Posted on 12/25/2024 2:46:03 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
WASHINGTON — The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s views on vaccines, accusations of sexual misconduct against Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with then-President Bashar Assad of Syria.
While some GOP senators have indicated they are all-in on Trump’s picks, others have for now withheld support, especially on some of his more controversial nominees. The dynamic is injecting uncertainty into the process as Republicans prepare to take the Senate majority in January with a four-seat margin and as Trump aggressively challenges them to confirm his Cabinet immediately.
It’s not unusual for senators to wait until after confirmation hearings to publicly announce a decision. But Republicans are under more pressure than usual as Trump and his allies make clear that they will confront senators who don’t fall in line.
“You only have control of the Senate because of Donald Trump,” the president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr., warned during a media appearance this month. “Without that, you’d be relegated to insignificance.”
There has been one casualty of the process so far — former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who withdrew from contention as attorney general after senators relayed private concerns. But Trump has enthusiastically stood by the rest, including Kennedy for secretary of Health and Human Services, Hegseth for secretary of Defense and Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
With hearings starting by mid-January, before Trump is even inaugurated, senators will soon have to decide how closely they will scrutinize the nominees and whether they are willing to vote against any of them. Republicans will have a 53-47 majority, so Trump cannot lose more than three votes on any nomination if Democrats are united in opposition.
The outcome of the confirmation...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The Democrats are always in lockstep. It's time for the Stupid Party to do the same.
Like the House, the Senate gets ready to prove they too are incapable of governing.
The circus is coming to town. 🤡
Trump against everyone again ?
Worth noting the Democrats do NOT always vote in lockstep.
We would have lost the ability to stop things with the filibuster were it not for Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin making it clear they would not support efforts to end all filibusters.
It’s now down to finding out what they want in return
Their fate will become clearer as the Senate faces the reality that the American people are committed to MAGA/MAHA principles and this is not a fad, but a decades long movement.
The sooner they face reality the safer and more productive their power will be.
True.
Sometimes even Democrats do the right thing.
The President does not HAVE to have a cabinet. The President can issue direct orders to the agencies in the executive branch. He is the Commander in Chief and senior officers of the U.S. military must obey his orders.
“The President does not HAVE to have a cabinet. The President can issue direct orders to the agencies in the executive branch. He is the Commander in Chief and senior officers of the U.S. military must obey his orders.”
If that is the case, just mint a bunch of czars. Czars do not require Senate confirmation.
The czars can prepare orders for Trump to sign and report back to the president any obstacles within the departments.
Department employees will obey the president and his appointed czars - or else.
They need to have mass hearings with 10 cabinet nominees at a time so they can move them through at a fast pace.
Manchin and Sinema are no longer democrats. Our turncoats should learn when to quit
Personally, I wouldn’t be too disturbed if Dr Oz was rejected...
The LA Slimes is wishing again.
Oh, dear lord! Just give DC’s location coordinates to Putin’s launch team and let them have at it while Trump and a few decent GOP members are out of town.
“We would have lost the ability to stop things with the filibuster were it not for Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin making it clear they would not support efforts to end all filibusters.”
Neither Sinema or Manchin will be serving in the next Senate. It is hard to envision any of the remaining Democrats not voting in lockstep.
If your against Trump then you are a traitor and a Democrat. Everyone of them should be thrown out !
The LA Slimes makes it sound like Trump’s nominees would have sailed through, unopposed, if the dims still held the Senate.
EC
I expect McConnell to torpedo a couple of the nominees. He’s retiring in 2026 and can’t be pressured.
I expect McTurtle to retire to China where he can be closer to his owners.
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