Democrats need a new strategy for Trump nominee confirmation hearings

On Tuesday, Pete Hegseth sailed through his first Senate confirmation hearing. It was shocking, although perhaps it shouldn’t have been, to watch someone on his way to likely confirmation who has been dogged by so many moral and ethical concerns, from reports of his excessive drinking to his questionable nonprofit management to allegations about sexual misconduct. (Hegseth has denied wrongdoing and was not charged.) It seemed that if ever there was a shaky candidate for heading an organization of more than 3 million people, it was the former Fox News host. 

But it didn’t shake out that way. Politico’s nightly letter was titled “The death of the Senate confirmation hearing,” stating that “today we learned only one thing: after decades of smash mouth Senate confirmation hearings, they’ve become all but useless as a vetting exercise or a check on presidential power.” A headline from The Hill read, “Democrats’ hopes of derailing Trump nominees are fading fast.” Washington newspapers had spoken; Hegseth’s future as secretary of defense  was a fait accompli.

Now it wasn’t a complete disaster; Democrats got some good moments in there. In perhaps the most evocative exchange of the hearing, Black Hawk helicopter pilot and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth asked Hegseth to name the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia,” Hegseth replied. He was not even close. “None of those three countries are in ASEAN,” Duckworth responded, adding, “I suggest you do a little homework.”

Sen. Tim Kaine was able to push a line of questioning about Hegseth’s reported drinking and bad behavior, which was important. But as much as well-aimed questions helped expose Hegseth’s questionable character and eligibility for the high-stakes role, I think Democrats would do better if they would realize that the math is not on their side — there are 53 Republican senators, so these Cabinet nominees can only lose four senators, and or President-elect Donald Trump — and that lecturing the nominees about their past is not as effective as nailing them down and highlighting what they plan to do. 

Democrats do best when they take a page from the Mehdi Hasan playbook and nail the candidates on specifics — then follow up with more specifics. We saw some of this with the questions put to Scott Bessent on Thursday for his confirmation hearing for treasury secretary.

“Yes or no, will you recommend cutting Medicaid?” Sen. Ben Ray Luján asked Bessent. When Bessent failed to deliver a satisfactory response, Luján asked the question again.

Bessent stumbled through yet another nonresponse.

Another promising example  was when Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed Bessent on the minimum wage, forcing the investor and hedge fund manager to say he doesn’t support raising the federal rate.

“You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour?” Sanders asked.

“No, sir,” Bessent replied.

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Democrats may not actually be able to derail a confirmation — it’s historically fairly rare that a nominee is not confirmed, although it happens. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t absolutely try, but they also need to reassess the value and purpose of a public hearing, and use it to their advantage. Democrats have an opportunity to shape the narrative, to explain to voters, on the record, what Trump is about to do. With all the misinformation and disinformation clouding the political ecosystem, there’s a responsibility here that shouldn’t be ignored. 

It can be tempting to use the hearings as a personal showcase or an opportunity to grandstand, but that doesn’t move hearts and minds or votes. We know, for example, that Hegseth is no feminist. Democratic senators pontificating on this helps no one at this point. But asking specific questions like Duckworth did potentially can, by exposing real knowledge gaps and exactly why a person is unqualified for a role.  

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Hegseth is going to get confirmed whether he’s qualified or not: Heitkamp January 16, 2025 / 05:06

Mike Pence is already going after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. using his Advancing American Freedom platform to try and knock him out for not being anti-choice enough. Perhaps Democrats could focus on getting RFK Jr. to admit that he’s actually pro-choice. Better yet, remind Republicans that he is, in fact, a Democrat.

A lot of Trump’s Cabinet nominees have figured out that they are playing to an audience of one. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example, refused to answer the question of who won the 2020 election, saying, “President Biden is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power.” When Sen. Chris Murphy pushed Sen. Marco Rubio about Trump’s international business conflicts, Rubio was careful with his response. But while nominees play to their audience of one, it’s Democrats’ responsibility to play to the audience that really matters here: the American people.

I urge Democrats to keep this in mind as hearings continue in the coming days and weeks.

Kennedy in particular has a history of being a wild card in interviews. In his upcoming hearings, Democrats need to press him on abortion, his fealty to Trump, his advocacy of raw milk. Or focus on something that might enrage Mitch McConnell, like the misinformation he’s spread in the past about the polio vaccine. As we plan for more hearings following Trump’s inauguration, Democrats are going  to need to get more creative. It’s not always easy to think differently but, right now, it’s their constitutional responsibility.