<a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/matt-loffman" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Matt Loffman</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/matt-loffman"> Matt Loffman </a> <br>Leave your feedback<br>As make-or-break confirmation hearings begin for Trump Cabinet nominees, <a href="https://www.maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/the-trump-administration-january-2025/">the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll</a> finds that many Americans have yet to form opinions about two of his high-profile selections – Pete Hegseth and Sen. Marco Rubio. <br>“The picks are virtually unknown,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “The ones who are controversial are going to have to build support during the confirmation process unless Trump can just push them over the finish line.”<br>Several nominees face critical tests in the U.S. Senate before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday. Here’s a look at what Americans said in this latest poll.<br>Hegseth, the nominee to head the Defense Department, testified Tuesday at the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he was questioned about his financial oversight of the nonprofits he oversaw, his views on women in combat, reports about his consumption of alcohol while at work and allegations of sexual assault at a Republican conference in 2017. <br>The former Fox News host and military veteran has faced public scrutiny about his limited management experience and other allegations since Trump announced his nomination in November. In the hearing, Hegseth continued to deny any wrongdoing and called the questions part of a “coordinated smear campaign.”<br><strong>WATCH: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/hegseth-grilled-over-opposition-to-women-in-combat-accusations-of-misconduct">Hegseth grilled over opposition to women in combat, accusations of misconduct</a></strong><br>Despite months of reporting on Hegseth’s qualifications, a majority (55 percent) of Americans – including 54 percent of Republicans – said before Tuesday’s hearing that they were unsure of their opinion about him or didn’t have enough information. <br>The poll also found:<br><strong>19 percent</strong> have a favorable opinion of Hegseth<br /> <strong>26 percent</strong> of Americans have an unfavorable view<br /> <strong>37 percent</strong> of Republicans have a positive impression<br /> <strong>6 percent</strong> of Democrats find Hegseth favorable, while 44 percent have an unfavorable impression<br>“It takes a while for some of this stuff to punch through and then to stick,” Miringoff said. <br>Four in 10 Americans also say they don’t have enough information to form an opinion about Rubio, the Florida senator who Trump nominated to be secretary of state in November. The one-time Republican presidential candidate, who has served in the Senate since 2011, is expected to testify Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. <br>About a quarter of Americans have a favorable impression of Rubio. About a third of Americans view him unfavorably. <br>Confirmation hearings for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have not yet been scheduled, but most Americans have formed an opinion about the nominee for head of the Department of Health and Human Services. <br>Kennedy, who ran for president in 2024 as a Democrat then an independent before dropping out, was a lightning rod throughout his campaign for his anti-vaccine views and allegations he sexually assaulted a family babysitter. He also said he had memory lapses because a worm ate part of his brain more than a decade ago and admitted to disposing of a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park. <br><strong>WATCH: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-controversial-changes-rfk-jr-could-make-to-vaccine-policy-as-hhs-chief">The controversial changes RFK Jr. could make to vaccine policy as HHS chief</a></strong><br>After endorsing Trump in August, Kennedy made frequent appearances with him on the campaign trail and the two joined forces on a “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. <br>Forty percent of Americans view Kennedy in a favorable light, according to the poll. Thirty-seven percent have an unfavorable opinion of him, and 23 percent have no opinion. <br>Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is a central figure in Trump’s inner circle. The owner of Tesla and the social media site X spent more than $250 million to help Trump win the White House. After the election, Trump named Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as the co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, a new, unofficial position to help cut government spending. The advisory position is not part of the Cabinet and does not require Senate confirmation. <br><strong>WATCH: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/musk-ramaswamy-meet-with-lawmakers-to-build-support-for-slashing-government-programs">Musk, Ramaswamy meet with lawmakers to build support for slashing government programs</a></strong><br>Forty-six percent of Americans have a negative view of Musk, 37 percent view him favorably and 17 percent do not have an opinion. Eighty-two percent of voters who supported Vice President Kamala Harris have a bad impression of Musk, along with 76 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of white women who are college graduates.