The massive push by allies of Donald Trump to make sure that his Cabinet nominees get rubber-stamped by Republican senators is starting to rankle some lawmakers who are growing weary of being bullied.
According to a report from Politico, while Republicans are showing a united front in allowing the president-elect to choose the people he wants to push his agenda forward, behind the scenes there are complaints about "infighting and purity tests" that appear to be growing.
Exhibit A is the fight to get Fox News personality Pete Hegseth over the finish line despite a wealth of accusations of sexual improprieties and reports of public drunkenness.
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According to Politico's Ally Mutnick, "Following her initial hesitance toward Pete Hegseth, Trump’s embattled Defense Secretary pick, Sen. Joni Ernst came in for a raft of criticism from Republicans in her home state of Iowa. Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of four remaining senators who voted to impeach Trump in 2021, just drew a formal primary challenge. And moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are already starting to catch some heat from party activists."
With Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski threatening, "There will be no resource that we won’t use" to get GOP senators to toe the line, "some senators bristle at the threats and say the prospect of political consequences alone may not produce the desired results," the report states.
One of those senators is Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) who has raised concerns about Trump's secretary of defense pick, telling Politico, "I don’t think it makes more loyal senators out of people. Senators are not slouches. I don’t know many wimpy senators. We got elected, too. And in a case like Susan Collins, she wins overwhelmingly in a state that Donald Trump doesn’t carry. You know, how do you not give her that room?”
Senior Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) also pushed back, explaining, "I think this has gotten a little out of hand. The senators have a responsibility under the Constitution to do advice and consent, and really it’s not just to protect the Senate’s prerogatives, it’s to protect the president against surprises that don’t come up during the vetting process.”
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