Senate Democrats may feel that Donald Trump's nominees are unqualified, but they are not doing anything about it.
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Democrats are convinced that Donald Trump picked some truly awful nominees for key government positions. Especially when it comes to his choices to lead the law enforcement and national security agencies, they feel that the incoming president has not just chosen poor candidates but rather individuals who are uniquely unqualified for the jobs they are supposed to do.
They are not wrong. A lot of Trump’s picks are atrocious and, if confirmed, could do real damage to the country.
But being right gets you nothing when you are in the minority in the Senate, so the real question isn’t whether Democrats have correctly assessed the suitability of the likes of Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Dr. Oz, etc., but rather what they are going to do about it.
Apparently, not much.
Granted, stopping any of these nominees won’t be easy. Republicans now enjoy a 53-47 edge in the Senate, and incoming Vice President JD Vance can cast any tie-breaking votes, which means that it will take four GOP senators to vote against Trump’s picks.
That’s a heavy lift in cases like that of Pam Bondi, who may not end up being a good (or even passable) attorney general, but who likely won’t raise the kind of concerns that could doom other candidates (like former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was Trump’s first choice).
However, all of the nominees referenced above come with a lot of red flags.
Patel’s revenge fantasies; Hegseth’s support for accused war criminals, his drinking, and lack of relevant experience; RFK Jr.’s peculiar views on many health issues; Gabbard’s pro-Russia views; and Dr. Oz’s quackery all might sink a nomination.
A lot depends on how effective Democrats are in pointing them out, and what kind of surprises they can spring during the hearings.
However, highlighting the problems of the nominees is only half the battle. The other is to get Americans to pay attention and care.
Because if they do, they may pick up their phones and call their Republican senators to say: “We just don’t trust that dude with the health of our children,” or “I’m not comfortable with one of Vladimir Putin’s stooges being in charge of national intelligence,” or “Maybe now is not the time to entrust our defense to a womanizing boozehound whom our president liked on a morning TV show.”
And this is where Democrats are already falling short.
When all of these picks were announced, they threw up their hands for a few days and lamented how unqualified each of them were.
But they didn’t keep up the pressure, even as new details about the nominees emerged.
This is an area in which Democrats generally have a problem.
Lacking the same partisan media infrastructure that Republicans can avail themselves of, they are simply doing an awful job of rallying voters.
The way Elon Musk doomed the bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) before Christmas is a great example.
The billionaire spread some lies about the legislation, and MAGA supporters lost their minds. Within hours, the agreement was dead because GOP lawmakers were concerned that the backlash might get them primaried.
This is the same kind of pressure Democrats have to put on moderate Republicans to get them to defy Trump. They have to give them a valid reason for opposing the nominees (like any of those mentioned) and a reason why that vote is strategically good for the GOP (because they would otherwise risk losing the seat).
Right now, Democrats aren’t doing either of these things.
They are not hitting the airwaves or social media the way Republicans routinely do for even the dumbest things.
For example, in the month of December, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on her own may have tweeted more about women’s bathrooms and “holding the line” than all Senate Democrats combined tweeted about how bad of a nominee Patel would be.
And that just won’t get it done.
Unless they start ratcheting up the pressure right now, Trump is going to get every one of his nominees through.
Ultimately, if they are all as incompetent as they appear, that may work out for Democrats, but being able to say “I told you so” when Dr. Oz ruins Medicare isn’t really a strategy.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
