Dems Already Playing Delay Game on Trump Nominees

Make no mistake about it, while there will be some voice votes and an easy passage for some of Trump’s nominees, for most of them, this is going to be a rocky road.

In fact, Democrats have already started playing games with several of Trump’s nominees.

Hegseth in the Hot Seat

Republicans did Pete Hegseth no favors by gushing over him, making jokes, etc., when they had the microphone.

There are legitimate concerns, and these concerns are not being addressed, so Dems are going to drag their feet on this one.

For instance, Senator Kelly (D-AZ) stated, “When I walked in there, my biggest concern was the management experiences, and an understanding of the Department of Defense,” which is also a major concern of mine. On policy, however, Kelly seemed satisfied.

We knew Hegseth was the nominee almost as soon as the election was over. So my concern here is that Trump and Republicans did not sit down with Hegseth to work out the management aspect of this position so he would have a clear plan of attack. If Hegseth goes down, this will be why.

Noem Delayed

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has already had her hearing delayed.

Noem’s FBI background check is not completed, so her hearing was pushed back several days until that is done and can be reviewed.

Noem is one of Trump’s nominees that will be under significant fire from Democrats, having virtually no experience in this area.

When she served in Congress, she sat on the House Committee on Ways and Means, as well as the Subcommittee on Human Resources and the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures.

There is no way Democrats are ever going to support her for this role, so she better find a way to win over every Republican when she gets before committee.

Burgum Also Delayed

North Dakota Governor Doub Burgum also had his hearing delayed for Secretary of the Interior due to the FBI background check delay.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-UT) was furious, stating, “Despite his compliance and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee noticing the hearing in accordance with all rules, OGE has yet to complete its review. This bureaucratic delay is unacceptable.”

Democrats pushed for the delay, collectively writing, “In view of the fact that the Committee still does not have these documents, which are essential for us to faithfully discharge our constitutional advice-and-consent responsibilities, we respectfully request that you postpone the scheduled hearing on Governor Burgum’s nomination for at least a week to give Members sufficient time to receive and review these materials.”

Expect some serious gamesmanship, even more so when it comes to Kash Patel. Numerous Democrats have stated they are in no rush to vote on his nomination, and Democrats surely want to penalize Trump as long as possible by blocking these nominations for as long as they can. The longer they block the nominations, the less time Trump has to work with a Republican House and Senate to pass legislation.