"Forget the basket. The truly deplorable ones end up in the Cabinet," said Dingell, who served in the House longer than any other representative in history, making reference to a statement Hillary Clinton made during the presidential race calling some Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables."

Dingell's wife Debbie now serves in his former House seat.

Trump has already selected candidates for several key administration and Cabinet positions, including Breitbart's Steve Bannon as chief strategist and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general, both seen as contentious appointments and ushering in critics from both sides of the aisle. Trump can simply hire Bannon, but as a member of his cabinet, Sessions will need to be approved by the Senate. In the 1980s, before he was a senator, Sessions failed to achieve Senate confirmation to the federal bench after a former colleague accused him of making racist remarks.