Among the most shocking moves Donald Trump and Republicans have made in the first week of their new administration — and there have been many — is a A completely inexperienced weekend TV show host with obvious character flaws was successfully corroborating and defense minister. As there was a penchant for war criminals. For books Pete Hegseth is now in charge. Along with the world’s most powerful army, the country has one of the biggest bureaucracy and is completely unfit for the job in every respect. But they are definitely loyal to Trump. It says something about the president’s followers that Hegseth was the best he could do.
There was some palpable uneasiness among Republican senators. Three of them actually voted against Hegseth, including former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. No Democrats supported Hegseth, leaving the Senate split 50-50, which meant Vice President J.D. Vance needed to cast the tie-breaking vote. Other Republicans who expressed reservations eventually came home, presumably because Hegseth is a true-blue MAGA warrior who has the full support of the cutter base. Informed of your wishes in no uncertain terms. You could tell the whole experience left a bad taste in some senators’ mouths, but they weren’t ready to kill those bears.
There are two nominations coming up this week that could give these Republican senators a chance to show themselves that they still have some integrity, and a chance to salvage some self-respect. Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominees for director of national intelligence and secretary of Health and Human Services, respectively, will have hearings. Neither has any clearly relevant experience for these positions – and shall we say, both have some unique characteristics that should be disqualifying in and of themselves.
Gabbard is a shocking choice for the entire intelligence community for this particular job, as she has often been accused of colluding with or sympathizing with America’s global adversaries. Especially Russia. Perhaps his most famous performance was as a politician. Evening trip Under false pretenses, where he met the then President. Bashar Assadan authoritarian strongman accused of war crimes against his own people. After being ousted in December, Assad is now in exile in Russia.who have had talking points. Embraced by Gabbard In the last two years, most clearly on who caused or started it. War in Ukraine. To say he’s an odd choice for a top intelligence job is an understatement, and it is Causes severe anxiety among American allies.
To say that Tulsi Gabbard is an odd choice for a top intelligence job is an understatement, and it Causes severe anxiety among American allies.
But there’s more to Gabbard than that, though honestly that should be enough. She was born into a Hindu sect sometimes described as a cult, and remains a member, as do her husband and most of her close associates. According to Elaine Godfrey of The Atlantic, This relationship is a “through line” in his political career. Following the principles of the so-called Science of Identity Foundation, an offshoot of the Hare Krishna movement led by a man named Chris Butler, Gabbard became a member of a progressive ally of Bernie Sanders as a conservative anti-LGBTQ politician. Started before of Congress. He then took a strange turn as a pro-Assad lawyer and eventually defected from the Democratic Party. She then moved on to Fox News, where she pandered to the MAGA faithful and endorsed Trump. And here he is today, nominated to be America’s top intelligence official.
But really, who is Gabbard? She has been a Republican for only a few years, and is running for president as a Democrat in 2020. Can MAGA trust someone with that history? National Reviewa standard bearer of GOP conservatism, certainly doesn’t think so, calling him “an atrocious nominee who deserves to lose.” Gabbard doesn’t seem to encourage the kind of intimidation and intimidation that Hegseth did, so if a GOP senator feels motivated to show some nonpartisan independence, this nomination is probably pretty safe from the forces of MAGA. is
That should go double for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran as a Democrat last year before attempting a third-party campaign for president and then endorsing Trump in what turned out to be a Cabinet nomination. It’s hard to imagine that Trump actually cares that much whether RFK Jr. gets the job at HHS. The president may even be hoping the Senate will protect him from this man, because it’s clear he’s going to be nothing but trouble.
RFK Jr. told Joe Rogan That “WiFi radiation” can cause autism, food allergies, asthma, eczema and other chronic conditions: “I think it shrinks your mitochondria and it opens up your blood-brain barrier.”
By now, most people know that Kennedy is a crank and a weirdo who believes vaccines exist. Because of the Holocaust among children And what is the confession? Dumping a dead bear As a joke in Central Park—when he was already over 60 years old. Conspiracy theories He hugs, Kennedy told Joe Rogan that “Wi-Fi radiation” can cause autism, food allergies, asthma, eczema and other chronic conditions, saying, “I think it shrinks your mitochondria and it damages your blood-brain barrier.” opens.” He has been accused Contribute to deaths Dozens of Samoan children by pushing bogus anti-vaccine ideas. He doesn’t at all Believes in germ theory.suggesting that the “healthy” human body cannot be harmed by microbes.
These ideas are very medieval. This person has no business in any capacity in government, much less oversees the agency responsible for public health, Medicare, and Medicaid. It is unacceptable that he was nominated.
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Now it turns out that he also appears to be corrupt, having created anti-vaccine suits worth millions of rupees Law firms with whom it belongs. He says he has no intention of doing so. Skipping that gravy train As HHS secretary, though, he would have direct control over the nation’s vaccine policy.
Kennedy is a member of America’s most famous Democratic political dynasty, and up until about five minutes ago he supported the party himself. He still says he’s pro-choice, which is usually a deal-breaker in GOP politics. This has led to some token opposition from outside groups, including one Led by former Vice President Mike Pence. He has assured all GOP senators that they will not let their liberal affiliations get in the way of Trump’s agenda, but if any of them put the health of the American people (or simply themselves and their families) at risk. So if there is even the slightest concern, then he must tell Trump that he cannot vote for a pro-election candidate.
All of this is assuming that anyone beyond Murkowski, Collins, and McConnell, who has made it clear they will not vote for any of these ridiculous nominees, actually gives a damn. There’s little reason to think the other 50 Republican senators care about anything other than hanging on to their seats. But if they just tell MAGA that they can’t possibly vote for a Democrat, they might be able to get off the hook.
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