Shock spread across the country Tuesday night when Donald Trump announced he would nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, but the one thing missing from Republicans – at least publicly – was criticism. While many questioned Hegseth’s qualifications, none of them were GOP members, and MSNBC’s Willie Geist said it all comes down to the power of Trump’s mandate.
“We’ve heard from some Republicans, who haven’t openly criticized the election, but they’ve been questioning the election. And some Republicans are now saying: “I don’t even know who he is.” But I think it’s pretty clear that they’re not coming out to criticize him publicly. Gist said on “Morning Joe” on Wednesday: “That’s the power of Trump.”
“These men and women in the Senate, these men and women in the House don’t want to override him. They think he came with a mandate, and whatever he does, we’ll see how they vote, we’ll see what questions they raise when it comes time for confirmation, but at least publicly, we’re not listening to the Republicans. “I’m critical of this election that, to put it mildly, surprised a lot of people not just in Washington but across the country.”
The Fox News host’s military service includes tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a tour at Guantanamo Bay. He launched a bid for the U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota in 2012, but ultimately dropped out of the race after failing to become the party’s nominee. Hegseth joined Fox News two years later. Although he was initially a critic of Trump and an outspoken supporter of Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, he became close to Trump’s team in 2016.
“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough did not highlight the criticism of Wednesday’s show, though he did emphasize the difficulty someone like Hegseth could face at the heart of the tangled Pentagon bureaucracy.
“The Pentagon is a huge bureaucracy. I served four terms on the Armed Services Committee, and I can tell you that even the most experienced general or admiral or executive who came to the Pentagon was going around in circles,” Scarborough said. “It’s much easier to say what you’re going to do on a podcast than when you’re at the Pentagon. And people who think that generals and admirals who have sacrificed their entire lives for this country are going to give up is a serious misinterpretation of the Pentagon. But we’ll see what happens.”
Later in the segment, Jacqueline Alemany, congressional investigative reporter for the Washington Post, predicted that Hegseth’s nomination could ultimately lead to rejection when the confirmation process begins.
“Historically, we’ve seen Congress give a lot of deference to presidents when it comes to confirming their cabinet. However, there have been some dramatic and explosive battles, and I think Pete Hegseth could be that rare battle for Senate Republicans.”
“But as we’ve talked about in recent months, the lack of defectors in the Senate is perhaps worrisome for any kind of backlash against someone like Hegseth, who, as I noted, with 20 years of service in the military, two bronze stars but no experience when it comes to dealing with bureaucracy or serving in the Department of Defense and overseeing the largest and most powerful military in the world. “I think this will be the first test of who will ultimately stand up to Trump.”
Watch the “Morning Joe” segment below.
A source