There had been some initial hope among Trump supporters that Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has proven to be far more reasonable than first anticipated since taking office, would be a fairly reliable Democratic ally for President Donald Trump, but that hasn't been the case thus far.

On Thursday, Fetterman revealed that he would vote against the confirmation of two of Trump's more controversial Cabinet nominees -- Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, according to the Daily Beast.

There was some optimistic speculation that the Democratic Pennsylvania senator might vote in favor of Gabbard and Kennedy, given that he has already voted to confirm a few other Trump nominees and his expressed willingness to work cooperatively with the Trump White House.

Fetterman a "NO" on Gabbard and Kennedy

In a Thursday night X post, Sen. Fetterman wrote, "I have met with most of the cabinet nominees and have carefully watched their confirmation hearings."

"After considering what’s at stake, I have voted against moving forward to the confirmation of Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Kennedy, and will be voting NO on their confirmations," he added.

Per the Daily Beast, both Gabbard and Kennedy were advanced toward a final confirmation vote on Tuesday when they received party-line votes of approval from the respective committees that held their confirmation hearings.

The vote for Gabbard in the Senate Intelligence Committee was 9-8, while the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 in favor of Kennedy.

Not the reliable ally some thought he might be

Politico reported that Sen. Fetterman has previously displayed his willingness to "buck" his Democratic Party by voting in support of some of President Trump's nominees, and has signaled that he is open to working with Trump and Republicans on areas of common ground.

That was seemingly proven when he was one of the only Democrats to cross the aisle and vote with Republicans to confirm Attorney General Pam Bondi, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

However, as his other "No" votes and his X post about Gabbard and Kennedy indicate, Fetterman cannot always be relied upon by Republicans or the Trump White House to be a consistent ally.

Whether and when Gabbard and Kennedy will receive confirmation votes

According to Politico, there are expectations that both Gabbard and Kennedy will eventually be confirmed to their respective posts in the Trump administration, even without Sen. Fetterman's support, but that wasn't always the case and their confirmations are far from guaranteed.

The Hill reported that both nominees had to overcome some initial opposition from some GOP senators on the committees, as concerns had been raised about Gabbard's past support for NSA whistleblower and leaker Edward Snowden and her prior opposition to certain key surveillance tools, while for Kennedy, the problem was his skepticism about vaccine safety and other public health issues.

A flurry of meetings and phone calls were held behind the scenes to try to reassure the holdouts, and those efforts were successful, at least in getting the nominees advanced out of the committees, though there remains a risk that they could still be denied if more than three Republicans vote against their confirmations.

Given the Democratic strategy of using every tool and trick available to delay votes on virtually all of Trump's nominees, it is unclear when exactly Gabbard and Kennedy will be brought up for a full confirmation vote on the Senate floor, but it is expected that votes could be held as soon as next week.