| Vice President-elect JD Vance has been tasked with his first big role as Donald Trump’s second-in-command: Helping to confirm Trump’s controversial cabinet picks. Vance will be on Capitol Hill today, ushering embattled attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz around Senate offices as the House Ethics Committee decides if they’ll release a report into Gaetz’s alleged sex trafficking and illicit drug use. It’s a split screen that even the best, most experienced hand would struggle to handle. But for Vance, it’s the latest of what is likely to be many difficult tasks imposed by Trump throughout his term. As we reported last week, one of Vance’s key roles over the next four years will be to work closely with the Senate to ensure Trump’s agenda and priorities move through Congress, especially the Senate. Few Republicans have come out explicitly offering their support for Gaetz even as outright opposition has softened over the past week as Gaetz and Trump have been calling senators. But it’s going to be a huge lift to convince at least 51 Republicans to let go of their misgivings, dislike and distrust of Gaetz, who overthrew former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) last year and has campaigned against some Republican senators, including Sens.-elect Tim Sheehy of Montana and John Curtis of Utah. Gaetz criticized Sheehy and Curtis during their races and backed their primary opponents, Rep. Matt Rosendale and Trent Staggs, the mayor of Riverton, Utah. “I think he can play, and he is already playing a pivotal role,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said, referring to Vance. “And I think these first couple [of nominations] that we’re going through will hopefully prove that we’ve got the right level of trust and communication going between the Senate and vice president-elect.” Vance has only served two years in the Senate and his populist, isolationist and anti-Ukraine-aid posture have put him in the crosshairs of some of his more traditionally conservative colleagues. But Vance built ties with the newer generation of senators, especially those whose election was in part due to Trump’s influence. One person who came out affirmatively for Gaetz is Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno of Ohio, Vance’s home state. Vance was an early backer of Moreno. “Matt Gaetz is exactly the type of leader to clean up the corruption and return the DOJ to following the rule of law,” Moreno wrote in a statement announcing his support of Gaetz. (Moreno announced support for Trump’s other nominees, too, including Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Health and Human Services secretary and former Democratic representative from Hawaii turned Republican Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence.) Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), who will investigate and hold a hearing on Gaetz’s nomination as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are among the senators who will sit down with Vance and Gaetz today. “I think people will be very interested in what he has to say,” Hawley said of Vance. Vance will also introduce Hegseth, who has come under fire for an allegation of sexual assault in California in which he is alleged to have paid the accuser a settlement, to senators on the committees responsible for advancing the positions. Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, former congressman Doug Collins, and his choice for United Nations ambassador, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York), “will all begin their meetings this week with additional Hill visits to continue after the Thanksgiving recess,” Trump transition spokesperson Brian Hughes said. Vance must vote Vance is also on Capitol Hill to vote. Frustrated Republicans vented at their closed-door lunch Tuesday that Republicans aren’t showing up to work and their absences are allowing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) to move judicial nominations that might not pass if every Republican voted. Tillis is one of the senators who posed the complaint at the Republican lunch. Trump posted on social media earlier in the day, “Republican Senators need to Show Up and Hold the Line — No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” Republicans, still in the minority, don’t have the votes to stop all judges, but they could defeat some if they have full attendance. And while Trump is calling on Republicans to show up, some of the Republicans are absent because of him. Vance hadn’t voted since Election Day before his trip to the Hill on Tuesday. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who was nominated to be secretary of state, hasn’t voted this week. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) missed work to watch the SpaceX rocket launch in his home state. | 
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Leigh Ann Caldwell and 
