President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration starts off with mostly good will from the public: a majority of Americans overall are either happy or at least satisfied that he won and are either excited or optimistic about what he’ll do as president. 

Trump’s handling of his presidential transition gets approval from most Americans overall and brings near-universal approval from his voters, along with a net-positive response about his selections for Cabinet posts, in particular, Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick to be secretary of state. 

After inflation and the economy so dominated the election, Americans are more inclined to think his administration will bring down prices for food and groceries rather than raise them, and his voters overwhelmingly say that. Going into the election, his backers expected that, too.

In a similar vein, Trump’s election already has some Republicans’ views of the economy improving.

Overall, Republicans today are more excited about what Trump will do as president now than they were in 2016 when he was first elected.

Democrats say they feel more scared about what Trump might do than they did in 2016, and a large majority of Democrats think as president he will threaten their rights and freedoms. But at the same time, there seems to be a sense of exhaustion, as fewer than half of Democrats feel motivated to oppose Trump right now. 

Americans, and Democrats specifically, do think the Biden administration should work with the incoming Trump administration to ensure a smooth transition, and that congressional Democrats should work with Donald Trump on issues where they find common ground.

Trump and the economy

After winning comes expectations. There’s a net optimism about the incoming administration’s effect on food and grocery prices, especially among Trump’s voters. That comes as most Americans continue to say prices are currently rising. And inflation was a big factor in Trump winning in the first place.

It may be no surprise then that among many potential items for the incoming administration, Americans say plans to lower prices ought to be the top priority. 

The percentage of Republicans who call the U.S. economy good, while still low, has gone up, as the percentage who call it very bad has dropped. That pushes voters’ overall evaluation of the economy slightly higher than it’s been this year — and further spotlights how much partisanship, along with optimism, always plays into these evaluations.

Trump selections of Cabinet and agency chiefs for his administration  

Trump’s current selections for agency heads and Cabinet picks get rated overwhelmingly as good choices from Trump’s voters, and are net-positive as selections among Americans who have heard enough about them to say. (Many have not heard enough yet.) 

As a general rule, Americans want Trump to appoint people who’ll speak their minds and who have experience in the field or agency they’ll run. But in addition to those qualities, Republicans also want people who’ll be loyal to Trump.

A large majority of Republicans and Trump voters think Elon Musk should have at least some influence in the Trump administration. Americans overall are more split on that, largely along partisan lines.

Big majorities of Americans — and a slight majority of Republicans — would like to see the Senate hold hearings on his nominations, rather than let him make those appointments without it. 

(Within self-identified Republicans, MAGA Republicans are relatively more inclined to say the Senate should skip the hearings.)

That sentiment holds whether or not people are told or reminded that the Constitution says the Senate should give advice and consent.

As a general matter, though, most of Trump’s voters and most Republicans do want Trump to have more presidential power this term than he did in his last. That sentiment is higher among Republican voters now than during the campaign. 

Trump policies

On another economic front, Trump’s voters overwhelmingly favor the idea of tariffs: most of them don’t believe that will make prices higher. (For the third who believe tariffs will raise prices but support them anyhow, this is presumably a cost they’re willing to bear.)

For the public overall, opposition to tariffs goes hand in hand with the belief they’ll lead to higher prices.

As was the case with voters throughout the campaign, most Americans would, in principle, approve of a new mass deportation program.

If the Trump administration does start a mass deportation program, most of the public would have it carried out by law enforcement or current immigration agencies — most would not have the U.S. military do it.

Elections and democracy

The 2024 results have shifted Republicans’ views of U.S. democracy and also returned some confidence to their view of U.S. elections. Few Republicans suspect fraud in 2024. They overwhelmingly did about 2020.

Following Trump’s victory, there’s been an increase in the number of Republicans who say democracy and rule of law is secure, though most Americans continue to say it is not.

Looking ahead, there’s another shift along partisan lines. Throughout the campaign, Republicans said America’s best days were in its past, while Democrats felt they were in the future. These views are reversed now. After Trump’s win, most Republicans feel America’s best days are in its future. 

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,232 U.S. adults interviewed between November 19-22, 2024. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.3 points.

Anthony Salvanto

Anthony Salvanto, Ph.D., is CBS News’ executive director of elections and surveys. He oversees the CBS News Poll and all surveys across topics and heads the CBS News Decision Desk that estimates outcomes on election nights

The following is a transcript of an interview with Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Nov. 24, 2024.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, of the state of Illinois. She sits on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. Good morning to you, Senator.

