Senators are preparing for a confirmation battle over the Trump Cabinet’s unorthodox choices

CNN
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Republicans avoided a confirmation storm when former Rep. Matt Gaetz resigned as attorney general, but lawmakers on Capitol Hill are already preparing for how they’ll navigate the next set of unorthodox Trump picks — and they’ve got the pick of the elected president warned to direct the Pentagon, which is facing controversy over its past comments and history, that the confirmation process is a long and invasive one.

Some of Trump’s Cabinet picks, including Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, and Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence, could force Republicans to choose between their loyalty to Trump and their growing concerns that some of his nominees might not do that. ready for the job or may not be possible to confirm in a closely controlled Senate.

Hegseth huddled Thursday with a handful of Republican senators, many of whom are seen as close allies of Trump, for a series of meetings. Lawmakers who emerged included Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who called it “a great meeting,” and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who called Hegseth “very qualified to get the job done.”

Earlier on the morning of those meetings, new details had emerged about a 2017 police report in which a woman alleged that Hegseth had prevented her from leaving a hotel room, taken her phone and then sexually assaulted her even though “she remembered ‘to have said ‘no’. “A lot,” CNN reported.

Police declined to press charges and Hegseth has maintained the encounter was consensual.

But while some members of the party express support for the nomination, other Republicans on the Hill warn that concerns about Hegseth are growing. While many senators have known Fox News host Hegseth for years, the process of vetting him to become defense secretary will force them to examine him and his views in a new light.

First, Republicans have been clear to him — as they were to Gaetz shortly before the former congressman withdrew his name from consideration for attorney general — that the confirmation process is lengthy, involving repeated meetings with sometimes skeptical senators and culminating in a high-stakes hearing is likely to delve deeply into the allegations against him. That, aides and members warn, is before senators start grilling him about how he is equipped to lead a massive entity like the Pentagon, given his limited experience.

Another important topic is previous statements Hegseth has made about women in combat roles in the military. With a 53-seat majority, Hegseth and other Trump nominees can afford to lose just three Republican votes, leaving little room for error.

In a sign of the potential challenges to Trump’s choices, Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer on Thursday called the sexual assault allegation against Hegseth “quite concerning,” though Cramer said he wouldn’t prejudge Hegseth before the Senate has had a chance to weigh in to be fully investigated. background.

Hegseth is not alone. Another Trump pick Republicans are closely watching is former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has come under increasing scrutiny for her views on surveillance and the agencies that carry it out and which she could soon lead.

“When we’re in the most trouble, she’s No. 1,” a Republican Party aide warned.

And yet another Trump selection who has sparked controversy, in part because of his vaccine skepticism, is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president-elect’s pick to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Gaetz’s quick withdrawal underscored that even as Republicans will soon control both chambers of Congress and the White House, the president-elect will still face at least some hurdles.

Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration after making his own trek to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with Republican senators in an effort to shore up support for his nomination. But on Thursday morning, Trump called Gaetz with bad news: He didn’t have the votes in the Senate to win confirmation, according to a source with direct knowledge of the call.

As news of Gaetz’s decision to no longer seek the attorney general post spread among senators on Capitol Hill, many members — who knew Gaetz would be difficult to confirm — were struck with a sense of relief.

“It would be quite a challenge. Very challenging. The most challenging of the nominees,” said one Republican senator, speaking on condition he could speak freely.

Some of the selections so far have also raised questions about the level of vetting of Trump’s picks before the president-elect announces a name. Trump’s transition team was in the process of announcing new Cabinet picks when they were informed of the sexual assault allegation against Hegseth, CNN reported, stunning several members of the team.

Asked about how the Trump team vets potential nominees, Cramer told reporters: “That’s their concern — if they don’t want to investigate more, or if they want to take a chance, that’s their business. Our job will be to be veterinarians. If they don’t, we will; If they do, we will.”

Asked if the accusation Hegseth is facing gives him pause, Cramer said: “It’s a pretty big deal considering we have a sexual assault problem in our military.”

“This is why you have background checks, this is why you have hearings, this is why you go through the investigation. I’m not going to prejudge him, but yeah, it’s a pretty worrying allegation,” he said.

Hegseth claimed Thursday that due to the lack of charges, he had been “completely exonerated” in an investigation into the allegations against him.

“As far as the media is concerned, I will keep it very simple. The case was fully investigated and I was fully exonerated. That’s where I’m going to leave it,” he told reporters.

Although no charges have been filed, the report does not say that police have determined the allegations are false, which is what Hegseth’s attorney claims.

His lawyer has acknowledged that Hegseth later entered into a plea agreement with his accuser, which included an undisclosed monetary payment and a confidentiality clause. Although Hegseth insisted the encounter was consensual, the attorney said he feared the woman was about to make an accusation against him amid the #MeToo movement that could cost him his job as a Fox News host.

Mullin said Hegseth voluntarily raised the sexual assault allegation against him during a meeting on Capitol Hill. Based on the police report, Mullin said he does not consider the incident an assault.

“He spoke about it voluntarily,” Mullin told reporters after the meeting. “It is clear that we started with a head start. It is a topic that will be discussed.”

“As this story unfolds, you will understand that he is very qualified to do the job and he should do the job. It was an unfortunate situation that came about where he was accused of doing something that I don’t believe he did,” Mullin said.

Republican Senator Bill Hagerty also defended Hegseth against the accusations.

“It’s a shame that those accusations are nothing more than what you said: accusations. That’s what he-she said,” he said.