Americans are optimistic about President-elect Donald Trump’s transition into the White House as he continues to announce his picks for his second administration, according to a new poll.
The CBS News/YouGov poll found that 59 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the presidential transition while 41 percent said they disapproved. The poll also found that the majority of Americans were happy or satisfied with Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the days since his win, Trump has announced a flurry of picks for his cabinet and other top administration roles. Many of his picks have been met with widespread scrutiny, as many people have criticized his choices for a lack of experience and for allegations of sexual misconduct being brought against them.
But the poll found Americans were more likely to say Trump made “good” choices than not for his cabinet.
Here’s the share of Americans who said whether Trump’s picks were a “good” choice, according to the poll.
Marco Rubio for Secretary of State
- Good choice: 44%
- Not good choice: 25%
- Haven’t heard enough: 31%
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary
- Good choice: 47%
- Not good choice: 34%
- Haven’t heard enough: 19%
Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary
- Good choice: 33%
- Not good choice: 28%
- Haven’t heard enough: 39%
Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence
- Good choice: 36%
- Not good choice: 27%
- Haven’t heard enough: 36%
The poll also found that 89 percent of respondents said it was important for Trump to appoint people who will speak their minds. Eighty-six percent said it was important for his nominees to have related experience, 64 percent said it was important for them to have experience in Washington and 51 percent said it was important the nominees were loyal to Trump.
The poll also showed that most Americans want the Senate to hold confirmation hearings instead of allowing Trump to make recess appointments. Trump previously called on the Senate to let him make recess appointments for his cabinet, which would blow by typical Senate procedure.
The poll was conducted among 2,232 adults Nov. 19-22 and has a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
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