President-elect Trump has sparked a Washington guessing game by selecting several controversial nominees for high-level posts.

The question is whether one or more of his picks will be denied confirmation by the Senate.

Most insiders see four Trump picks in particular as being controversial.

They are former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as attorney general, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) as director of national intelligence, media personality Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary.

There are, to be sure, other Trump picks that divide opinion, including former World Wrestling Entertainment Chief Executive Linda McMahon to be Education secretary, and TV personality and former Senate candidate Mehmet Oz to administer Medicare and Medicaid.

But it is the initial quartet that are in the vanguard of controversy.

The Washington consensus is that Gaetz is in the most danger.

The list of vulnerable nominees “starts with Gaetz,” said Douglas Heye, a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. “He is on my TV screen right now, and it’s just expected, from what we already know, that the allegations about him are going to be very serious and very alarming.”

Specifically, allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior have swirled around Gaetz for some time.

A previous Justice Department probe produced no criminal charges, and Gaetz denies all wrongdoing.

But there is........

© The Hill