David Frum just shared a disturbing anecdote from an appearance this morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. According to his short article at The Atlantic, he made a flippant reference to reporting that Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth was known for drinking on the job at Fox News. The specific line was: “If you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed.”
He went on to compare the case to that of John Tower in 1989, a long-serving senator whose Secretary of Defense nomination (Dick Cheney got the nod after Tower bowed out) was torpedoed over claims of drinking and womanizing. According to David, after he said this, an MSNBC producer piped up in his ear objecting to his comments and warning him not to repeat them. Not long after, David was ushered off the set, apparently sooner than expected. Then Mika Brzezinski read out an apology for what he’d said.
It is a rich gift to those who want to blow up the justice system as we know it, and who claim the government is a self-dealing club for hypocritical elites. It is a promise-breaking act that subjects Biden’s allies to yet another humiliation in a year packed with Biden-inflicted injuries.
Republicans are like the weather. Destructive and unpredictable, perhaps capricious and sometimes dangerous. But who shouts at the rain? Those are the deeply carved grooves into which our elite media narratives all turn. How else do you explain the vastly bigger press uproar over Biden’s pardon than a notorious charlatan who’s promised to abuse his power at every opportunity being on a fast track to take over federal law enforcement?
The conservatives Wednesday were quick to argue that the trans health care case before them was completely unrelated to a landmark 2020 case where the majority ruled that employers cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of sexuality or gender identity.
In a striking echo of how they dispensed with abortion rights, many right-wing justices Wednesday advocated for a “leave it to the states” approach on trans health care, rhetorical cover for a legal logic that could open the door to nationwide bans and a potential blow to the Equal Protection Clause more broadly.
A red-letter trans rights case comes to the Supreme Court Wednesday, one that could have ramifications for sex discrimination more broadly if the right-wing supermajority sides with Tennessee.
U.S. v Skrmetti is nominally about Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, an echo of laws passed in many red and purple states. Biden’s Department of Justice, along with a few trans kids, is challenging the ban.
The case is the first bombshell on the Court’s docket this term.
The man who helped to develop and implement Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election is asking a Georgia court to invalidate his guilty plea last year in the sprawling state RICO case.
The presumptive nomination of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense appears to be swirling down the toilet amid reports that Donald Trump is considering replacing him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) – and has already spoken to DeSantis about the role.
With Hegseth’s confidential sexual assault settlement that he didn’t disclose to the Trump transition team, the multiple reports of his public drunkenness in previous jobs, and an old email from his own mother denouncing his chronic mistreatment of women, the real black mark here is on Trump for nominating Hegseth in the first place. Duh.
Let’s run through the particulars:
Hegseth Out? DeSantis In?
The WSJ was first to report last evening that Trump was “considering” replacing Hegseth with DeSantis, citing “people familiar.” Politico and NYT followed with similar reporting. The Bulwark is reporting this morning that Trump and DeSantis have “personally discussed” the top Pentagon spot: “The talks, relayed by four sources briefed on them, are in their advanced stages.”
GOP Senators Signaling Hegseth Can’t Be Confirmed
The writing is already on the wall on Capitol Hill. How could it not be given the array of allegations against Hegseth on top of his total lack of experience and general callowness? Here’s the latest:
“As many as six Senate Republicans, perhaps more, are currently not comfortable supporting Hegseth’s bid to lead the Pentagon as new revelations about his past continue to be made public, three Republican sources with direct knowledge of his nomination process said.”–NBC News
“One Senate Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said that Hegseth would have a “hard time” getting confirmed and described some members as ‘wild cards.'”–WaPo
“No Republicans have said they will not support Hegseth, but even some of the GOP senators closest to Trump, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, are now wondering whether Hegseth can survive the tightrope walk to confirmation, sending an ominous signal for the incoming White House.”–CNN
“He is in a deep hole with Republican senators, one GOP official told us, and there is rising doubt inside the transition that he will be able to dig his way out — particularly with the women senators who are his biggest skeptics.”–Playbook
The Hits Keep On Coming
Hegseth’s drinking concerned his colleagues at Fox News, according to a new report from NBC News:
Two of those people said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air. Those same two people, plus another, said that during his time there he appeared on television after they’d heard him talk about being hungover as he was getting ready or on set. …
Three current employees said his drinking remained a concern up until Trump announced him as his choice to run the Pentagon, at which point Hegseth left Fox.
Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman reports on the first of Hegseth’s three marriages, which Sherman’s sources said included serial infidelity by Hegseth.
Trump’s Easiest Way Out
Hegseth’s failure to alert the Trump transition to his settlement of a 2017 sexual assault allegation has always seemed like a potent leverage point for scuttling the nomination. Deceiving the boss ain’t a good look in general, but in the upside-down Trump world it also gives Trump a way to kick Hegseth to the curb without having to give credence to the underlying allegations.
“Mr. Trump has made clear to people close to him that he believes Mr. Hegseth should have been more forthcoming about the problems he would face getting confirmed, according to two people with knowledge of his thinking,” the NYT reports.
Trump II Clown Show
Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister withdrew as Trump’s presumptive nominee for DEA administrator after criticism from the right over his strict enforcement of COVID restrictions early in the pandemic.
“President-elect Donald Trump offered billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg the job of deputy defense secretary, said people familiar with the matter, a decision that could elevate a longtime political supporter with investments in defense companies that maintain lucrative Pentagon contracts.”–WaPo
Aaron Blake: It’s not just Kash Patel. Many Trump picks have suggested retribution.
Did Trump Really Agree To FBI Background Checks?
The Trump transition announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department to submit nominees to the FBI for background checks – but it’s not at all clear whether this means all nominees will be vetted in this manner:
“Despite the signing of the agreement, it remains unclear whether Mr. Trump’s team plans to send the names of all officials requiring a security clearance or Senate confirmation to the F.B.I. for vetting. The announcement did not say whether Mr. Trump would require his appointees to undergo the process or was simply allowing the F.B.I. to begin looking at those who are willing to submit to its scrutiny.”–NYT
“Some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees are opposed to submitting themselves to an FBI check until the bureau is revamped by his chosen director, two sources close to the transition team told Semafor. In addition, as of Tuesday the Trump transition team was still looking into tapping into the private sector to conduct background checks on some of its nominees.”–Semafor
Corruption Watch
“Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun invested $30 million in President-elect Donald Trump’s crypto project three weeks after the election, helping Trump make a potentially hefty profit.”–WaPo
Hunter Biden Judge Slams Pardon
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, overseeing the federal tax case against Hunter Biden in California, recognized the efficacy of President Biden’s pardon of his son but not before delivering a sharp rebuke to the president.
Today To The Supreme Court: Transgender Rights
TPM’s Kate Riga previews the Supreme Court oral arguments today over a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors. Follow along with Kate’s live-blogging of the oral arguments at 10 a.m. ET.
Cry Me A River
Mitch McConnell cries foul after two Democratic federal judges cancel their retirement plans after Trump’s election victory.
Good Read
WSJ: The Israeli Investigator Who Delivered Dirt on Exxon’s Enemies
This week’s episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast will be out Thursday instead of our usual Wednesday. Bear with us as we get back to our regular schedule post-turkey day! In the meantime, the latest video episode of the show is live on our YouTube page.
You can typically gauge just how badly Republicans want to ravage social safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid upon their return to power by how much they talk on the campaign trail about how they’re not going to do that.
