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How they roll
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 How they roll Growing momentum for Cabinet picks who could define Trump’s second term Stephen Collinson CNN — The Cabinet confirmation drama around Donald Trump’s most provocative picks isn’t only about Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It’s mostly about Trump himself, and the kind of presidency he wants, the one he will end up getting, and the hopes of his MAGA movement that he’ll stand firm on his vow to shake the federal administrative state to its core and enact his and their revenge. The stakes were laid bare in recent days by a fierce pressure campaign on social and conservative media targeting Sen. Joni Ernst over her reservations about Trump’s Pentagon pick, Hegseth. His candidacy became increasingly important after Trump lost his first pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, over alleged sexual misconduct claims that the former lawmaker denies. Last week, the Iowa Republican’s hesitations about Hegseth left the former Fox News anchor’s confirmation hopes imperiled due to the GOP’s narrow incoming Senate majority. Amid concerns about sexual assault and drinking allegations and his past opposition to women serving in the military, some of her colleagues had even floated Ernst, an Iraq war veteran who’s fought sexual abuse in the military, as a possible replacement candidate. But on Monday, after rapidly rising pressure, including in her home state, Ernst said in a statement after another meeting with Hegseth that she would “support Pete through this process” and looked forward to a “fair hearing” while not committing to vote for his confirmation. (Hegseth has denied any sexual misconduct and was not charged over a 2017 incident in California). The Iowa Republican had faced warnings on social media that she’d encounter a primary challenge in 2026 if she didn’t shelve her reservations about Hegseth. The president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr., last week, for instance, amplified a post on X that pointed out that Ernst had been among almost all GOP senators who voted to confirm President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, saying that anyone who did so and then criticized Hegseth was maybe “in the wrong political party!” In a home-grown threat to Ernst, Steve Deace, a long-time conservative talk show host in the state, said he didn’t want to be a senator but was ready to challenge her in the 2026 GOP primary. “I think this is an inflection point, (a) tipping point for the right in America and it’s in our own backyard,” Deace said on his Blaze TV show on Monday. And Brenna Bird, Iowa’s attorney general, warned in a column on conservative news site Breitbart.com on Friday 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.” Bird didn’t mention Ernst or Hegseth, but the warning from such a prominent Trump supporter was unmistakable. “When voters select a president, they are selecting that president’s vision for a cabinet that will enact his agenda,” Bird wrote. The message here and in Trump’s increasingly vocal support for Hegseth — in a Truth Social Post and in an NBC interview taped on Friday — is that he will fight for his prospective defense secretary — at least for now — and that any GOP senator who breaks with him will feel the heat. Ernst, a two-term senator, is hardly a natural rebel. Her spokesperson last week shut down any speculation about her seeking the Pentagon job herself. She voted with Trump consistently during his first term and twice voted to acquit him in impeachment trials. She was endorsed by the far-right tea party movement in 2014 and 2020. But the fact that she now risks alienation from the Trump base shows how the GOP has changed. |
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Zorro 4:42 In fact, I suspect that Trump doesn't give rat's derriere about Hegseth, or Kennedy, or any other nominee. Further, I suspect that most of his nominations are deliberately wacko, intended to smoke out any Republicans who would dare to disagree with even the most ridiculous idea, if the Great Man says it. These nominations and subsequent Senate approvals are a loyalty test, nothing more. Then Trump will fire anyone he has nominated for this purpose and replace them with his real choices - who will probably be just as wacko anyway. |
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Bob Exactly right He cares about NOTHING but himself, his image and $$$$$ |
