But it hasn’t always worked out that way.

Since the nation’s founding, the Senate has vetoed nine cabinet picks.

The most recent was in 1989, when the senate narrowly rejected President George H.W. Bush’s

nomination of Senator John Tower, amid allegations that he was an alcoholic and a womanizer.

As president-elect Donald Trump builds his own cabinet, many have wondered what power

the Senate has to deny any of his controversial choices.

So how does this process work?

Well, to start, it’s important to note that Donald Trump’s cabinet picks are nominations,

not appointments.

The Constitution states that the President has the power to choose “ambassadors, Supreme

Court judges, and all other officers”, but only under the [quote] “advice and consent”

of the Senate.

These so-called ‘other officers’ has come to be defined as the ‘Cabinet’, but they

cannot be sworn in until they’re approved by a majority of the Senate.

These rules apply to all ‘cabinet level officials’, including the Vice President

and the heads of 15 executive departments, but not the White House Chief of Staff.

Experts say most of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks will see little to no pushback from

the Republican-led Senate.

However, several of Trump’s more controversial nominees may have a harder time.

Take Potential Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who, in 1986, was denied a position as a District

Court Judge after he was found to have made racist statements.

Specifically, Sessions allegedly once condoned the Ku Klux Klan and labeled the NAACP and

ACLU as “un-American”.

Another potential no-go is Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.

Not only does Tillerson’s career as CEO of Exxon Mobil present domestic conflicts

of interest, but he also has deep business ties with Russia, not to mention personal

ties with Vladimir Putin.

In order for Tillerson to become Secretary of State, he must first be confirmed by the

Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.

Then, his nomination goes to the senate floor, where it only needs a simple majority to pass.

This process begins shortly after the Senate resumes on January 3rd, and usually takes

about two or three weeks.

In the past, this process has dragged on for weeks because of filibusters and other targeted

attempts to obstruct certain nominees.

For instance in July 2013, Obama’s nominee for administrator to the EPA waited 136 days

for Senate confirmation, longer than any of her 12 predecessors.

Frustrated by this long and arduous process, the Democrat-led Senate passed what’s called

the ‘nuclear option’, allowing senators to approve most nominees with a simple majority

rather than a 2/3s vote.

This means that if Democrats wanted to block Tillerson or Sessions or any of Trump’s

other controversial Cabinet picks with a filibuster, they wouldn’t be able to, thanks to a law

they themselves created.

But even if the Senate did veto any of Trump’s nominees, they may still be placed in positions

of power.

The President has the power to unilaterally appoint roughly 300 people to fill a wide

range of jobs within the federal government.

For instance when the Senate rejected John Tower in 1989, President Bush appointed him

to lead the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a position that didn’t require Senate

approval.

As Trump seems to values his nominee’s loyalty over their experience or fitness for the job,

it's unlikely we’ll see them excluded from Washington altogether.

Besides being worried about Trump’s nominations for cabinet, many opposing the President-elect

have already started talking about his potentially illegal or unconstitutional plans, for example,

prosecuting people who burn the flag.

Some people are even talking about impeachment, before Trump starts his first term.

So, how is it that presidents are impeached?

Find out in this video

The first president to face impeachment was Andrew Johnson in 1868.

Johnson had taken over the presidency after Lincoln was assassinated.

Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which prevented the president of removing

a member of his cabinet without senate approval.

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