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Good morning, thanks for having me on.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, former Congressman Matt Gaetz took himself out of the running this week to become Attorney General. This was after he had met with senators, and CBS has reported that as many as 15 Republicans opposed him. Does that suggest to you that your Republican colleagues in the Senate will hold the line, or are you still concerned they will just green light anyone Trump nominates?

SEN. DUCKWORTH: Well, I’m deeply concerned that they will green light. I’m glad that they held the line on him. I’m also glad that they voted the way they did for the Republican leader, but that was in the secret ballot when they elected Senator Thune. And you know, Mr. Trump’s main choice for that position was not selected. But from what I’m hearing from my Republican colleagues on everything from defense secretary to other posts, it sounds like they are ready to roll over for Mr. Trump.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, on that point of defense, since you sit in this advisory role on armed services, I don’t have to tell you, but for our audience, there are over 200,000 American women who serve in active duty service right now. Thousands of them in front line combat roles. You were one of them in 2004 when your Black Hawk helicopter you were piloting was shot at by an RPG and you sustained severe injuries. Here is what Mr. Trump’s pick for defense secretary said about women serving.

[ PETE HEGSETH SOT ]

PETE HEGSETH: I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.

[ END SOT ]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do your colleagues who sit with you on armed services believe that Mr. Hegseth’s statement there is an issue that he needs to perhaps retract?

SEN. DUCKWORTH: Well, I think they need to, because he’s wrong. Our military could not go to war without the 220,000 plus women who serve in uniform. The women in our military does make us more effective, does make us more lethal. And let me just make one thing clear, the women who are in those very particular roles, whether it’s in special forces or the COs or the infantry, they meet the same standards as the men. And so he’s been out there saying that, you know, women are not as strong. We don’t. The ones who are in those roles have met the same standards as the men and have passed the very rigorous testing. And so he’s just flat out wrong. Our military could not go to war without the women who wear this uniform. And frankly, America’s daughters are just as capable of defending liberty and freedom as her sons.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Having served in combat yourself, what do you think of the idea that women make fighting more complicated? That was specifically what he focused on.

SEN. DUCKWORTH: Well, it just shows his lack of understanding of where our military is. He was a pretty low ranking guy in the military, and he never had a command position. He was a platoon leader, I think, once or twice, but he never even commanded a company. And so this is a man who is inordinately, unqualified for the position. Remember that the Pentagon is 3 million servicemen and women and civilians. It is over a $900 billion budget. He’s never, you know, run anything anywhere near to that size. And frankly, women actually make our military more effective. And I’ve personally found that I brought many insights to my job. When I was a company commander, when I was a logistics officer, that came from my own personal background, that made things better. I took better care of my men, for example, in my unit. I was often the only woman in an all male unit, and my gender didn’t have- wasn’t a problem. I just adapted, and we continue to perform the mission.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The question of character has also come up in regard to this leadership role. Mr. Hegseth has acknowledged that he paid a woman back in 2017 to quiet her accusations of sexual assault. He claims it was consensual sex. I’m sure you read that Monterey police report, as we did here. It refers to the offense code as, “rape: victim unconscious of the nature of the act.” It details both the accuser’s and Hegseth’s version of events. Here’s what Senator Markwayne Mullen said it shows: “two people flirting with each other.” Is the committee going to speak with the victim to ask if this was a misunderstanding?

SEN. DUCKWORTH  

Well, that’s- that will be the decision of the Republican chairman of the committee next year. I hope that we will, but I suspect that they, again, will roll over for Mr. Trump. Frankly, I will raise those questions. Remember that we’ve just fought over a decade of fights and- and overhauled the military and its treatment of military sexual trauma. It’s frankly an insult and really troubling that Mr. Trump would nominate someone who has admitted that he’s paid off a victim who has claimed rape allegations against him. This is not the kind of person you want to lead the Department of Defense.

MARGARET BRENNAN  

This past week, your committee did review a number of military promotions, nearly 1000 of them, and one name that seems to have been left off the list, despite the Pentagon’s recommendation, was Lieutenant General Christopher Donahue. He was- he became known as the last U.S. service person to leave Afghanistan back in 2021, a key role there. Sources tell CBS that it is your Republican senator colleague, Senator Mullen, who stood in the way of this. I’m told it’s out of a desire to hold those accountable for Afghanistan. What do you make of this? And is there a chance it could move?

