President-elect Trump may need to rely on acting secretaries to fill out his Cabinet as a number of key nominations draw significant concern from key GOP senators.

When Senate confirmations are in limbo, especially if there is pushback from lawmakers, presidents can slip nominees into acting roles for at least 210 days. Trump did so across more than 20 Cabinet-level jobs in his first term.

Trump’s picks like Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for Health and Human Services secretary, among others, are sure to face some opposition from Senate Republicans.

Hegseth, Kennedy, and Linda McMahon, the president-elect’s pick for Education secretary, all are expected to field questions from senators over allegations of sexual misconduct or enabling sexual abuse. Trump’s original pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), dropped out of the confirmation process just over a week after being named amid allegations of having sex with minors, which he has denied.

Senators will question other nominees, like Gabbard, over if they’re qualified for the role or have any conflicts of interests.

By February 2020, acting secretaries under the Trump administration served a total of 2,736 combined days, across 22 Cabinet-level jobs, according to a Washington Post analysis.

During his first four years in office, Trump had acting officials serve more than three times as much as former President Obama had during his eight years in office. Under Obama, there were 2,202 combined days in which acting officials served.

“I could foresee a situation where he definitely does........

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