Will they stand up to even the scariest of these nominees? I am not an optimist.
President-elect Donald Trump addresses the House Republican Conference on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024.
(Alison Robbert/Getty Images)
Maine Sen. Susan Collins said she was “shocked” by Donald Trump’s nomination of accused sex trafficker Matt Gaetz as attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement official. At least a dozen senators from the Republican Party refused to say whether they will support Gats. Others raised questions about Trump’s stunning choice of politically inexperienced Fox News anchor and possible white nationalist Pete Hegsett as Minister of Defense. The fact that Gaetz, Hegseth, and proposed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were all accused of sexual assault is unlikely to be a disqualification; their future boss, the president-elect, is an admitted rapist.
I don’t know how much damage former Fox host and reality star Sean Duffy can do to the Department of Transportation, but Trump says he will rid the department of those dangerous “DEI” and “woke” pilots who have made our skies a nightmare. Indeed.
No, the real problem is the complete lack of qualifications of all these nominees for their important jobs — and the likelihood that, if confirmed, Gaetz and Hegseth will be foot soldiers in two crusades that Trump takes very seriously: mass deportation and prosecution of his alleged political enemies. (Kennedy will likely be too busy dismantling the HHS vaccine guidelines and creating other public health hazards.)
But for Trump, their lack of qualifications may actually be a selling point. They have no competence or experience that would prevent them from being Trump’s complete minions, carrying out their duties to do his bidding and his bidding alone. Throw in anti-immigrant Stephen Miller as deputy policy director, “border czar” Tom Homan, totally unqualified South Dakota senator (and puppy killer) Christy Noah as secretary of homeland security along with Hegsett, and you’ve got the makings of a deportation strike force. Trump has confirmed that he already plans to use the military to achieve his goals — never mind that it’s unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, his transition team is debating creating a list of generals and other military personnel disloyal to Trump, with the possible goal of charging them with treason. Montana Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, a spokesman for the Jell-O company, told Fox, “I love the idea.”
It looks like Trump is lining up “serious” Republican senators to fall out with him, but who knows if they will? Susan Collins says she’s “shocked” by Goetz’s choice, but perhaps she’ll say he’s “learned his lesson,” as she did with Brett Kavanagh, after the brutal confirmation. And will he even get a tough grill? Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota has promised an “aggressive” schedule for confirmation hearings, but he still hasn’t ruled out a Trump recess that would allow his nominees to do without hearings, which would be one of the biggest blows to the Senate’s status — and our democracy.
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There’s also the suggestion that Senate Republicans could get away with rejecting one of Trump’s more damaging options — Goetz is at the top of the list as more witnesses come forward to say the former congressman had sex with minors and engaged in drugs. fueled parties, but then had to stand in line. I guess after all these years, nothing from the Trump GOP should surprise me. But responsible senators must take their responsibility for consultation and consent seriously and judge each candidate on his or her merits, or lack thereof. It is not enough to block one bad choice and wave the rest away.
A coalition of medical groups gathered more than 200 people for an organizing rally Monday to begin a fight to block RFK Jr.’s appointment. We shouldn’t assume it’s done, either: remember how successful supporters of protecting the Affordable Care Act were in Trump’s first term. We will need a comparable propaganda campaign against every Trump appointment.
We cannot retreat
We now face a second Trump presidency.
There is nothing to lose. We must use our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger to oppose the dangerous policies that Donald Trump is unleashing on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as principled and honest journalists and authors.
Today we are also preparing for the future struggle. It will require a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis and humane resistance. We are faced with the passage of Project 2025, a far-right Supreme Court, political authoritarianism, rising inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis and conflicts abroad. Nation will expose and propose, develop investigative reporting and act together as a community to preserve hope and opportunity. NationThe work will continue — as it has in good times and bad — to develop alternative ideas and visions, deepen our mission of truth-telling and in-depth reporting, and expand solidarity in a divided nation.
Armed with 160 years of courageous independent journalism, our mandate remains the same today as it was when the Abolitionists were founded Nation— to defend the principles of democracy and freedom, to serve as a beacon in the darkest days of resistance, and to see and fight for a bright future.
The day is dark, the forces are building tenaciously, but it’s too late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is just the time when artists go to work. No time for despair, no room for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we make language. This is how civilizations heal.”
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Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, Nation
