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A handful of President-Elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks are proving controversial and the betting markets believe there is a 50-50 chance of more withdrawals with former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard least likely to get confirmed.
Last week, former congressman Matt Gaetz pulled his name out of the running for Attorney General.
The former attorney general of Florida, Pam Bondi, is Trump's new choice to become Attorney General and stands a much better chance of being nominated.
[Find All Trump Cabinet Pick Odds Here at BetOnline]
Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.
It's some of the earlier picks that are under scrutiny.
Pete Hegseth Defense Secretary
A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.
Hegseth is Trump's choice for defense secretary.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told The Associated Press the allegations were “completely false.”
“This was investigated by the police at the time and they found no evidence,” Parlatore said.
According to that statement, Monterey Police were contacted in October 2017 to investigate a sexual assault that allegedly took place several days earlier at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Monterey and involved Hegseth.
The person who reported the assault — whose name, age and sex were not released — had bruises on the right thigh. No weapons were involved in the encounter, the person told police. The incident occurred sometime between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the following morning, according to the city’s statement.
Hegseth was in town at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women during a banquet dinner held at the group’s biennial convention, according to social media posts and promotional materials from the time.
61% of those betting at Polymarket believe Hegseth will be confirmed.
Tulsi Gabbard National Intelligence Director
Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence services, is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice to be director of national intelligence.
“I think she’s compromised,” Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” citing Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time.
“The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth said.
Gabbard's sympathetic views towards Russia in the past have also raised eyebrows.
She is the least likely to be confirmed according to the betting markets, with 47% believing it will happen.
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