a razor-thin red margin in the House of Representatives.
Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., have each received positive responses from some Democrats, following their respective nominations by Trump as UN ambassador, labor secretary and secretary of state. And other liberal lawmakers have complimented or said they are ready to cooperate with Musk and Ramaswamy's new department.
“I think there’s always areas for bipartisanship,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., who previously served in Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Cabinet as the state's emergency management coordinator during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Bipartisanship is not dead.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said if Musk “wants to change government contracting to cut billions of dollars of waste down to the Pentagon budget, count me in.”
“We're here to do work on behalf of the American people, and our job is to get that done,” Warren said Thursday. “And if that means working with Elon Musk, I'm ready. And if it means fighting Elon Musk, I'm ready.”
The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment on what bipartisanship could look like in the next administration.
Democrats give nod to some nominees
A handful of Trump’s picks have already come under fire, especially Pete Hegseth, his nominee for secretary of defense. Hegseth faces allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, drinking on the job and mishandling funds. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., already had to withdraw from consideration for attorney general after facing allegations of sexual misconduct.
But some Trump personnel picks could sail through the Senate process with backing from across the aisle.
“I’m open to many of them,” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., told Paste BN. “There’s some that I’m likely to vote no. And there’s some I’m going to enthusiastically vote yes.”
Stefanik for UN ambassador, Chavez-DeRemer for labor secretary and Rubio for secretary of state, he said, were all “solid choices.”
In 2017, many of Trump’s Cabinet picks, including those to lead the Small Business Administration, Homeland Security Department and Defense Department, were confirmed by Democrats. No Democrat rejected all the nominees.
“I voted for many of the nominees last time who were highly qualified and had the right character and experience,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
“As of now, Senator Rubio is someone I know well, I’ve served with for 14 years, and, depending on the outcome of the confirmation hearing, I’d be likely to support,” he said.
Trump taps union-friendly labor secretary
Warren said in a statement on Tuesday that if Chavez-DeRemer “commits as labor secretary to strengthen labor unions and promote worker power, she’s a strong candidate for the job.
Chavez-DeRemer was one of three Republican House co-sponsors of a sweeping pro-union bill called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, aimed at expanding labor protections for individuals to collectively organize and bargain in their workplace.
Warren said it was a “big deal” one of the few Republicans who backed the act was chosen to lead the labor department.
Her pro-union leaning puts Chavez-DeRemer in a slightly more uncertain position: She could garner support from other Democrats who, like Warren, favor her record. But this could also cost Chavez-DeRemer with some wary Republicans.
“She’s one of them. She’s pro-union,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told the Washington Post Tuesday. “She checks all the boxes for the left.”
House and Senate welcome DOGE
After Trump tapped Musk and Ramaswamy to head the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, aimed at cutting government spending, the House and the Senate each launched their own mini caucuses to promote government efficiency.
Moskowitz became the first Democrat to join the House Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus, followed by Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio. The caucus is not a formal committee.
On Wednesday, Moskowitz urged his colleagues to follow suit.
“I think being at the table allows us to have a voice, and if there are good ideas, we should vote for them. If there are bad ideas, we should fight against it,” he told Paste BN.
He added that if Republicans treat the caucus seriously, it can have “real impact.”
“If they find waste and abuse, and we can save billions of dollars by keeping services the same for American people, then we should support that,” Moskowitz said. “I mean I don’t think there’s a single American who’s like, ‘Hey, government? Perfect, don’t touch it.’”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in a post on X Thursday he is also “ready to work with” Musk and Ramaswamy. To which Musk replied, “Much appreciated.”
On the Senate side, the upper chamber’s most outspoken progressive gave his backing for the new department’s mission, specifically when it comes to reexamining the Pentagon’s budget.
“Elon Musk is right,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., wrote on X Sunday. “The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions. Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., a former Democrat who is wrapping up his time in Congress after opting not to run for a third term, told Paste BN he believes bipartisanship will be possible going forward.
“It’s a normal thing that should be happening here more frequently than it has been in the past,” Manchin said. “You’re not going to get anything done if you don’t.”