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According to MSNBC contributor Katty Kay, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is working behind the scenes with his GOP colleagues to cripple the nominations of at least four of Donald Trump's nominees to his cabinet.

With Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) already having withdrawn his name for consideration to be the next attorney general, Kay reported to the "Morning Joe" panel that there is a great amount of consternation among Republicans about several of the president-elect's other Cabinet picks, and noted that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, slated to head the Department of National Intelligence, appears to be at the top of the list.

"I had a chance on Sunday night to be at an event here in Washington, there were a lot of senators there and I asked a couple of them what they thought of Tulsi Gabbard's pick, given what had happened in Syria over the weekend, hours beforehand and they kind of rolled their eyes and shook their heads in some kind of dismay," she reported. "There were Democrats amongst them, this is going to be a challenge for them."

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She then pointed out that Thune is working to give them cover should they go against Donald Trump's wishes.

"My understanding is that John Thune, the senator from North Dakota [editor's note: Thune represents South Dakota] has to think, 'How can I protect some of my senators?'"

"You can't have all of the same senators go out and say, 'No,' against all the picks," she elaborated. "So he's coming out with some kind of a rotation scheme; maybe its [North Carolina Senator] Thom Tillis votes against one of them, maybe if [Iowa Republican] Joni Ernst votes against another –– maybe if somebody votes against one of them the thinking is that they could probably get rid of four and that includes Matt Gaetz."

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A lot of Donald Trump's legal problems vanished when he won the presidency, but one Trump prosecutor isn't backing down, a legal expert said Wednesday.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance raised the discussion, pointing to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's recent legal filing indicating that he isn’t ready to let Trump off the hook in his fraud case involving hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

A national security analyst identified a "gap in the law" that should shield the family of alleged assassin Luigi Mangione from potential legal consequences.

The mother of the 26-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson filed a missing person report for her son last month, several months after he suddenly and inexplicably ended contact with family and friends, and CNN's Juliette Kayyem said that gap may hold clues about the killing.

As Fox personality Pete Hegseth continues to roam the halls of Congress attempting to sell Republican party lawmakers on his nomination to be Donald Trump's secretary of defense, MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire claimed there is still a contingent of GOP lawmakers who are balking.

On Wednesday morning, the "Morning Joe" co-host stated that what he is hearing from Capitol Hill is the numbers have not changed for the embattled Hegseth, due to allegations of sexual assault and reported drinking problems, and that there are enough Republicans who will vote no which would kill his nomination.

Noting the pressure being put on GOP lawmakers by Trump allies, Lemire claimed it has not been wholly successful.

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With co-host Joe Scarborough stating everyone needs to step back and let the "process" play out, Lemire interjected, "The word from Palm Beach is that he has momentum, they feel more confident about him right now, but he still not there yet."

"[Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa] Murkowski, yesterday, very careful wording, 'Trust the process'," he added, "We expect that he will get a fair hearing. It's this thing that we heard from yesterday, yes, they are not outright saying no, but they are also not saying yes –– they are not there yet, see whatever revelations may come up, there certainly has been no shortage of them at this point."

"Also, the people that I talked to in the last 24 hours say that numbers are about the same, still about six Republicans who aren't there yet to vote yes," he reported. "Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) doing a public service. Seemingly, this is the third or fourth time where he has gone before cameras and said, 'No, I have been talking to republican colleagues, he doesn't have the votes just yet.' So far the Trump team thinks they will keep him."

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Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Tuesday again blocked the passage of House-approved bipartisan legislation meant to shield journalists and telecommunications companies from being compelled to disclose sources and other information to federal authorities.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) brought the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act—which would prohibit the federal government from forcing journalists and telecom companies to disclose certain information, with exceptions for terroristic or violent threats—for a unanimous consent vote.

Donald Trump tapped South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security, but some residents back home doubt she's qualified to keep the nation safe.

The Republican governor's handling of several key issues in her home state prompted some residents to express doubts that she could successfully manage the sprawling bureaucracy at DHS, which secures the border, enforces immigration and customs laws and oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service, reported CNN.

The massive push by allies of Donald Trump to make sure that his Cabinet nominees get rubber-stamped by Republican senators is starting to rankle some lawmakers who are growing weary of being bullied.

According to a report from Politico, while Republicans are showing a united front in allowing the president-elect to choose the people he wants to push his agenda forward, behind the scenes there are complaints about "infighting and purity tests" that appear to be growing.

President-elect Donald Trump pledged to fast-track permits and tamp down regulations, including environmental, for any entity that wants to invest $1 billion or more in America, while offering no specifics or parameters, including how the federal government could arbitrarily overrule state and local laws.

"Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals. GET READY TO ROCK!!!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.

The Secretary of Defense nomination of Pete Hegseth, the ex-Fox News weekend co-host under a cloud of allegations ranging from sexual assault and sexual harassment to abuse of alcohol to financial mismanagement of two charities, appears to have turned around after several media appearances, and the support from key Republican Senators, especially Joni Ernst, who is being subjected to a "swarm of MAGA attacks," Politico reports.

Senator Ernst, a combat veteran who sits on the critical Armed Services Committee and initially appeared skeptical about Hegseth running the world's largest and most lethal military, has opened the door to the possibility of giving him the thumbs up.

On paper, Luigi Mangione had it all: wealth, intellect, athleticism, good looks. But the child of a prominent Maryland family may have spurned it all in a spasm of violence, in a killing that has mesmerized Americans.

The 26-year-old was arrested Monday and charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, a health insurance chief executive and father of two who was gunned down in Manhattan last week by someone who, evidence suggests, has endured his own debilitating health crises and grew angry with the privatized US medical system.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) shared an eyebrow-raising bar when it comes to whether he'll support Donald Trump’s cabinet selections in what is expected to be a contentious nomination battle for many of the president-elect’s unconventional picks.

Cruz's curious comment came Tuesday during a wide-ranging discussion about how he expects the Senate confirmation process to play out next month. He told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins that he believes all of Trump’s cabinet-level nominees will be confirmed.

A man is facing charges after police said he attacked Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), leaving her with a brace on her wrist.

The Capitol Police said Tuesday that they arrested a James McIntyre, 33, of Illinois, just after 6 p.m. Tuesday after a Congressional staffer reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building. House Division officers and agents with the Threat Assessment Section "tracked down the suspect," police said in a statement to Axios.

The top Democrat in the House took a moment to goad President-elect Donald Trump on CNN on Tuesday night during a discussion over how Democrats plan to "push back against far-right extremism."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined CNN's "The Source" and told anchor Kaitlan Collins that while his colleagues will work with Republicans to find bipartisan common ground — particularly as it relates to "driving down the high cost of living" — they're simultaneously "prepared to push back against far-right extremism."