<br>Some of Trump’s nominees and appointees have become central figures for his supporters and the so-called MAGA movement. Small but noticeable differences in the support for these candidates between self-identified Republicans and people who voted for Trump emerged in our polling. <br>Hegseth, Kennedy and Musk, each a strong and vocal booster of Trump, saw support three to four points higher among Trump voters specifically than among Republicans, though that difference is similar to the margin of error. <br>One exception to that trend was Rubio, who once ran against Trump and has been more aligned with the establishment wing of the Republican Party. His support was four points higher with Republicans than among Trump voters, suggesting some potential apprehension among Trump’s core base. <br>Trump will enter the Oval Office on Monday with 44 percent of Americans viewing him favorably, around where it was as he first prepared to take office in December 2016. Another 49 percent view the president-elect unfavorably. While people are largely divided along partisan lines, Trump is underwater with independents by 9 points.<br>Trump has touted his successful reelection, in which he won about 2.3 million more votes than Harris, and has claimed a “massive” mandate to enact his policy agenda in a second term. But Trump won the popular vote by just 1.5 percentage points, the smallest margin of victory since the 2000 presidential election. Republicans also won control of the Senate and House, but a two-vote margin in the House means there is almost no room for defections, Miringoff noted. <br>“How much of his agenda can he get done because he obviously has the slimmest of advantages in both the House and Senate?” Mirigoff said. “How much political capital can he use?”<br>The latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds mixed-to-negative views on some of Trump’s specific proposals floated as priorities for his first day in office. <br><strong>Immigration:</strong> An immigration crackdown was part of Trump’s core campaign message, and he has suggested implementing a mass deportation program to remove undocumented immigrants. Americans are evenly divided in their support of this plan.<br><strong>49 percent</strong> support it; <strong>49 percent</strong> oppose it.<br><strong>Independents are also split</strong>; 50 percent support and 49 percent oppose.<br><strong>Jan. 6.:</strong> Trump has also suggested he will pardon many of the people who have been charged or convicted for crimes related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. More than 1,200 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted on charges ranging from trespassing to assaulting law enforcement to seditious conspiracy, according to the Justice Department. <br><strong>6 in 10 Americans</strong> disapprove of issuing pardons to these Jan. 6 defendants, including majorities of Democrats and independents. <br><strong>3 in 10 Americans</strong> support the pardons, including <strong>64 percent</strong> of Republicans. <br><strong>Tariffs:</strong> Trump has said he will implement aggressive tariffs of 10 percent or more on a wide-range of products imported into the United States. Economists warn that tariffs could dramatically raise prices for American consumers, and countries potentially affected – including Canada – have warned of retaliatory measures. <br>A <strong>plurality of Americans (48 percent)</strong> believe imposing tariffs will hurt the economy. <br><strong>Fewer than a third</strong>, including <strong>57 percent</strong> of Republicans, say tariffs will help the economy. <br><strong>18 percent</strong> say tariffs won’t make much of a difference either way. <br><em>PBS News, NPR and Marist Poll conducted a survey from Jan. 7 through Jan. 9, 2025, that polled 1,387 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, and 1,221 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.</em><br> <svg class="svg"><use xlink:href="#arrow-left"></use></svg><span>Left:</span> With the inauguration just around the corner, President Trump and his transition team are eager to get his nominees confirmed. <br><span>By</span> Mary Clare Jalonick, Lolita Baldor, Associated Press<br><span>By</span> PolitiFact staff<br><span>By</span> Shyla Duff, Steff Staples, Dan Cooney, Joshua Barajas, Erica R. Hendry, Molly Finnegan<br> <a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/matt-loffman" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Matt Loffman</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/matt-loffman"> Matt Loffman </a> <br>Matt Loffman is the PBS NewsHour's Deputy Senior Politics Producer<br> <span>Support Provided By:</span> <a href="https://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/5000677869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learn more</a> <br>Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else.<br>Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm.<br>© 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved.<br>PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.<br>Sections<br>About<br>Stay Connected<br>Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins<br>Thank you. 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