'MAGA’s crosshairs': Trump allies bully GOP senators on administration nominees

11 December 2024

During an interview for Politico's Playbook column, Mike Davis — a far-right MAGA attorney known for his violent and inflammatory rhetoric — threatened to hire private investigators to probe the backgrounds of GOP senators who refuse to confirm President-elect Donald Trump's more controversial nominees. Other Trump allies are threatening to use primary challenges against Senate Republicans who vote against confirming Pete Hegseth (Trump's defense secretary pick), Kash Patel (Trump's nominee for FBI director) or former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (the ex-Democrat Trump has nominated for director of national intelligence).

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on December 10, journalist Marc A. Caputo details the intense pressure campaign that Trump's allies are ramping up in the hope of getting Senate Republicans to confirm Hegseth, Gabbard and other controversial picks for the president-elect's incoming administration.

"The desire not to get in MAGA's crosshairs has spread throughout much of the Senate Republican conference in recent days," Caputo reports. "It's the result of both a remarkable swelling of grassroots energy to demand party loyalty from GOP officials and the belief — among some members themselves — that it would send a bad message to see a second Trump nominee go down after Matt Gaetz's failed bid for attorney general."

Caputo points to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) as an example of a Senate Republican who may have caved into pressure with Hegseth.

Previously, Ernst appeared reluctant to confirm the embattled Hegseth, who has been facing allegations of sexual assault (which he flatly denies), public drunkenness and severe alcohol abuse. But now, after being threatened with a primary challenge in 2026 (when she will be up for reelection), the Iowa senator appears to be much more favorable to Trump's defense secretary nominee.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) is among the far-right Republicans who has been making a concerted effort to bully and coerce his colleagues into supporting Trump's nominees whether they like it or not.

Scott told The Bulwark, "They’re all going to get confirmed…. There are a lot of people now that are very focused on making sure Trump's agenda gets accomplished and his nominees get confirmed. This is pretty consistent, on a daily basis, that the grassroots is showing up."

A senior aide to a GOP senator, interviewed on condition of anonymity, also predicted that Trump with get his way with his nominees — even the most controversial.

The aide told The Bulwark, "Trump has all these guys. It's all over but the shoutin'. Unless the unexpected happens, Trump is getting his picks…. My boss is very popular in his state, but he knows that if it becomes a choice between him and Trump, he's going to lose and he’s going to lose badly."

Marc A. Caputo's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.

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