Resistance HQ Bulletin 18, 12/4/24

… With his nomination in deep trouble, Pete Hegseth’s mom went on Fox & Friends this morning to say that the comments she made about him abusing women and alcohol and being a generally terrible human being is all in the past and he should be confirmed for one of the most important jobs on the planet because “he’s not the same person he was then.”

… Vanity Fair is reporting that Hegseth admitted to his first wife that he had 5 affairs during their 4 year marriage.

… Many MAGA activists are grumbling that IA Sen Joni Ernst is the leader of the opposition to Hegseth quietly behind the scenes because she wants the job herself. ND Sen Kevin Cramer was asked about the possibility of Ernst replacing Hegseth: “She’s be easy to confirm. And I think she’d be great. If she wanted it, she’d be my first choice.”

… This will never happen. Ernst stayed neutral in the Iowa Caucus between Trump and Desantis, but spent a fair amount of time with Desantis at events and none with Trump. He doesn’t forget those things.

… Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said that Hegseth promised him in his private meeting with him that he will not drink alcohol at all if he becomes Secretary of Defense. So Trump’s Cabinet appointments are now his rehab program.

… Charlie Kirk said of all the allegations against Hegseth that have come out, the one that could hurt him the most as far as Trump sticking with him is having a drinking problem because Trump has always been anti-alcohol.

… Josh Hawley told Fox that Pete Hegseth cancelled his meeting with him scheduled for tomorrow morning and has no idea why. Not a good sign for Hegseth staying in the race. Hegseth’s team told Punchbowl that the meeting “was moved due to the dynamic nature of scheduling meetings.”

… Sen. Richard Blumenthal to CBS: “I’d be surprised if we’re still talking about Pete Hegseth on Monday.”

… The WSJ reported that Ron Desantis will be next in line for Secretary of Defense if Hegseth has to drop out. He would get confirmed fairly easily by Republicans in the Senate, but I’m still skeptical. There is still bad blood from the primary and lots of Trump’s closest supporters still dislike Desantis because of it. But they were at an event together yesterday so that certainly could be Trump’s backup plan.

… Fox is reporting at that event yesterday Trump spoke with Desantis about the possibility of replacing Hegseth and that he is “seriously considering it.”

… Part of that deal could include Desantis appointing Lara Trump to fill Marco Rubio’s seat in the Senate before to takes the SecDef job from Hegseth.

… But Hegseth was in the Senate today continuing his interviews: “I spoke to the president-elect this morning. He said to keep going, keep fighting. I’m behind you all the way.”

… Hegseth was asked if he was going to drop out soon: “Why would I back down? I’ve always been a fighter. I’m here for the fighters. This is personal.”

… One person who likely wouldn’t be thrilled about Desantis as SecDef is JD Vance. Ron Desantis would be a much more difficult challenge for Vance to overcome in a 2028 primary if he entered the race as Trump’s SecDef versus spending the next few years as a lame-duck governor then unemployed politician.

… Another person who may not be thrilled is Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who was fired last year by Ron Desantis from her position as his Senior Advisor just as he was kicking off his primary campaign against Trump.

… John Fetterman said he would consider voting to confirm Desantis if he is nominated, but only if he first admits that he wears 4” heel lifts. Desantis has been asked that question before and has denied it. But he’s lying.

… Senator Kevin Cramer told CBS: “The allegations are very, very serious. They can’t be trivialized. And I just want to know that he’s redeemed, and going forward, he’s going to be better.” Pathetic. We are talking about the Secretary of Defense, not a Celebrity Rehab contestant.

… Dan Bongino: “They are trying to Kavanaugh Pete Hegseth!”

… Hegseth’s pal at Fox and former co-host Will Cain said that over 100 Navy SEALs are organizing a march on Washington to support Hegseth.

… NC Sen Thom Tillis announced today that he will vote for every single Trump nominee. Tillis is facing a difficult re-election in 2026 where Gov Roy Cooper is likely to run, and he is doing everything he can to avoid a second problem with a Trump-endorsed primary challenger. Failed Gov candidate Mark Robinson is already making noises about running against Tillis in the GOP primary.

… Trump then announced he was dropping William McGinley as his WH Counsel, who he nominated three weeks ago, and is replacing him with David Warrington. That is now 3 Trump nominees who have already been replaced as the chaotic shit show rolls on.

… He did name McGinley to the DOGE committee with Musk and Vivek as a face-saving gesture. I doubt he will show up to a single meeting. From WH Counsel to an advisory committee. What a humiliation.

… Meanwhile, a senior aide to a Republican Senator told The Hill that he thinks Tulsi Gabbard is in serious trouble: “I think Gabbard still has the toughest path. She is the most at risk. Behind closed doors, people think she might be compromised. Like, it’s not hyperbole. There are members of our conference who think she’s a Russian asset.” Things are going well.

… Jerry Nadler announced that he will step down as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee after Jamie Raskin publicly announced this week that he would be challenging him for the seat. This is good news because it was time to pass the torch, Raskin and Nadler have always been close friends, and it is better for Nadler to go out this way than the way this was going to go for him.

… This also sets up a contest between Gerry Connolly, AOC, and possibly one other to take Raskin’s old spot as ranking member of the crucial Oversight Committee opposite Chair James Comer.

… Apparently, the reason for Mark Zuckerberg’s secret meeting over the weekend with Trump at Mar-a-Lago is that he is concerned about rival Elon Musk having complete sway over tech and AI policy moving forward and he wants a seat at the table. As we know with Trump, that all depends on what Zuck is willing to do for him.

… OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he isn’t worried that Elon Musk might try to use his new political power and influence with Trump to gain any unfair advantages for his private businesses: “It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon has it to hurt your competitors. I don’t think Elon would do it.” It is