If Republicans in the U.S. Senate had been seriously considering Donald Trump’s desire to let him appoint his Cabinet without their consent, the president-elect should have dispelled them of that notion with some of his, to put it mildly, unorthodox choices.
Among the bizarre selections:
- Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. Though a former member of the Army National Guard, Hegseth is best known as a Fox News host who, like most of them, went all in for the Republican nominee. He has few credentials that would suggest he is qualified to take over directing the world’s largest and most powerful military.
- Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. A former Democratic member of Congress, she ran for president in 2020 and later endorsed Joe Biden against Trump. She switched allegiances a couple of years ago, which is the main qualification she possesses for overseeing our nation’s spy agencies. She would make a fine double-agent.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary. The nephew of assassinated former President John F. Kennedy has earned a reputation for being anti-vaccine and anti-science. He ran an abbreviated presidential campaign heavily based on peddling misinformation about vaccines, taking stances that are in total opposition to generations of accumulated medical wisdom in the agency he would run.
And to top them all in shock value ...
- Matt Gaetz as attorney general. This would put him in charge of the Justice Department and its investigative arm, the FBI. Not too long ago, the flame-throwing Florida congressman himself was the subject of an FBI probe into allegations of sex trafficking of underage girls. Although no charges were filed, a House Ethics Committee continued to conduct its own investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The panel was nearing the release of its report when Trump’s surprise appointment short-circuited that, at least for now. Before Trump left office the first time, Gaetz had supposedly sought a pre-emptive pardon from Trump but didn’t get it.
In announcing the controversial selections, Trump has said that he needs these specific underlings to help him carry out his mission to shake things up in Washington. A tornado will shake things up, too, but who is looking for that kind of destruction?
The Senate has a constitutional obligation through the confirmation process to hold presidents in check if they are picking Cabinet officers with questionable qualifications and integrity. Although Trump’s obviously main criteria in the selection process is loyalty to him, someone has to look out for the country first.
The Senate must do what Trump and presumably his inner circle are not worrying much about: vetting his agency heads. Trump asked the Republican leadership in the Senate, which will take over majority control in January, to skip that step and let him install his choices without a vote.
It would be irresponsible and dangerous for the Senate to comply. Trump has autocratic tendencies that are going to have to be reined in. The advice-and-consent role of the Senate is one of the ways such restraint can be imposed.
If these four nominees and any others like them have been misjudged by their critics or the press, that will come out in the confirmation process. But if they lack the experience, knowledge or moral fitness to serve in such powerful and difficult jobs, that will also become obvious through background checks and questioning.
Our nation has three equal branches of government for a reason: to keep any of the three from getting too powerful and steering the country into chaos. The Senate has a duty to maintain that equilibrium even when it’s controlled by the same political party as the president.
