Commentary

With Donald Trump having returned to the presidency with overwhelming electoral and popular votes, Senate and House Republicans should be thankful that their majorities, though slim, give the president an opportunity to carry out his agenda and fulfill the promises he made campaigning.

He put forth a slate of cabinet nominees with the simple request to the Senate to confirm the individuals he believes will best help him carry out his America first agenda.

Yet three Senators who are known to frequently block votes important to the party – Maine’s Susan Collins, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, and Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell – again showed their obstinance with their “no” votes against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense.  It took the deciding vote by Vice President J.D. Vance to confirm Hegseth in the late hours of the night.

McConnell

Though McConnell gave up his position as majority leader, he seemingly decided to make it known that he still knows how to wield power.  With his “no’ vote, I was reminded of another establishment Republican – the late Senator John McCain – who walked to the Senate floor extending a thumbs down vote, defeating the GOP effort to repeal Obamacare.

With a doubt that McConnell will see reelection, it’s obvious he no longer cares where his Kentucky constituents stand as Trump won the state by 64.5 percent of the popular vote.

Murkowski

After Murkowski’s “no” vote on Hegseth, the Valley Republican Women of Alaska, representing the Matanuska-Susitna valleys and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, one of the most staunchly Republican areas of the state, passed a resolution condemning her. Valley Republicans went two-to-one for Trump/Vance as they took Alaska by 54.5 percent.

 In addition to calling her out for not voting to confirm Hegseth, they cited several offenses, including her public opposition to Trump and his plan to make America great again and her failure to support the Alaska GOP platform.

Collins

Spinning around in my den chair I can view a photograph of my wife with Collins and former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, taken at a GOP event in Phoenix some years ago.  Kyl, like other Republicans, always sought Collins’ support on issues.

Collins, known to often break with her party as a representative of a blue state, where she will be running for reelection in 2026, her “no” vote was seen as a CYA vote.  “While I appreciate his courageous military service and his ongoing commitment to our servicemembers and their families,” she said, “I am concerned that he does not have the experience and perspective necessary to succeed in the job.”

Support from Ernst

Iowa’s Senator Joni Ernst, who will also be running for reelection in 2026, said, “hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for secretary of defense.  In addition to serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee, she attained the rank of lieutenant colonel while serving in the Iowa Air National Guard from 1993 to 2015, with a deployment to Kuwait during the Iraq war.

As a veteran, who has written commentaries critical of SecDef Lloyd Austin and Generals Mark Milley and Charles Brown, for their inability or willingness to question President Biden’s orders to establish offices to oversee DEI and climate change within the Pentagon, I believe Hegseth will bring leadership to the Pentagon with the assistance of officers and civilian advisors willing to sign on to Trump’s peace through strength mission.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.