Commentary

In recent editions I have commented on President Elect Trump’s nominations of Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, and Kash Patel for director of the FBI, because they are facing disapproval by the media, Democrats and even a few Republicans.  It appears Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick as DNI, may be getting closer attention now, too.

Democrats and their compliant media had their chance to keep Trump from winning last month.  Now, despite that more than 77 million Americans voted for him, aware of his America First agenda to Make America Great Again, and arguably, giving him a mandate, they’ve pulled out the leftist playbook again.

They’ve chosen to ignore President Biden’s November 13, 2024, meeting with the president elect in the Oval Office, during which he said, “(He was) looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition (Sic).  To which, Trump responded “I very much appreciate that, Joe.”

Transition involves more than the White House – the Biden’s move out and the Trump’s move back in.  It involves a smooth inaugural ceremony and reasonable consideration in the confirmation of cabinet selections that permit the newly elected president get on with his agenda.

“Fifty-five percent of voters believe the election is a mandate for Trump to enact the policies he campaigned on – just 32 percent disagree.”  -Rasmussen Reports

Media Opposition

The East Coast elitist Democrat Peggy Noonan, columnist for the Wall Street Journal, who has referred to Trump’s cabinet picks as “a stretch,” and “insane,” has now added “exotic,” and “crazy,” mentioning Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel, citing they “don’t have backgrounds to fit the jobs.”

I would remind Ms. Noonan that the “backgrounds” of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NSA Advisor Jake Sullivan, under Clinton and Obama, have us involved in two wars, while advising Joe Biden, the man Robert Gates said was wrong “on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the last four decades.”

I would also remind her of Sullivan’s role the 2020 Benghazi attack coverup, escaping accountability with Hillary Clinton.

Democrat House Minority Leader Jeffries, who said of Trump’s nominees, “Is this the best America has to offer?” needs a reminder of Biden’s nominees, too.

How did Pete Buttigieg’s “background” as mayor of South Bend, Indiana prepare him to be secretary of transportation?  I could go on with the “backgrounds” of Biden’s DEI “look like America” cabinet.

Noonan is right, however, when she says Republican senators, some who won on Trump’s coat tails, will have to “pick their way” through the confirmation process and decide if they support Trump’s choices.

She notes that Democrats, too, must make a decision: ”Do they want the public thinking they are embarked on mere obstructionism, partisans shooting down every nominee for merely partisan reasons.”

NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Trump if he still had confidence in Pete Hegseth given the stories of his drinking, saying “You don’t drink yourself.”

“I’ve spoken to people that know him very well, and they say he does not have a drinking problem,” shutting down Welker’s line of inquiry.

“He’s a young guy with a tremendous track record – went to Princeton and went to Harvard.  He was a good student at both, loves the military.  I think people are starting to see it, so I we’ll be working on his nomination along with a lot of others.”

Favorable Media

“While things looked grim for Hegseth earlier in the week, I believe he’s now on the path to confirmation. The press stories about him have burned out.”  – Streff, RedState

Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., writing his opinion piece, The Media Is Scared of Kash Patel. Good, in the Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Patel is a plausible if not particularly decorous nominee,” citing his national security experience in the Obama Justice Department.

Noting Patel’s past comments of the press, Jenkins writes that the so-called mainstream press “is rapidly losing sway” and adds, “if Mr. Patel can embarrass the press into cleaning up its act, he will have done more good than any mere FBI reformer might do.

Senate Statements

“Pete Hegseth is a warrior’s warrior.  He’s somebody that the rank-and-file military men and women can look to and go.  Finally, there’s somebody at the helm who represents us.  Not just the people who have stars on their shoulders.”  – Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

Due to the criticism Iowa’s Republican Sen. Joni Ernst has faced, including a backlash in Iowa among Republicans and Trump supporters for not endorsing Hegseth, reported in the Des Moines Register, it’s expected she will vote for his confirmation.

From Nominee Hegseth: “I have never backed down from a fight and won’t back down this time.  I look forward to an honest confirmation hearing with our distinguished senators – not a show trial in the press.”

From Patel, an outrageous statement, that tells you he’s out to change things at the FBI: “I’d shut down the FBI Building on Day 1 and reopen it the next day as a museum to the deep state and send the 7,000 employees across America to chase down criminals.”

Finally … In my last edition I wrote about the loyalty Trump looked for in his nominees, asking “How many presidents nominate disloyalists to senior positions?

Unfortunately, there are at least three Republican Senators – McConnell, Murkowski and Collins – who don’t give a whit about loyalty, to Trump, their party or the country.  That’s especially sad as the president elect is getting high marks just weeks since his election, even from foreign leaders.

I agree with Mark Levin, Fox News’s learned Constitutional law spokesman, when he demanded an open thumbs up or down on each nominee, so we know how each Republican voted. Confirming Trump’s nominees is the least they can do for their leader who worked his tail off to get elected while under relentless assault, including two assassination attempts.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.