Dem
47
GOP
53
The fact that many senators are scared witless to oppose the grossly unqualified Pete Hegseth does not mean that all of Donald Trump's truly unqualified nominees will sail through. In particular, one potential obstacle is newly sworn-in Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), who replaced Mitt Romney and appears to have more backbone than his predecessor. In particular, Curtis doesn't seem so keen on Tulsi Gabbard for DNI.
Curtis compared Gabbard to a blank sheet of music. He said she hasn't visited him in his office. That's kind of a hint to her. But just visiting may not be enough. He said that questioning nominees actually helps the president by making sure they are surrounded by good people. He also said: "And I think it's not only consent, it's advice. Well, I can't give the president advice if I've not thoroughly investigated and understood every moving part to this nominee."
In addition, Curtis said that "personal character" is a huge part of his evaluation, not just the candidate's C.V. He added: "We're all flawed and the question is: At what point do you cross that line?"
He has even told the media that she hasn't done enough to win his vote. Even though Curtis has been in the Senate less than 2 weeks, he is an experienced pol. He was mayor of Provo, UT, for 8 years and then served in the U.S. House after winning a special election in 2017. Politicians with that background don't make statements like that if they intend to be rubber stamps for the president. Curtis may have been laying down a marker here that Trump is going to have to win his vote every time.
The thing that gives Curtis some backbone is probably not liquid courage (devout LDS Church members don't use alcohol) but the fact that he has been in the Senate for less than 2 weeks. In other words, he is a Class I senator and is not up for reelection until Nov. 2030. Threats of the sort: "I will endorse a primary opponent and Co-President Musk will fund my choice with $50 million" tend to fall flat when the primary is more than 5 years from now. Trump will be out of office and possibly not even alive then. Threats of a primary are most powerful against the Class II senators up next year.
Pressure will soon be exerted. Maybe Curtis will collapse, but so far, this does not sound like: "Yes, Mr. President. Of course, Mr. President. Whatever you want, sir." (V)