Pete Hegseth receives a friendly welcome from Republicans: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk, our evening newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News political team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur and Garrett Haacke offer their insights after covering Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense. Additionally, Steve Kornacki digs into the data to explain why bipartisan voting on the president’s cabinet nominees is becoming less common.

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Pete Hegseth gets a friendly reception from Republicans and other lessons from confirmation hearings

Written by Sahil Kapur

Pete Hegseth received a friendly welcome from Senate Republicans during Tuesday’s hearing before the Armed Services Committee, signaling support for President-elect Donald Trump’s sluggish nomination for defense secretary. .

Hegseth entered the hearing with a lot of controversy surrounding his nomination. But after Mr. Hegseth was questioned for more than four hours, Republicans came away feeling optimistic that Mr. Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran, would be confirmed to lead the Pentagon.

“He was very polite and made a strong case for why he should be the next Secretary of Defense,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., adding that he would “work quickly” to confirm Hegseth. Ta.

Here we would like to introduce some points we learned from the hearing.

Joni Ernst won’t shake the situation: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a military veteran and sexual assault survivor, has long expressed concerns about Mr. Hegseth, with 50 votes for Mr. Hegseth. It has long been seen as the linchpin on the road to acquisition. On Tuesday, she did little to challenge him.

She began by noting their “very productive” and “very candid” conversations, and put on record letters from Hegseth’s supporters. She asked whether women should not be given “an opportunity to serve in combat roles,” to which Hegseth answered in the affirmative, “exactly as you warned.” She asked if he intended to appoint a senior official dedicated to preventing sexual assault, to which he said he had already committed, saying, “As we’ve talked about, yes, we will.” answered.

Mr. Ernst, who is up for re-election in 2026, is under intense pressure from Mr. Trump’s allies to support Mr. Hegseth. Lately, she hasn’t shown much desire to defy Trump.

Culture war rhetoric dominates: Throughout the hearing, Hegseth repeatedly lavished praise on Trump, criticized President Joe Biden’s administration and channeled the language of the MAGA movement.

He denounced the “woke universities of the left,” attacked “American left-wing media,” and claimed to be the victim of a “smear campaign.”

Democrats report on female combatants: Of all the controversies facing Hegseth, Democrats were most keen to address her past comments that women should not serve in combat roles. .

“The U.S. military as we know it seems incomprehensible without the incredible women we serve and the women who earn their places in our ranks,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. the lawmaker said. The leg was engaged in combat after a helicopter was shot down in Iraq. “You have not earned the position of Secretary of Defense.”

Mr. Hegseth softened opposition to women’s military service. He said his views were based on “recent and historical and personal experience” and “instances where I have seen standards lowered.”

Read more points from Sahil →

Haake’s take: Democratic senators were primarily struggling to elevate Hegseth’s personal liability to the level of taint that would preclude him from running for the Cabinet.

More than two hours into the hearing, Virginia’s Tim Kaine, who has a reputation as a mild-mannered man, remains the only lawmaker who persistently pursued Hegseth’s answers regarding the 2017 sexual assault allegation. , admitted the corroborating adultery in a way that made Fences uneasy. Republican senators sitting. Other than Hegseth’s understanding of tax returns and global issues related to previous roles, the next chief will face a lack of depth.

— Garrett Haake

Bipartisan support is on the decline in Cabinet approval votes

Written by Steve Kornacki

In the past, the question was whether the next president’s cabinet appointments would face opposition in the Senate. Now, as Donald Trump’s nominees begin confirmation hearings, the question is how much opposition they will face.

This can be said to be a product of partisan polarization, which has increased since 2000 and accelerated with President Trump’s victory in 2016. Opposition senators, who once primarily respected the election of a new president, now have far more incentive to try to block the new president, or at least make a show of it.

Unanimous or near-unanimous votes on Cabinet nominees remained common throughout President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, when nine of his choices passed the Senate without any opposition ( And five more passed the Senate with only token Republican opposition.) But for the past two president-elects, Trump in 2017 and Joe Biden in 2021, this bipartisan consensus has sharply declined.

This is not to say that cabinet struggles did not exist before the Trump administration. But they were rare and isolated.

For example, 12 of President George W. Bush’s nominees were approved unanimously, with Democrats’ anger focused on John Ashcroft. Ashcroft was confirmed as attorney general only after a lengthy debate in which 42 Democrats voted “no.” (Secret of the Interior Gale Norton, another Bush nominee, also received scattered “no” votes.)

And while ultimately not a single vote was cast against Bill Clinton’s nominee, his original nominee for attorney general, Zoe Baird, withdrew in the face of mounting opposition during her confirmation hearings. did. (She admitted that she did not pay Social Security taxes for the illegal immigrants she hired.)

But overall, the prevailing sentiment in the Senate was that the new president had the right to assemble the team he wanted, and that a “no” vote was reserved for unusual cases or symbolic negative votes.

That thinking has changed with President Trump, with six of his 2017 picks garnering 40 or more “no” votes, but only one receiving unanimous approval, including one on veterans issues. The only nominee for Secretary of State was David Shulkin (Obama’s predecessor). Betsy DeVos, nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of Education, survived thanks to Vice President Mike Pence’s tie-breaking vote. This is the first cabinet nomination.

When Biden was elected in 2020, Republicans returned the favor. A straight partisan vote helped Xavier Becerra win confirmation as Secretary of Health and Human Services, but three other Biden nominees received at least 40 “no” votes.

In fact, neither Mr. Trump (the first time) nor Mr. Biden have ever had their nominees rejected by the full Senate, but this has only happened nine times, most recently in 1989 under George H.W. The only time the candidate to run the Pentagon, John Tower, was rejected. Tower was attacked for allegedly drinking excessively, but Democrats at the time had a sizable majority and were strong enough to block his nomination.

This has emerged as a potentially key difference in the current battle for President Trump’s most vulnerable candidate, Pete Hegseth, whose challenge to the top of the Pentagon is similar to the Battle of the Towers. It is complicated by parallel allegations. But unlike Mr. Bush at the time, Mr. Trump’s party has a majority in the Senate.

That’s all from the political desk for now. Today’s newsletter was edited by Adam Wolner and Scott Bland.

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