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Live Thread>>Senate Confirmation Hearings
mystery-ak:
First up today..Pete Hegseth
Blumenthal: Pete Hegseth Is So ‘Unqualified,’ It’s Almost a ‘Joke’
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on Monday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, was so “unqualified” that it is almost a “joke.”
Host Nicolle Wallace said, “Do you know anything of what is in the background investigation into Pete Hegseth?”
Blumenthal said, “We’ve asked to see the background report. We’ve been denied access to it. In fact, we’ve asked repeatedly myself and other members of the committee, and we’ve asked for other records. I’ve written to the leadership of the committee twice, asking for documents and other materials that relate to his financial mismanagement of the two veterans organizations that he ran into the ground.
He continued, “But let’s be very clear, nicole, even with what we know in the public record so far, he is probably the most unqualified nominee for a position of serious consequence in the united states government in recent history.”
Blumenthal added, “It would be unserious, a joke, except that the position is so consequential, commanding 3.4 or more million Americans dedicated to our national defense, serving in uniform, putting themselves in harm’s way, risking their lives. And he has never run an organization with a budget larger than $15 million. And those two organizations, he ran into the ground with deficits year after year, spending more than he received. So I think we have enough right now to say to every member of that committee, there should be a no vote against Pete Hegseth.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/01/13/blumenthal-pete-hegseth-is-so-unqualified-its-almost-a-joke/
mystery-ak:
Duckworth: Hegseth ‘vulnerable’ to blackmail from foreign adversaries
by Filip Timotija - 01/14/25 8:27 AM ET
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday said President-elect Trump’s nominee for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is “vulnerable” to blackmail from U.S. foreign adversaries and reiterated her stance that he is not “qualified” to run the Pentagon.
“It would sow confusion because our leaders in the military would not know to what they could talk to the secretary of defense about,” Duckworth, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said during her Monday appearance on MSNBC’s “Reid Out.”
“And by the way, for our allies, I would be reluctant to share information with the United States military, our leadership information that would keep us safe and keep our troops safe because they didn’t know this man is compromised,” she added.
“Remember, the point of the background check is to make sure the person you put forward can’t be compromised, can’t be blackmailed, can’t be bribed,” Duckworth said. “These are all types of things that background check is supposed to be providing information to me, the senator who is going to be part of the advise and consent.”
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5084096-duckworth-criticizes-hegseth-nomination/
mystery-ak:
Democrats look to sink Pete Hegseth’s nomination in first day of confirmation hearings
The treatment of Trump’s Pentagon pick will likely determine how other nominees fare.
By Connor O’Brien and Joe Gould
01/13/2025 06:00 PM EST
Senate Democrats are readying their attacks against Pete Hegseth as he makes his case Tuesday on Capitol Hill as to why someone dogged by controversy and with no Pentagon experience should lead one of the world’s largest employers.
Hegseth will need the backing of all Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, some of whom have expressed worries about his past. Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary faces questions about sexual assault allegations, alcohol abuse and his competence to oversee a massive bureaucracy.
Senators will likely delve into his position on women in combat and probe his previous leadership of veterans’ organizations. Democrats alone can’t sink his nomination, but Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a combat veteran and survivor of sexual assault, could do so if she wants.
The treatment of Hegseth — the most high-profile of Trump’s nominees to face senators — will also set the tone for how the rest of the picks will fare. This includes how hard Democrats are willing to push the nominees, and whether Republicans will come to their defense or let them squirm.
more
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/13/what-to-watch-pete-hegseths-hearing-00197922
bigheadfred:
:bkmk:
mystery-ak:
Several uproars by demonstrators at the hearing being carried out by the Cap Police
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