SEN. DUCKWORTH  

Well, if he is fully qualified for the move and for the promotion, he should come before the committee, the whole committee, not one member of the committee, and we should consider him. Remember that I wrote the legislation that created the Afghan War Commission. So we are actually undergoing, right now, an active, multi-year review of what happened in Afghanistan. And that was a bipartisan commission. We passed that law in a bipartisan way, and I hope the committee will be allowed to move forward with reviewing what happened to- in Afghanistan. It’s, you know, you’re not going to get a full picture by holding one person’s promotion up. Frankly, he needs to come before the full committee, and we need to decide, and it’s not Markwayne Mullen’s decision whether or not one promotion comes before the committee.

MARGARET BRENNAN  

Well, I ask because there are concerns about whether there will be generals held to account by Mr. Trump, as he said, he thinks others should be fired for Afghanistan. But to move to a vote you took this past week, you said you have disgust at the brutal tactics used by the Netanyahu government in Gaza, but you voted against all three resolutions of disapproval this past week that would have paused very specific offensive weapons shipments to Israel. Your colleague, Senator Van Hollen, said, it’s just about getting Israel to comply with U.S. law. How do you respond to that? Why shouldn’t they be held to the same standards as other recipients of U.S. aid?

SEN. DUCKWORTH: Well, I respect Senator Van Hollen’s position, and in fact, I have co-signed many of the letters that he’s led that has called on Israel to comply with humanitarian standards across the world. My decision comes from my military experience, the fact that many of these rounds were not going to be delivered for a couple of years, the fact that, you know, these are resolutions, they don’t actually have binding effect. And frankly, for me, my decision came from the fact that we have tens of thousands of US troops in harm’s way right now, and I am deeply concerned that resolution, that doesn’t actually do anything, might embolden the Houthis and the Iranian regime and Hamas to further target and American troops abroad. So I respect Chris. He and I are good friends. We were freshmen in the Senate together, but we come at this from slightly different angles, mine from 23 years of military experience, but I do share his concern about the brutal way that Israel has acted in Gaza, and you know, I’ve co-signed many of his letters.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Our polling shows that there is a desire among the American people to see Democrats and Republicans work together in this future Trump administration. With that in mind, I’m looking at some of these nominees, including Trump’s pick for labor secretary, former Congresswoman Lori Chavez DeRemer. She is drawing praise from unions because she is perceived as- as pro- union. Could you see yourself supporting her or any of the other nominees?

SEN. DUCKWORTH: Absolutely, I- you know, what I would need to do is have a chance to sit down and talk with each one of these nominees, and listen to them and hear what they have to say. I think Congressman Collins, over at VA, he’s the nominee for VA, is another person I can talk with. In fact, I worked with him when I was in the House a few years back. I am going to evaluate each one of these candidates based on their ability to do the job and their willingness to put the needs of the American people first and not be on a retribution campaign for Mr. Trump. So it’s about were they willing to be independent and do the job that they are being nominated to do, and are they competent and qualified for the position?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Duckworth, we appreciate your time this morning.

SEN. DUCKWORTH: Thank you

MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’ll be right back with a lot more “Face the Nation.” Stay with us.

The U.S. Air Force says a number of small drones were detected last week around three bases in eastern England that are used by American forces.

The drones were spotted between Wednesday and Friday near RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell. They were actively monitored after they were seen in the vicinity of and over the three bases, U.S. Air Forces Europe said in a statement.

The Air Force didn’t identify who was behind the incursions but said base officials determined there was no impact on residents or critical infrastructure.

Lakenheath is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, which the U.S. Air Force describes as the foundation of its combat capability in Europe. Mildenhall hosts the 100th Air Refueling Wing, and Feltwell is a hub for housing, schools and other services.

“To protect operational security, we do not discuss our specific force protection measures but retain the right to protect the installation,” the Air Force said. “We continue to monitor our airspace and are working with host-nation authorities and mission partners to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities and assets.”

While it is unclear whether the drones had hostile intent, the incidents came during a week that saw the most significant escalation of hostilities in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly three years ago.

For the first time, Ukraine struck targets inside Russia with intermediate-range missiles supplied by the U.S. and Britain after President Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized the use of the weapons.

In response, Russia launched a new intermediate range ballistic missile at Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin said his country had the right to strike nations that allow their weapons to be used against Russia.

Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell, located close to one another in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, are Royal Air Force bases used primarily by the U.S. Air Force.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said “we take threats seriously and maintain robust measures” at military installations.

“This includes counter drone security capabilities. We won’t comment further on security procedures,” it said.