How popular — or unpopular — are Trump’s Cabinet picks? Here’s what a new poll found
Posted on 11/23/2024
In the weeks since Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump has announced over a dozen picks for his Cabinet and other key administration positions. What do Americans think of his choices?
According to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted Nov. 13-14, his appointees vary widely in their popularity.
The poll asked 1,732 registered voters whether they favor or oppose 15 of Trump’s picks, including Elon Musk, Sen. Marco Rubio and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Musk — tapped to serve as a co-head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — was the most popular choice, with 38% of respondents saying they favored him. However, he also received the highest level of disapproval, with 37% saying they opposed him.
Mike Huckabee (U.S. ambassador to Israel), Susie Wiles (White House chief of staff), and Vivek Ramaswamy(co-head of DOGE) tied for the second-most popular pick, with each receiving 35% approval.
Of those three, Wiles — who served as senior advisor to Trump’s 2024 campaign — had the lowest level of disapproval, with 24% opposing her. Thirty percent opposed Ramaswamy, and 29% opposed Huckabee.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said they approved of Rubio, nominated to serve as secretary of state, while 31% opposed him, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
Similarly, 31% said they approved of Gabbard, nominated to serve as director of national intelligence, while 31% opposed her.
Pete Hegseth, nominated to serve as secretary of defense, was slightly more unpopular than popular, with 30% saying they opposed him and 29% saying they favored him. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is the subject of a sexual assault allegation, which he has denied.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, tapped for attorney general, was also more unpopular than popular, with 36% opposing him and 28% favoring him.
Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the position following scrutiny over a sex trafficking investigation. Trump has since nominated Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, for the position.
Two of Trump’s picks tied for having the lowest approval rating: Lee Zeldin, the nominee for secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, and John Ratcliffe, the nominee for CIA Director. Both men received a 27% favorability rating and a 28% disapproval rating.
Similarly, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, and Stephen Miller, the president-elect’s pick for deputy White House chief of staff for policy, received a 28% approval rating. Thirty percent opposed Noem, while 28% opposed Miller.
Many respondents also signaled they hadn’t made a decision on Trump’s picks, with anywhere from 25% to 46% saying they didn’t know.
Predictably, there was also a large partisan divide in the responses, with most Democrats and independents saying they did not favor any of Trump’s picks.
In contrast, a majority of Republicans said they favored 11 of them. Only Zeldin, Ratcliffe, Miller and Noem received less than a majority approval among GOP respondents.
Before they can take their posts, many of Trump’s picks — including Rubio and Hegseth — will need to be confirmed by the Senate. Others, including Wiles and Miller, do not require Senate confirmation.
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According to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted Nov. 13-14, his appointees vary widely in their popularity.
The poll asked 1,732 registered voters whether they favor or oppose 15 of Trump’s picks, including Elon Musk, Sen. Marco Rubio and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Musk — tapped to serve as a co-head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — was the most popular choice, with 38% of respondents saying they favored him. However, he also received the highest level of disapproval, with 37% saying they opposed him.
Mike Huckabee (U.S. ambassador to Israel), Susie Wiles (White House chief of staff), and Vivek Ramaswamy(co-head of DOGE) tied for the second-most popular pick, with each receiving 35% approval.
Of those three, Wiles — who served as senior advisor to Trump’s 2024 campaign — had the lowest level of disapproval, with 24% opposing her. Thirty percent opposed Ramaswamy, and 29% opposed Huckabee.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said they approved of Rubio, nominated to serve as secretary of state, while 31% opposed him, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
Similarly, 31% said they approved of Gabbard, nominated to serve as director of national intelligence, while 31% opposed her.
Pete Hegseth, nominated to serve as secretary of defense, was slightly more unpopular than popular, with 30% saying they opposed him and 29% saying they favored him. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, is the subject of a sexual assault allegation, which he has denied.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, tapped for attorney general, was also more unpopular than popular, with 36% opposing him and 28% favoring him.
Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the position following scrutiny over a sex trafficking investigation. Trump has since nominated Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, for the position.
Two of Trump’s picks tied for having the lowest approval rating: Lee Zeldin, the nominee for secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, and John Ratcliffe, the nominee for CIA Director. Both men received a 27% favorability rating and a 28% disapproval rating.
Similarly, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s nominee for secretary of Homeland Security, and Stephen Miller, the president-elect’s pick for deputy White House chief of staff for policy, received a 28% approval rating. Thirty percent opposed Noem, while 28% opposed Miller.
Many respondents also signaled they hadn’t made a decision on Trump’s picks, with anywhere from 25% to 46% saying they didn’t know.
Predictably, there was also a large partisan divide in the responses, with most Democrats and independents saying they did not favor any of Trump’s picks.
In contrast, a majority of Republicans said they favored 11 of them. Only Zeldin, Ratcliffe, Miller and Noem received less than a majority approval among GOP respondents.
Before they can take their posts, many of Trump’s picks — including Rubio and Hegseth — will need to be confirmed by the Senate. Others, including Wiles and Miller, do not require Senate confirmation.
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