WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� As President-elect pick for attorney general, , prepares for questioning from senators on Wednesday, only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults are 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� confident that will act in a fair and nonpartisan manner during his second term, a poll finds.
Their faith in the neutrality of the FBI is similarly low, according to the poll from , which was conducted before the beginning of . Even some Republicans express uncertainty in the Justice Department and the FBI, suggesting that even once they take office, Trump and his allies may find it challenging to restore trust in the law enforcement agencies they've heavily criticized.
Adding to the doubts about the incoming Trump administration, the poll also finds that Americans' views of several of his highest-profile nominees are more negative than positive, although many don鈥檛 have an opinion about the people he鈥檚 selected for his Cabinet.
However, one of Trump's more controversial nominees, , is still broadly popular with Republicans, according to the poll. Kennedy, the scion of a Democratic dynasty and , has been tapped as top health official. His confirmation hearings have not been scheduled.
Doubts about law enforcement agencies鈥� fairness
Trump has selected loyalists to lead the Department of Justice and the FBI after against perceived adversaries. Relatively few Americans are confident that these agencies will act in a fair and impartial manner over the next four years, according to the poll.
About half of Americans are 鈥渘ot very鈥� or 鈥渘ot at all鈥� confident that the Justice Department and the FBI will act in a fair and nonpartisan manner during Trump鈥檚 second term, while about one-third are 鈥渟omewhat鈥� confident and about 2 in 10 are 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� confident.
Even as a new GOP administration prepares to take control, Republicans are split on whether the DOJ and the FBI will remain neutral. Only about one-quarter of Republicans are at least 鈥渧ery鈥� confident that the agencies will behave in a nonpartisan way, while about 4 in 10 are 鈥渟omewhat鈥� confident and roughly one-third are 鈥渘ot very鈥� or 鈥渘ot at all鈥� confident.
Their uncertainty may reflect the fact that the nation鈥檚 law enforcement agencies have been heavily criticized over the last few years by Trump and his allies, including by Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, and , his choice to lead the FBI. In one radio appearance, special counsel Jack Smith, who , and other prosecutors who have charged Trump as 鈥渉orrible鈥� people she said were trying to make names for themselves by 鈥済oing after Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.鈥�
Patel, meanwhile, , including reducing its footprint and authority.
Views of key nominees are more negative than positive
The poll finds that only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of nomination as secretary of defense. He . A similarly small share say they 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渟trongly鈥� approve of being as intelligence chief and Patel being selected as FBI director. About one-third of Americans disapprove of each of the picks, while the rest either don鈥檛 have an opinion or don鈥檛 know enough to say.
Many Republicans are on board with Trump鈥檚 choice of Hegseth, Gabbard and Patel 鈥� about 4 in 10 approve of their nominations 鈥� although a significant chunk aren't familiar with the nominees or don't have an opinion.
The poll also indicates that many Americans may be skeptical of Trump鈥檚 strategy in selecting some Cabinet nominees, like Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel weekend host, who does not have a traditional track record in government. Only about one-quarter say that it would be a good thing for the president to rely on people without government experience for advice about government policy, while about half say it would be a bad thing and the rest say it wouldn鈥檛 be good or bad.
Republicans are more likely than Democrats or independents to say it's a good thing for the president to rely on people without government experience 鈥� about 4 in 10 say this, compared with about 2 in 10 independents and about 1 in 10 Democrats 鈥� while about 3 in 10 say it's neither good nor bad and about one-quarter say it's a bad thing.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination is broadly popular among Republicans
But not all of the nominees are unknown 鈥� and at least one has many fans in Trump's base. Kennedy, who has promised to overhaul staff, has broader name recognition than Hegseth, Gabbard or Patel, but Americans鈥� feelings toward him are still more cold than warm. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渟trongly鈥� approve of Kennedy鈥檚 nomination, while about 4 in 10 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渟trongly鈥� disapprove, and the rest are neutral or don鈥檛 know enough to say.
Republicans are largely fans of Kennedy鈥檚 nomination, however, with about 6 in 10 saying they approve of his selection as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,147 adults was conducted Jan. 9-13, using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Amelia Thomson-deveaux, The Associated Press
