Senate Republicans Will Do Whatever Trump Tells Them To Do 

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WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives for a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washin... WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives for a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. During the news conference Senate Republicans discussed U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's desire for recess appointments, if congress will pass a continuing resolution or an omnibus bill at the end of the year, and other topics. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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“Pete Hegseth is unqualified to run the Pentagon” is criminal understatement.

Accused of sexual assault, of rampant alcohol abuse, of cruelty towards his ex-wives, of serial infidelity, and dragging with him a paper trail of derisive comments about women serving in combat roles, he seems to have the temperament of a Princeton frat paddle. 

On the resume side of things, his claim to fame is mismanaging two veteran advocacy organizations so badly that he was reportedly forced out, in one case requiring a forensic accountant to sift through the financial rubble. 

But he was also on Donald Trump’s favorite TV channel — a pro far outweighing the trifles of a seemingly bone-deep disdain for women, functioning alcoholism and financial destruction. 

Trump is often attributed with greater strategic foresight than he has, and I doubt that his tapping of Hegseth was crafted as a grand loyalty test for his congressional stooges. For one, Hegseth didn’t tell his transition team about the sexual assault accusation until it came out in the press. 

But Trump’s ethos, allergic to apology or admission of a mistake, turned a careless pick into a determined one, with his right-wing media apparatus churning to life to force incredulous Republican senators into line. Trump’s allies spent hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting the wavering Republicans, particularly Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a former military officer and advocate against sexual assault in the military. Right-wing news outlets published private information about a would-be witness against Hegseth, and allies, including Elon Musk, promised primaries against any who defied. 

It was enough. Ernst and the rest of the Republicans, cowed, shuffled back into line. On Thursday, all but Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted to advance Hegseth’s nomination to a final vote. Reporting suggested that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) might join them — a laughable prospect to anyone who’s followed the former Senate leader’s career in the Trump era. 

While they likely voted knowing they wouldn’t change the outcome, Murkowski and Collins voted their consciences against an onslaught of right-wing furor. The votes may have been symbolic; the threats they will almost certainly receive from the MAGA faithful will not be.

The all-but-assured confirmation of this trainwreck of a man to lead the Department of Defense is the new bar. Meaningful resistance from the upper chamber, once thought to be a bastion of the last lingering dregs of principled, pre-Trump Republicans, has collapsed. Trump can plant his flag. 

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  1. Sorry to go off-topic right away, but The Onion is just too good. Yes, even better than a cat pic : - )

  2. Avatar for debg debg says:

    Hegseth’s behavior and subsequent confirmation. Lawmakers sexting Cassidy Hutchinson. Rape culture needs to be cancelled.

  3. Trump is often attributed with greater strategic foresight than he has

    An outstanding point that will never be any less true.

  4. toady: noun: a person who behaves obsequiously to someone important.

  5. Avatar for powwow powwow says:

    Hegseth will be so unprepared for this job that he will definitely do secret drinking to deal with the stress. No way can he stay sober in that job. Maybe it won’t happen tomorrow, but you can be assured it will be sometime. I hope he then makes a complete fool of himself in a big way (but not so big that we get nuked). I don’t think he’s going to like the new job. He’ll have to deal with Dipshit Don telling him what to do all the time.

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