Republican senators are worried that the spate of sexual misconduct allegations against President-elect Trump's cabinet appointments could become the focus of next year's Senate confirmation hearings.
Senate Republicans expressed relief Thursday that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew his name from the running for attorney general after allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use surfaced.
But Republican lawmakers are already warning about Trump's other controversial nominees, including Pete Hegseth, his pick for Pentagon chief. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will become Secretary of Health and Human Services. Linda McMahon, who will lead the Department of Education, will also face tough questions related to allegations of sexual misconduct and possible sexual abuse.
Some Republican senators privately said they would back out if other nominees followed Gaetz's lead and threatened to embroil the new administration in scandal in the confirmation process during President Trump's first months in office. I'm looking forward to it.
“That's why the Constitution is important. It gives us an opportunity for advice and consent. We just need to make sure we do our job,” said one Republican senator who requested anonymity. talked about.
“The president should have some respect for who he wants in the positions surrounding him, but that doesn't mean it's a free card. It doesn't mean there's nothing we can do. Not,” the senator said.
“My expectation, not just my hope, is that some of these people may be weeded out in the process before they even get to the hearing,” he said, referring to Trump's selection. added.
A second Republican senator, who requested anonymity, said Gaetz's withdrawal from the nomination for attorney general will likely shift his colleagues' focus to the allegations facing other candidates, including Hegseth and Kennedy. Ta.
“There are clear signs from my colleagues that there are more problems than just the problems with Mr. Gaetz,” he said.
The senator warned that heated hearings in which senators from both parties pit nominees over sexual allegations would be a bad way to start Trump's second term.
“I think it would be terrible for the Senate and it would be bad for the country,” he added.
The latest candidate to be rocked by sexual misconduct allegations is Hegseth, who is accused of locking a woman in a hotel room and assaulting her at a Republican women's event in Monterey, California. The police report received widespread attention. last week.
The woman, whose name has not been released, told medical personnel that drugs may have been added to the drink before it reached Hegseth's room. She requested a sexual assault test, and police recovered her dress and underwear as evidence.
“This matter has been thoroughly investigated and I have been completely exonerated,” Hegseth told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday as he met with senators to rally support for his nomination. Ta.
Police sent an incident report to the Monterey County District Attorney, who declined to file charges, citing a lack of “evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Hegseth's nomination is certain to face intense scrutiny from New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has made cracking down on sexual assault in the military one of her top Senate priorities.
Gillibrand told the Spectrum News show “Capital Tonight” that Hegseth's “record has some serious challenges.”
When asked about the allegations against Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Hegseth, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key vote in the Senate, said, “Any allegations of drug use, sexual misconduct, or sexual crimes… “This is a serious issue for the Senate to take up.” If you look closely. ”
Collins said he was “glad” that Gaetz decided to withdraw his nomination.
Asked if he was concerned about the number of people facing sexual misconduct accusations against candidate Trump, Collins said: “I'm sure this will be considered in the hearings.” Ta.
“I don't know the candidate. I know he hasn't been criminally charged yet, so we'll have to wait and see,” she added.
When asked about the sexual assault allegations against Hegseth, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “There's a lot going on out there.”
“We need to be able to actually meet with him in person, and I know the committee will do a thorough review,” she said.
Ernst said an FBI background check on Hegseth would be “useful.”
President Trump's transition team has not yet signed a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department that would allow the FBI to conduct background checks on candidates.
Kennedy, who was nominated by President Trump to head the vast Department of Health and Human Services, is accused of molestation by a former live-in nanny when she was 23 years old.
Eliza Cooney told USA Today that Kennedy once showed up in her bedroom shirtless and asked her to apply lotion, and another time began groping her in the kitchen pantry, blocking her exit from the alcove.
The lawsuit filed against McMahon, President Trump's pick for Secretary of Education, alleges child sexual abuse by employees of World Wrestling Entertainment, which McMahon ran with her husband Vince McMahon. He is accused of failing to stop.
The lawsuit was recently filed in Baltimore County, Maryland, on behalf of five anonymous plaintiffs who say they were between 13 and 15 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.
The lawsuit alleges that Vince and Linda McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment and their parent company, TKO Holdings, “publicly and rampantly harassed” a ring boy who was assisting ringside announcer Melvin Phillips Jr., who died in 2012. He is accused of condoning “mistreatment”.
Jessica Rosenberg, the attorney representing Vince McMahon, said the allegations are “false.”
A wave of sexual misconduct and abuse-related accusations against Trump-elect has given Democrats a boost, with the pattern of accusations reflecting the president-elect's own personal history of sexual misconduct. It is claimed that there is.
Sen. Maisie Hirono (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the charges against Hegseth are “alarming to say the least.”
“I think when it comes to this kind of behavior, it starts at the top,” she says. “That's why the FBI investigation is so important.”
“The first two questions I ask all candidates are whether they have ever engaged in this type of conduct, sexual harassment, sexual assault,” Hirono said. said. “We'll have to see how they react.”
She said there may be a trend that “this president doesn't see such behavior as something to be concerned about.”
Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury in May of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
That same month, another jury found Trump responsible for sexually abusing author E. Jean Carroll in 1996 and awarded him $5 million.
Mr. Trump has vigorously maintained his innocence in both cases and is appealing the verdicts in both cases.
