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Panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" predicted that Republican senators would hold the line on FBI background checks on Donald Trump's nominees to the Cabinet.

The president-elect's team has not yet signed required paperwork that would clear the way for his nominees to undergo thorough background checks, and has instead signaled they would prefer a private firm conduct those inquiries. But Democratic senators have said that's not acceptable, and some Republicans may take the same stand.

New York Times journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro on Monday shut down Republican operative Matt Gorman's praise of X CEO Elon Musk over his ambitions to drastically alter the federal government.

During a panel discussion on CNN, Gorman argued that Musk and his so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" would find ways to "make government work better" — and then added that he was "interested to see what they come up with."

Panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" identified the next Donald Trump nominee who Senate Republicans will most likely reject.

The president-elect had tapped former congressman Matt Gaetz to be attorney general, but he dropped out after GOP senators made clear he wouldn't be confirmed. Host Joe Scarborough said two other Cabinet picks faced a steep climb — and one of them most likely would be rebuffed before Scarborough even had the chance to learn how to properly pronounce his name.

Now that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is out of the running to be the next attorney general of the United States, more attention is being paid to other controversial Trump nominees.

A panel on CNN on Monday predicted that the next most difficult Trump nominee to confirm after Gaetz would be former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI), who has been nominated to be director of national intelligence.

Donald Trump's transition team was caught in a "violation of federal law," a Democratic lawmaker said on Sunday.

Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) appeared on MSNBC over the weekend, where he was asked about the president-elect's government takeover.

Fox News medical contributor and forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden contradicted the defense of Daniel Penny, a former Marine on trial for allegedly killing street artist Jordan Neely with a chokehold in 2023.

Penny's defense, which rested Friday, argued that Neely's sickle cell trait and marijuana use led to his death. But during a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Baden said that it was Penny's chokehold that had "caused the death" of Neely.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he opposed President-elect Donald Trump's plan to place tariffs on imported goods because it would be "a tax on the consumer."

The Republican lawmaker came out against the proposal during a Sunday interview on CBS after host Margaret Brennan asked if he supported billionaire hedge fund CEO Scott Bessent to be Treasury secretary.

Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall revealed she had worked with former host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, and she believes that he is a rapist.

In a Fox News segment on Sunday, host Howard Kurtz noted that Hegseth was accused of rape in 2017 by a woman who went to the police, "and a rape kit confirmed the sexual encounter."

Fox News pundits Ben Domenech and Leslie Marshall agreed that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was unqualified to be a babysitter or drive teenage girls in an Uber because he had been accused of having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

During a Sunday panel discussion on Fox News, Domenech agreed with Gaetz's decision to withdraw as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) fired back at Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) on Sunday morning after his colleague stated she has no doubts ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been "compromised" and is unfit to serve as Donald Trump's Director of National Intelligence.

Gabbard has come under increasing scrutiny after the president-elect nominated her for the highly sensitive intel post with even Republicans –– including Nikki Haley –– questioning her judgment and her foreign ties.

During an earlier interview on CNN's "State of The Union," the Illinois Democrat told host Dana Bash, "Well, I think she's compromised. I think by going to Syria and basically backing a brutal dictator there — I mean, Russian-controlled media called her a Russian asset. So I do think that we have a real deep concern whether or not she's a compromised person. And, frankly, the U.S. Intelligence Committee — I'm sorry — 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."

ALSO READ: The America-attacking Trump is coming for our military — and then he's coming for us

After a commercial break, Mullin was asked about Duckworth's remarks and he was not pleased.

"I got a lot of respect for Tammy, and I've known her for years we served together in the House, but for her to use ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong," he responded.

"You got to keep in mind, Tulsi Gabbard is still a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army," he offered. "She commands the reserve unit here in Oklahoma and Missouri. If she was compromised, if she wasn't able to pass a background check, if she wasn't able to do her job, she still wouldn't be in the Army."

"So Tammy is absolutely dead wrong on this and she should retract those words, that's the most dangerous thing she could say," he warned.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) vowed to support Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by investigating NPR and "toilets in Africa."

"Elon Musk will be leading the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under the Trump administration, aimed at cutting at least $2 trillion said to be government waste of taxpayer money," Fox News host Maria Bartiromo explained during an interview with Greene on Sunday.