Gabbard, Hegseth head to the Capitol as Republican senators weigh controversial nominations
Good morning, US politics blog readers. It’s another big day for Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees on Capitol Hill, including two whose appointments have raised a substantial number of eyebrows. Senators are expected to meet with Tulsi Gabbard, the nominee for director of national intelligence whose positive comments about Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin are sure to be scrutinized, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee who has been dogged by reports of excessive drinking and poor treatment of women, along with a sexual assault allegation. Also heading to the Hill are less-contentious picks like Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent, commerce secretary choice Howard Lutnick and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick to lead the CIA.
Trump’s cabinet confirmations got off to a rocky start when he selected congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general, only for the nomination to go down in flames amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Hegseth has faced similar headwinds, but Trump and his allies have fought back, including with a pressure campaign against senators that appear skeptical of putting him in charge of the Pentagon. We’ll see what lawmakers have to say about their meetings today.
Here’s what else is going on:
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Trump announced more nominations for ambassadorial and agency posts like night. Among those selected was Kimberly Guilfoyle, who had been engaged to his son Donald Trump Jr, as ambassador to Greece.
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Joe and Jill Biden will convene the first-ever White House Conference on Women’s Health Research at 11.30am.
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A federal judge blocked the Onion from buying conspiracy theory site InfoWars in the bankruptcy sale of its owner Alex Jones.
Key events
The Guardian’s Ben Makuch reports that experts in extremism in the US military have warned that confirming Pete Hegseth as defense secretary would make the problem worse:
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled choice for secretary of defense, will struggle to handle the serious problem of extremism in the US military due to his own far-right political views, experts in the subject have warned.
“I think it’s going to be an absolute disaster,” said Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq war veteran and the CEO of nonprofit watchdog Task Force Butler. “Pete Hegseth is a domestic extremist.”
One of president Joe Biden’s earliest policy initiatives was tackling extremism among government workers, including soldiers in the military.
Fresh off January 6, when scores of active duty or former US servicemen were caught participating in trying to overthrow the Capitol, current secretary of defense Loyd Austin issued a historic “stand-down order” in February 2021, demanding all servicemen in every branch of the military reflect on the issue of extremism.
Not long after that, the DoD rolled out expanded guidelines, a broad definition of extremism and extremist activities while in uniform, policing of soldiers’ social media accounts and new recruitment requirements. But Republicans, clearly sensing a campaign issue, began attacking the Pentagon’s working group and criticizing its counter-extremism activities as a recruitment killer.
“They gave it a good start, but the lack of backing for many efforts, and the failure to support the extremism working group left the effort rather bereft,” said Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE). “Just as the insurrection was downplayed by Republicans, so too has extremism in the military.”
Allies of Donald Trump have put pressure on Republican senators who have signaled skepticism of cabinet picks like Pete Hegseth.
Last week, when Republican senator Joni Ernst was sounding uneasy about the allegations of sexual assault and poor behavior circling around Hegseth, Charlie Kirk, the powerful conservative activist, wrote on X:
Here is Joni Ernst praising trans in the military. She says she wants a [transgender] fighting force. Maybe this is why she’s leading the charge against Hegseth? People in Iowa have a well-funded primary challenger ready against her. Her political career is in serious jeopardy.
Iowa attorney general and Trump ally Brenna Bird issued a veiled threat to Ernst in an op-ed published by Breitbart. While she did not say the senator’s name, Bird wrote:
In recent days, it’s become clear that D.C. politicians think they can ignore the voices of their constituents and entertain smears from the same outlets that have pushed out lies for years.
When voters select a president, they are selecting that president’s vision for a cabinet that will enact his agenda. On November 5, America voted for change, and for Washington to work for America – not the other way around.
Key GOP senator signals willingness to support Hegseth to lead Pentagon
Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host who Donald Trump nominated to lead the defense department, has faced allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.
While several Republican senators have nonetheless signaled support for him, his nomination’s fate is seen as resting with Joni Ernst, an Iowa senator who is an army veteran and survivor of sexual assault. The Republican initially signaled hesitation towards giving Hegseth her vote, but after meeting with him again on Monday, issued a statement that was more supportive. Here’s what Ernst said:
I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process. Following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.
Hegseth, meanwhile, has said he has no intention of pulling himself out of contention to lead the Pentagon, and both Trump and JD Vance have spoke up in support of his candidacy. Here’s more:
Gabbard, Hegseth head to the Capitol as Republican senators weigh controversial nominations
Good morning, US politics blog readers. It’s another big day for Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees on Capitol Hill, including two whose appointments have raised a substantial number of eyebrows. Senators are expected to meet with Tulsi Gabbard, the nominee for director of national intelligence whose positive comments about Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin are sure to be scrutinized, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary nominee who has been dogged by reports of excessive drinking and poor treatment of women, along with a sexual assault allegation. Also heading to the Hill are less-contentious picks like Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent, commerce secretary choice Howard Lutnick and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick to lead the CIA.
Trump’s cabinet confirmations got off to a rocky start when he selected congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general, only for the nomination to go down in flames amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Hegseth has faced similar headwinds, but Trump and his allies have fought back, including with a pressure campaign against senators that appear skeptical of putting him in charge of the Pentagon. We’ll see what lawmakers have to say about their meetings today.
Here’s what else is going on:
-
Trump announced more nominations for ambassadorial and agency posts like night. Among those selected was Kimberly Guilfoyle, who had been engaged to his son Donald Trump Jr, as ambassador to Greece.
-
Joe and Jill Biden will convene the first-ever White House Conference on Women’s Health Research at 11.30am.
-
A federal judge blocked the Onion from buying conspiracy theory site InfoWars in the bankruptcy sale of its owner Alex Jones.
