This article speaks directly to your point: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/27/14397448/democrats-trump-cabinet http://www.vox.com/policy-and-poli

This article speaks directly to your point: http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/27/14397448/democrats-trump-cabinet http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/27/14397448/de... Basically, the standard practice used to be for most cabinet appointments to be easily confirmed with bipartisan support. Obama's appointments saw unprecedented levels of push-back from republicans, but still received significant numbers of republican votes. Democratic opposition to Trump's nominations has been, again, unprecedented. My opinion: perhaps, given the fact that their votes are purely symbolic anyway, some democrats are choosing to 'pick their battles', and vote yes to the picks they feel are halfway reasonable, saving opposition for the cases where (again, in their opinions) it matters most.