Gaetz favorability at 29 percent in new survey

Less than one-third of Americans view President-elect Trump's pick for attorney general, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), favorably, a new poll reveals.

The survey, published Tuesday by Yahoo News/YouGov, shows only 29 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Gaetz compared to 37 percent who have an unfavorable opinion. Just under 35 percent said they were unsure.

Trump has faced some backlash over several controversial picks for his Cabinet, including Gaetz. The former Florida congressman will likely face an uphill battle in light of a House Ethics Committee investigation into him over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other claims. The committee is expected to discuss its report in a meeting Wednesday in the wake of pressure to release the report.

The poll also comes as a hacker gained witness testimony related to the probe, according to reports. The file, which came from an unidentified person using the name “Altam Beezley,” contained 24 exhibits and is said to include testimony from a woman who said she had sexual relations with Gaetz when she was just 17 and another woman who said she witnessed the encounter, per The New York Times, which was the first to report on the breach.

In contrast, the survey found that several of the president-elect's other picks for top roles in his administration have higher favorability ratings. Overall, about 45 percent of Americans said they approved of his nominees, compared to 37 percent who said the opposite.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump's co-nominee for the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) focused on slashing government costs and restructuring federal agencies, has the highest favorability rating at 49 percent, the poll found. Just under 40 percent of respondents viewed him very or somewhat unfavorably.

Anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has faced some pushback, though the survey showed that 46 percent of Americans have a very or somewhat favorable view of him. That number is compared to the 37 percent of respondents who have an unfavorable view of the former independent presidential candidate.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who Trump has tapped for secretary of state, had a 39 percent favorability rating compared to the 34 percent who had an unfavorable opinion, the survey shows.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who's set to lead DOGE alongside Musk, had a 35 percent favorability rating and a 29 percent unfavorable rating, per the poll.

Trump gave former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard — who recently joined the Republican Party — the nod to serve as his director of national intelligence, a pick that has also come under scrutiny among allegations that Gabbard is too closely aligned with Russian talking points. Though, the poll revealed that 34 percent of respondents viewed her very or somewhat favorably, compared to the 28 percent who said the opposite.

The president-elect's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), had a 2-point difference in favorability ratings, with 30 percent viewing her favorably and 28 percent having an unfavorable opinion of her, according to the poll.

Veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick of head the Pentagon, has been in the spotlight within the last few days as he's faced allegations of sexually assault. Hegseth, who has denied the claims and said he was subject to blackmail, had a 30 percent favorability rating compared to 25 percent who said the opposite, according to the poll.

The Yahoo/YouGov poll surveyed 1,612 U.S. adults from Nov. 14 to 18. The margin of error was about 2.6 percentage points.