"It's interesting Trump didn't apparently really call any senators before he made these nominations," Nichols said. "He's making these calls after he's already sent them, so not a whole lot of advising in the advise-and-consent part. Two, we have to see what the senators actually say when they get pressed and pushed by Donald Trump. We talked to Sen. [Kevin] Cramer (R-ND). He said Trump is very persuasive, but you know, everyone at the table knows senators don't like being told what to do."
"They like their prerogatives and they want to see the report, to see the contents of that ethics report," Nichols added, "and they say they want to give Gaetz a fair hearing, but they want to know what's actually in there, and it's pretty clear whether or not it's the entire report or just the contents of the report, that a lot of the details will come out and then it's just up to the senators. Are they willing to defy the president that just handed them the majority?"
Is the Senate going to immediately recess for two weeks after Trump's inauguration? I seriously doubt it. It takes a vote of the Senate to recess, which again means Trump can't lose any votes. If he tries to force it, the Senate could just return to session the next day and tell Trump they'll see him in the D.C. court. Maybe Chutkan's court.
Wouldn't that be ironic?
Senate Republicans are rejecting a proposal floated by some advisers to President-elect Trump to take the job of conducting background checks for high-level nominees away from the FBI and give it to private investigators.
Doing so could make it easier for some nominees to win Senate confirmation, but GOP senators say the FBI should retain its leading role in conducting background checks. They argue its agents have access to criminal information that private investigators simply can’t match.
Obviously not every last GOP senator; but enough to make a difference? With a three member majority, it wouldn't take many.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, argued that the FBI has access to information gathered by law enforcement on the federal, state and local levels that private firms don’t.
“If you wanted to supplement it with a private firm, I’d say OK. But the FBI does have access to information that probably a private firm wouldn’t have, even a really good savvy one,” he said.
Cramer said a private firm could help the FBI in its background investigations, but he “sure wouldn’t leave it” entirely outside the FBI’s hands.
I'm just citing the arguments, not drawing conclusions. But if Senators take their responsibilities seriously, it will only take a few to force Trump to follow the usual rules. It's clear Trump doesn't like what the FBI finds, and so doesn't want it found.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) argued “it’s just been routine” for the nation’s top law enforcement agency to handle background checks for high-level appointments.
“It is important to do these background checks, and the FBI has done this” for decades, she noted. “It’s just been routine that they have been the one that has handled it. You don’t go to an outside private investigator, right?
“It’s not just for the [executive branch] positions. If you’re a Senate staffer seeking to get that security clearance, you go — we all go — through that same process,” she said.
“I get there is distrust by some of different agencies, and the FBI is not immune from that, but I do think it is vitally important, particularly from a national security perspective, that you have a level of vetting that is thorough,” Murkowski added.
“What agenda does the private investigator have?” she asked.
Like I said, she doesn't have to persuade anybody else. She just has to stand on her concerns. Three more like her, and the appointment fails. Or stalls until the background check report is delivered.
I still don't give Trump as much credit as the Cassandras do.
Will all the GOP Senators turn into Susan Collins? It could happen. Of course, Wall Street is already concerned about tariffs (and so who the Sec. of Treasury will be). The military industrial complex is surely not excited about Hegseth. And there's blood in the water for Gaetz.
We'll just have to see.
