Heavy drinker, wife abuser, and comically unqualified Fox "News" presenter Pete Hegseth was confirmed to be the next Secretary of Defense by the Republican Senate yesterday, acting in fear of the wrath of the Malignant Fascist should they have rejected his "very good man." It took couch abuser VP Vance to break a 50-50 tie:
The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation’s defense secretary late Friday in a dramatic tie-breaking vote, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women.
Rarely has a Cabinet nominee faced such wide-ranging concerns about his experience and behavior as Hegseth, particularly for such a high-profile role atop the U.S. military. But the Republican-led Senate was determined to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran who has vowed to bring a “warrior culture,” rounding out President Donald Trump’s top national security Cabinet officials.
Vice President JD Vance arrived to break the 50-50 tie, highly unusual for Cabinet nominees and particularly defense secretaries, who typically win wider bipartisan support. Hegseth himself was at the Capitol with his family. [snip]
“Is Pete Hegseth truly the best we have to offer?” said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, urging his colleagues to think seriously about their vote. All Democrats opposed the nominee. [snip]
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said there were few Trump nominees as “dangerously and woefully unqualified as Hegseth.”
Three Republicans -- Murkowski (AK), Collins (ME), and McConnell (KY) -- voted with all 47 Democrats/ independents against the "DUI" hire Hegseth's confirmation. McConnell, in his dotage, is perhaps feeling the need to atone for being the principal architect of the MF's return to power (no atoning for that horror, Mitch, but keep trying). One Republican thought to be leaning against Hegseth's confirmation who could have killed it, Thom Tillis (NC), folded like the careerist coward he and the rest of his caucus is (he's up for reelection in 2026).
So, now that it's reality, what do we make of having this warped Christian nationalist, misogynist, weak link at the top of our defense and national security structure? Well, Jamelle Bouie already said it --
very excited to see what happens when you make a deeply compromised addict the leader of the department of defense and subordinate to a madman
— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) January 24, 2025 at 9:28 PM
You get what you vote for, in this case a kakistocracy.
(Image: our new Secretary of =hic= Defense)
👅 Thom Tillis wins the Senate Razzy Award! Really bad acting with "I'm interviewing! I'm looking! If I find credible corroboration of the allegations, I will not vote to confirm!" Oh, come on Thommy! The final act was to send the nominee a list of questions in order to let the fox back into the henhouse to throw more chickenshit against the wall! (A first-class tortured metaphor doncha think? 🥇)
ReplyDelete🤬 But, really, the most disqualifying behavior, among Hegseth’s massive group, is that he did not have the class to withdraw his own name from consideration. He shouldn't have wanted to be part of a Federal government that would have him as a member!! (Apologies to Groucho for stealing his line! 😘)