Trump DOD Pick Gaining Momentum as Committee Hearings Loom

In our last report, we mentioned that Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi were to be among the first cabinet picks vetted by Senate committees.  

So, I wanted to dig into Hegseth a bit more, as he is clearly one of the more controversial picks who will face resistance in the Senate from both sides of the aisle. 

Not Ready to Support Pete 

As  I mentioned in the last report, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) had put up resistance to Hegseth right out of the gate.  

When she was asked about backing him, she stated, "Well, I did have a very long, lengthy discussion with Pete yesterday, and I do appreciate his service to the nation. I also am a combat veteran. So, we talked about a number of those issues, and we will continue with the vetting process. I think that is incredibly important. 

"So, again, all I'm saying is we had a very frank and productive discussion, and I know that we will continue to have conversations for months." 

Fox News’ Bill Hemmer observed that it did not sound like she was supporting the nomination, and she responded, "I think you are right." 

Gaining Momentum 

As this process continued to play out, a lot of Senators who spoke personally with Hegseth started to go the other way, including Ernst.  

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) noted, "So the accusations about mismanaging money and about non-consensual behavior. If they come forward, I will listen to those accusations, but they have to be credible and they have to be presented in a fashion that Pete can rebut. So, he's much better off this week than he was last week.” 

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) added, "I will support Pete Hegseth, as I always say, barring any unforeseen circumstances. But I've known him a long time.  

“I was satisfied with his answers and I think this is going to be a hard process on him and his family and some of it will be enormously unfair but I respect his willingness to give up a nice cushy job at Fox in order to serve the nation and the military that he has devoted a large percentage of his life to.” 

Pressure Campaign  

We all know Trump’s MOD here, and that is to start to apply pressure to get people to fall in line with him, and that is what he and his allies started to do in order to get Hegseth more support.  

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has been part of the Trump resistance from the outset, and she noted how pressure was being applied, stating, “Don’t get on Santa’s naughty list here, because we will primary you.” 

This, to me, is a problem because now we have people who will blindly support Hegseth because even though they have reservations, they are likely to stifle questions because they are trying to preserve their seat rather than doing their duty.  

I know it’s not a popular opinion right now, but elected officials have a duty to their constituents before party or president, and that includes Trump. If their constituents have real concerns, they should bring them up not cower because they are afraid of being primaried. Just remember, if they just rubber stamp every nominee, they own these cabinet members just as much as Trump, and that is a scary thought when you consider the razor-thin margins in the House and Senate right now. This is just not big-picture thinking on the part of the GOP.