Wednesday’s hearing, featuring the next Secretary of State, former Florida Senator Marco Rubio, was an example of such a hearing. The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave a substantive opening, Rubio gave a powerful introduction, and Members of the Committee essentially ran a conga line of pointed questions about their pet interests. Rubio, as their former colleague on the Committee, knowing every single issue, and question as if he were asking the question himself, gave highly substantive answers, with enough time to talk about his priorities, and receive congratulations.
He is without question, the single most qualified candidate for the job, respected for his substance and his political ability by everyone on the right and the left, the establishment and outsiders alike. He has taken on the culture wars with issues facing men and boys with his report “The State of the Working (and Non-Working) Man,” he stepped up to lead comprehensive immigration reform when Obama Democrats were still trying to pretend they cared about immigrants, and his quiet but diligent work on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has earned him an all but (probably) unanimous vote when it goes to the floor.
There was zero gnashing of teeth by Democrats when Rubio gave his answer to Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) when she asked about his commitment to ensuring the State Department is fully staffed. In his response, Rubio stated that his priority was ensuring that State Department officials - both career and political appointees - were “focused on the mission” and “highly qualified.” Shaheen, without argument, agreed. There were no questions about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or women in national security. She just agreed and moved on. It was an example of what the Senate used to be when Senators worked with Americans in mind.
Not all hearings this week were so cordial. Generally, the minority will give the President deference on his nominees but some of the nominees will not come out this process unscathed. The minority will often pick whom they consider to be the “worst” of the nominees (this varies greatly by administration) in order to force a more moderate selection OR to generally just make an example out of a particular nominee.
The Senate Armed Services Committee was one of those exceptions. What we saw on Tuesday during the confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth, the nominee to be the next Secretary of Defense, was anything but scripted. It was downright excruciating, and not just for Hegseth. It was a glaring example to the American people of what politics has become as we watched Democrats play partisan politics with our nation’s defense and security.
There was a lot of shouting, posturing, lecturing, and sometimes a question was asked. On a few occasions, Hegseth was allowed to answer.
Hegseth performed admirably, under extremely difficult questioning from mostly women senators who had already indicated they were opposed to his nomination based on statements he made on the “Shawn Ryan Show” about standards, readiness, and women in combat. The Senators had indicated this even before asking him any questions. These Senators seemed overly emotional, as Hegseth nodded straight faced, almost proving his previous points on women in combat, and memes (like this one and this one) quickly circulated on the internet in response.
Where these Senators’ hits may have landed four or eight years ago, they no longer seemed to have their intended impact. Rather than embracing stoicism and coming armed with facts and data, Democrat Senators resorted to emotional manipulation tactics and self-righteous lecturing that puts them out of touch with the everyday American. Ironically, Hegseth’s response, when he was allowed to answer, was essentially like Rubio’s: servicemembers should be mission-focused and qualified to serve.
However, while it was Democrat women Senators who seemed out of touch with the American voters who had just elected Donald Trump as President, it was Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) who crossed an ethical line when questioning Hegseth. During his questioning, Senator Kaine referenced Hegseth’s alleged extramarital affair and, in doing so, his seven year old daughter, who could have been watching in the next room for all the Senator knew. This crossed a line in terms of decorum for the Senate, in my opinion. There is an unspoken custom that you don’t bring up the nominee’s minor children in anything but glowing terms if you are in the minority. Having seen too many Members of Congress behind closed doors, in the cloakroom, and between votes, it’s the absolute height of hypocrisy for anyone at the dais to be asking nominees about conduct that is not specifically related to the job that is required of them. This is especially true when we’re on the topic of minor children - you just don’t bring them up.
I was happy to see Senator Markwayne Mullins (R-OK) state as much, and call out this hypocrisy for what it was - a smear campaign by Democrats to justify the “no” that they were always going to vote. They never had any intention of discussing the substance of our nation’s security, shipbuilding, the defense industrial base, or even the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in which Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) seemed so interested. For Democrats, it was never going to be about the substance or the American people, including those who elected Trump - which is why Hegseth was sitting at that table in the first place. For Democrats, it was always going to be about the points they could score, and the next election they could win.
With Hegseth, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, and Office of Management and Budget nominee Russ Vought all coming out on top this week, it’s clear that Donald Trump’s second term is going to look much differently than his first. While Democrats are playing politics with our security and safety, Donald Trump and his soon-to-cabinet are heading into inauguration ready to do the job American has tasked them to do.
Ami Sanchez has 15 years of experience in DC with a focus on Congress, defense, small business, and federal rulemaking and the regulatory process. She spent more than eight years as a former Democrat U.S. Senate staffer for multiple Senators, including three women Senators, and worked on a variety of issues including healthcare reform, immigration reform, and regulatory reform. She was a life-long Democrat and voted for Trump this election.
