Confirmation Hearings Begin this Week

A plea to our Democratic Senators to put aside norms and traditions for a minute

It’s go time

The Senate will begin a breakneck pace of confirmation hearings starting tomorrow for Trump’s absolute freak show of nominees. The long awaited opening battle of the new Trump Administration has finally arrived. The first line of sacrificial appointments will face their days of judgement finally.

The orcs have arrived at the gate. The trolls are in the valley. The beasts are ready to assault the walls.

As King Theoden said at Helm’s Deep, “So it begins.”

I have a plea for the 45 Senate Democrats as representatives of our nation in the world’s most powerful deliberative body.

Can you kick ass? Like, really go in there armed to the gills with facts, witnesses, media reports, and stuff to hammer this absolutely unqualified parade of misfits and sycophants?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying turn into MAGA trolls, but I’d love you guys and ladies to absolutely drop the facade of collegiality with those trolls and take the fight to these lunatics that will be sitting in front of you this week.

I don’t want you to ask questions about Pete Hegseth’s ‘rumored improprieties.’ No, I want you to ask him did he rape a woman at a conference and then pay her off to cover it up? Did he cheat on his wives in violation of the same Uniformed Code of Military Justice that he will oversee as Secretary of Defense?

The complete cartoon of a person they want to be Secretary of Defense

Don’t ask about reports of ‘financial mismanagement.’ No, ask why did he get fired from both of the nonprofits he ran amidst widespread reports of financial loses and completely outrageous behavior like taking his staff, male and female, to strip clubs and drunkenly yelling “Kill all Muslims!” in a hotel bar during a business trip?

I understand decorum and protecting the sanctity of the Senate but I’m much more worried about the sanctity of our nation and the men and women that serve to defend us. I’m much more worried about the safety of my own kid who continues to serve and how he will be tasked to attack fellow Americans than whether bad words are heard in the hearing room.

Don’t even get me started on what they should ask Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his lunatic life from bears dropped in Central Park to getting kids killed in American Samoa with his anti-vaccine bullshit.

Take off the gloves.

I understand the norms and traditions are to be protected. I do. I get respecting the Senate but the Republicans think that’s hilarious. Tommy Tuberville sat on the promotions of the 300 flag officers for over 9 months with those norms. Josh Hawley sat on dozens of appointments for the State Department with those traditions.

Who can forget Markwayne Mullin’s respect for those norms and traditions when he tried to fight Teamsters Union head, Sean O’Brien, during a hearing because he said mean things on the internet?

It’s the professionalism that I respect.

So, perhaps we can take if not a page from their playbook, maybe a paragraph, or even a few lines, and just absolutely expose this clown show of frauds and unqualified fools to the light of day and don’t allow them to skate to confirmation.

That would be great.

You know what he’s saying. You can hear it.

Jam Packed Schedule

For those tracking them here is the schedule as currently published of hearings for the various Trump nominees starting tomorrow, January 14th. All times are Eastern and locations will vary based on the committee they will face.

TUESDAY, JAN. 14

• 9 a.m.: Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs

• 9:30 a.m.: Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense

• 10 a.m.: Doug Burgum, Interior Department

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15

• 9 a.m.: Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Department

• 9:30 a.m.: Pam Bondi, Justice Department

• 10 a.m.: Sean Duffy, Transportation Department

• 10 a.m.: John Ratcliffe, CIA

• 10 a.m.: Marco Rubio, State Department

• 10 a.m.: Chris Wright, Energy Department

• 1 p.m.: Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16

• 10 a.m.: Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Department

• 10 a.m.: Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency

• 10:15 a.m.: Bondi, Day 2 before the Senate Judiciary Committee

• 10:30 a.m.: Scott Bessent, Treasury Department

Dates not yet confirmed:

• Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Department

• Tulsi Gabbard, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Department

• Howard Lutnick, Commerce Department

• Linda McMahon, Education Department

• Kash Patel, FBI

• Brooke Rollins, Agriculture Department

• Elise Stefanik, U.N. ambassador

The Associated Press has an excellent break down of all of the nominees, their backgrounds, and some of the challenges to check out for more details.

In the meantime I expect we will go live Tuesday night with VoteVets to review the hearings for Hegseth and Collins as well as discuss them on our ‘On Democracy’ shows. Be sure to subscribe to them both!

VoteVets YouTube

On Democracy Channel YouTube

Let’s get to work!