MAGA pressure on senators over Trump cabinet picks shows first signs of results

A pressure campaign by Donald Trump’s allies toward Senate Republicans skeptical of some of his Cabinet picks appears to be starting to bear fruit, a sign of the president-elect’s expected influence once he enters the office oval next month.

Some Republican senators, like Joni Ernst of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who were doubtful about how they would vote for Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host and Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, seem more optimistic about getting the “yes”. “, even if they are not there yet.

And broader furor around other controversial candidates, including former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services and Kash Patel to the head of the FBI, made less headlines. The choices meet with senators, although all three are still expected to face tight confirmation processes.

The changes came after Trump’s allies in Washington and the media stressed the importance of the president-elect getting his preferred administration in place and turned the spotlight on potential holdouts, making clear that nothing but their political survival was at stake.

“A month ago, they had the margin and the courage to oppose Hegseth. They no longer have any leads and any courage is now false because the MAGA base is on them and will make them pay,” said declared a source close to the transition. referencing Trump’s mantra “Make America Great Again.”

After it emerged that Hegseth’s nomination was on life support, the pressure campaign shifted into high gear.

Trump himself has been more vocal recently about Hegseth, saying this weekend on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’re going to work on his nomination” and “a lot of senators have called me to tell me it was fantastic.” Trump’s transition has also given rise to what essentially amounts to a trendy video Tuesday, touting some senators’ glowing remarks about Hegseth.

A conservative group linked to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who has carved out a powerful role in Trump’s orbit, is also spending $500,000 on a new ad pushing the Senate to confirm Hegseth. The ads urge viewers to “call your senator today and urge them to confirm Pete Hegseth” and are airing nationally – but also targeting digital platforms in Ernst’s home state of Iowa .

These measures, compounded by election threats from Trump’s online media allies like Steve Bannon and Dan Bongino, appear to have shaken things up, even as Hegseth continues to push back against allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. former colleagues and a woman who claims to have raped. her.

After predicting that there would be “a very thorough check before [Hegseth] moving forward,” Ernst said after an “encouraging” meeting Monday. “While I support Pete throughout this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on the truth and not anonymous sources. “

Graham, who had called the allegations against Hegseth serious, also said Monday that he had “a very positive, thorough and frank meeting” with Hegseth and reiterated that the accusations should be “supported by testimony before Congress – and not from anonymous sources.

The move speaks to the immense power Trump and his allies wield and the influence they could have with the party’s base. And the political graveyard is littered with the careers of Republican lawmakers who defied Trump, only to lose office in a primary.

“We will use every resource at our disposal to ensure that every one of Trump’s nominees and Cabinet picks are confirmed. And if that doesn’t happen, the last resort will be at the ballot box for those elected officials who choose not to vote for them ” said a second source close to the transition. “That includes Pete, that includes Bobby, that includes Kash, that includes everyone.”

“We’ve been very clear. And the president has called several U.S. senators for some of his nominees. The president has been very clear about what he wants. Elon Musk has been very clear,” the person added. “When you are the richest man in the world and you have 350 billion dollars, it makes politicians tremble.”

Certainly, Hegseth himself also worked to be confirmed. He continued to deny the allegations against him, held a series of meetings with senators and Ernst said he was committed to appointing a senior official who would tackle the issue of sexual assault within the army.

But the role of Trump’s allies cannot be ignored.

The pressure campaign comes ahead of a new Congress in which Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning any Cabinet pick can’t afford to lose more than three GOP votes if Democrats vote unanimously in opposition.

Members of Congress are historically staunch in defending their role as a co-equal branch of government – ​​a role manifested in their “advice and consent” function regarding the president’s Cabinet choices. Already, opposition in the Senate has sunk the fortunes of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for attorney general, who had been accused of sexual misconduct that he denied.

Still, Trump has a unique hold on his base, and threats of disloyalty primaries could be a permanent fixture for lawmakers to keep opposition to Cabinet picks from building in the coming weeks — and from strengthen their support over the next four years.

“I think these senators are very susceptible to pressure because they have witnessed what happened to members who are now former members opposed to the president. So we see a lot of members changing their minds because they’re worried they’ll never be removed from office, and they don’t want the president to have a crossword on them,” said Brian Darling, a Republican Party strategist and former Senate aide.

“Republicans may not like it in the Senate, but it’s a reality,” he added.

Already, damage may have been done to GOP critics in the Senate, some Republicans have warned.

Even if all Republican senators end up among Trump’s picks, the president-elect’s supporters have long memories — and the populist strain that is one of the country’s dominant political engines has stoked anti-incumbency fervor.

“Even his refusal was noticed in Iowa,” Bob Vander Plaats, an influential conservative Christian leader in Iowa, said of Ernst. “You saw a lot of people pushing her back because of that, and there were calls from mostly people outside of Iowa, ‘She should probably be primary.’ I haven’t seen anything real from this measure in Iowa yet, but it’s a prime and rich environment today.”