Confirmation of Hegseth and Other Trump Dominance Rituals

The Republican-led Senate disposed of the controversial Pete Hegseth nomination late in the evening on a Friday night. 

It is somewhat embarrassing if they still can be embarrassed, for such an important position as Secretary of Defense to be disposed of in "take out the Friday trash" fashion. James David Vance used his first tie-breaker to finalize the confirmation. 

The dissenters were two usual suspects (Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski) and that new Trump dissenter, Mitch McConnell. There is no "courage" truly involved when it was known that the person still would be confirmed. The Republicans have a three-vote majority, allowing such token dissents. 

These people knew Trump would do these things. They did little to stop it, granting two did vote to convict him in the impeachment trial the second time around. McConnell led the Senate when they delayed his trial until after Trump left office. He led the Republicans during the trial. 

All three could have supported Harris as the only sane alternative.  Also, there are "reasonable" types like Mitt Romney who voted for Hegseth. The last (and only other) tiebreaker for a Cabinet member was Betty DeVos, the Trump Education Secretary. 

Republicans confirmed a predator:

Pete Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, who submitted an affidavit this week accusing him of abusive behavior toward his second wife, issued a statement after the vote. “What happened today will make women who have experienced abuse and mistreatment even less forthcoming because the men involved in the decisions leading to Hegseth’s confirmation have actively perpetuated the mechanisms, including gag orders and fear of retaliation, that keep women silent,” said Danielle Diettrich Hegseth, the ex-wife of Hegseth's brother.

The NYT commentary also noted:

It is also a big win for this newly minted Senate Republican leadership. An early defeat on a nominee President Trump had personally vouched for would have been a catastrophe for them.

Win? Well, that's one way of looking at it. They "whipped" (to use a legislative term) their caucus into shape, including a military veteran who had her own history of sexual harassment, to confirm this patently unfit person. I repeat my disdain for these people. In a reasonable country, these people would not be given the responsibility to rule. They are patently unfit. 

TPM summarizes the situation:

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. 

The betting line is now on if ANYONE will be stopped. I suppose, maybe, Tulsi Gabbard? You would also hope Robert F.  Kennedy Jr. would be deemed a dangerous menace. With talk that maybe one or two Democrats are Kennedy-curious (perhaps overblown), I would not bet on that. 

Again, we knew this would happen. Since this is a dominance thing, it is also relevant to toss in something else that is happening. The Trump Administration has done multiple petty revenge-type acts, including removing Secret Service protection from multiple people such as Anthony Fauci. 

This sort of petty bullshit is also dangerous. These people received protection because it was found that their lives were in danger. Protection is not given to just anyone. The AP cites the reason for one case:

President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump’s first administration.

Trump's dominance campaign has various aspects (Mel Gibson is glad Trump is here since it means daddy has arrived and he's taking his belt off*). He wants us to become a nation of informers:

The Trump administration has spent its first several days in office waging a pressure campaign on the federal workforce. In early messages, the administration told employees that they had a new obligation to inform on other workers that may surreptitiously be carrying out DEI policies, and banned external communications at several agencies.

There has also been a slew of firings and an executive order that makes more people liable to be fired at will. The speed and extent this is being done has surprised some people. There is always turnover. The breadth, however, is another matter, especially regarding various civil service jobs. There should be an orderly process. Then again, we are talking about Trump.

Again, especially with Project 2025 (is someone checking off things done?), this is not too surprising. They are more organized now. The Trump-ifying of the federal government is going to be done in a more speedy and organized fashion. 

At least, up to a point. Trying to do things super fast is liable to get you in trouble. There are practical and legal limits. For instance, the firing of at least twelve independent inspectors general late Friday might be against the law. 

The firehose of the opening of the Trump term has so many angles to address. I will just toss this in by Steve Vladeck on Bluesky (his wife, a legal recruiter, also bemoaned the situation):

A hiring freeze is one thing; rescinding *accepted* offers of employment is just being cruel for the sake of being cruel, and upending the lives of countless young lawyers (and others) who now have to scramble to find alternative employment (including, perhaps, in entirely different cities).

Again, we knew this was going to happen. We have to do better, America. We cannot put into power -- even in a local business -- people who are unfit and who actively will do harm. Just the verbal bile he inflicts us with daily is problematic. 

Anyway, now some Democrats are playing nice with Secretary of Defense Hegseth since he is in a position of authority. That is what you do. An employee at that local business who needs the job is not going to blatantly tell the person "screw you."

Sandy Levinson, a law professor, during the first Trump Administration, argued that there was a minimum level of competency necessary to justify the normal presumption of legitimacy given to executive acts. He argued Trump did not meet it. 

Congressional Republicans have not shown any suggestion they will provide a special level of concern. This isn't a surprise. It is left to others to do so.  The fight is long and the problems are diverse. 

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* On Thursday, via his Truth Social platform, President Trump wrote, "It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California."