Congress
Keep your eyes on these Senate Republicans. They could upend Pete Hegseth’s confirmation.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, is on Capitol Hill Thursday to make his case with Senate Republicans as controversy continues to build around his nomination.
The Army veteran and Fox News host will need to address allegations of sexual assault that surfaced in recent days. Concern on Blue Light News is only likely to build after a police report into the 2017 allegations, which Hegseth denies and wasn’t charged in, became public on Wednesday.
Four Senate Republicans would need to break ranks to sink Hegseth’s nomination. And though none has opposed him so far, many Republicans have offered a tepid defense of Trump’s pick.
Here’s a look at Republicans to watch:
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.): The incoming chair of the Armed Services Committee will oversee Hegseth’s confirmation process. Wicker has said he wants to be “supportive” of Hegseth and posited that his outsider status could be advantageous in shaking up the Pentagon.
While he may well back Trump’s pick, Wicker will also need to gauge the support of his committee members and their concerns as the confirmation process unfolds.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa): A Senate Armed Services member whose name was briefly floated for the Pentagon job, Ernst could be somewhat of a bellwether for GOP support.
Ernst has been a vocal critic of the military’s handling of sexual assault in the ranks. She was the only Republican to vote against Gen. John Hyten’s nomination for Joint Chiefs vice chair, a confirmation process that was dominated by sexual assault allegations.
Ernst has said the allegations against Hegseth merit “discussion.” She also wants Hegseth to explain his comments that women should not serve in combat jobs.
“Any time there are allegations, you want to make sure they are properly vetted, so we’ll have that discussion,” Ernst said.
The stalwarts: Many of the junior Armed Services Republicans who are closely aligned with Trump have expressed support for Hegseth: Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.).
Non-Armed Services Republicans: While Thursday’s meetings likely will focus on shoring up immediate support among Armed Services members, some of the biggest wild cards could be in the wider Senate.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska most frequently bucked Trump in his first term and could be skeptical of Hegseth and other contentious picks. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a conservative defense hawk who declined to support Trump in 2024, has praised Trump’s initial slate, and said he’d allow Hegseth’s confirmation process to play out.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the recent runner-up in the race to be the new GOP majority leader, could be an asset. Cornyn held a call with Hegseth — and on Wednesday touted him in a floor speech.
“I’ve known Pete a long time … I told him I want to be a resource for him,” Cornyn told reporters. “He came up here years ago, initially on some veterans affairs issues, and so trying to be of assistance,” Cornyn said, before downplaying the sexual assault allegation. “There’ll be plenty of time to hash that out. My understanding is it was a settlement of a dispute, and there’ll be plenty of time to flesh that out.”
Congress
GOP senators expect to meet with RFK Jr. soon
Republican senators expect Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to soon make the rounds on Capitol Hill as he seeks to win their votes for his confirmation to be Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Thursday Kennedy was likely to journey to Blue Light News in the coming days, suggesting he’d meet with GOP senators after the Thanksgiving break.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the top Republican on the HELP Committee, confirmed there has been “some preliminary reach out” to organize the meetings. Cassidy is also a member of the Finance Committee that will ultimately decide whether to send Kennedy’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote.
Kennedy has a smoother route to confirmation than several other Trump picks. Democrats are sure to attack his vaccine skepticism and embrace of Covid-19 conspiracy theories. But his more urgent task will be to calm concerns among GOP senators about his past support for abortion rights and reassure those from farm states concerned about his desire to overhaul the U.S. food system, which could send shockwaves through the agriculture sector.
Kennedy wants to ban certain pesticides, soybean products, corn syrup and other processed items from the current U.S. food supply as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a member of the Finance and Agriculture Committees, told reporters earlier this week that he’s pushing for a meeting with Kennedy before any confirmation hearing, citing some apprehension about Kennedy’s views on food production.
“I’m willing to have a discussion with him and find out where he’s coming from,” Grassley told reporters Tuesday. “But I may have to spend a lot of time educating him about agriculture, and I’m willing to do that.”
Congress
What does Gaetz’s withdrawal mean for the Ethics report?
House Democrats vowed to press forward with their plan to force the release of a long-awaited report into Matt Gaetz even after he withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General.
But there are early signs that House Republicans, some of whom had indicated prior to Gaetz’s withdrawal that they supported the Democratic-led effort, are no longer on board. And Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) the top Republican on the Ethics panel, told CBS Thursday that Gaetz’s withdrawal “should end the discussion of whether or not the Ethics Committee should continue to move forward in this matter.”
Democrats introduced a measure on Wednesday that would theoretically force a House floor vote that would make the Ethics panel release the report. It’s still unclear if that vote will be permitted under the House rules, but the vote could potentially occur as soon as the House returns from its Thanksgiving break in early December.
“While I welcome the news that Matt Gaetz is withdrawing from consideration for Attorney General, it remains important that the Gaetz report be made available to the American people,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), one of the Democratic sponsors of the effort, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who introduced a similar measure, said he planned to press ahead, too.
Prior to Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from consideration, at least five House Republicans said they were prepared to support those efforts to force the report’s release. One GOP lawmaker who indicated they were planning to vote for the resolution, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said it’s “not a factor now.”
“Many of my colleagues told me they were voting yes” before Gaetz withdrew, the lawmaker said, adding that they would still vote for the resolutions if Gaetz indicates he’s returning for the next Congress.
It’s still unclear if Gaetz could return to the House in January, since he was reelected in November, and there have been rumors that he plans to run for Florida governor in 2026, with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis term-limited. Gaetz did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously denied any intentions to mount a gubernatorial bid. His resignation letter had said he did not intend to serve again in the next Congress, though it’s unclear if he can reverse course now that he’s withdrawn from consideration for attorney general.
Democrats are still trying to iron out if they can actually force a vote, and some Republicans are arguing their colleagues can’t trigger a vote on a report that is not a final Ethics Committee product. Guest said the report was still in draft form on Wednesday, though two people familiar with the matter disputed that assertion.
Democrats had argued the report needed to be released because Gaetz was up for the highest-ranking law enforcement position in the country, though other lawmakers may find the argument less persuasive now that Gaetz is out of contention.
Another unresolved question: whether the motions introduced by Casten and Cohen are eligible for the fast-track legislative process that would force a vote on the floor. Ethics panel attorneys are in the process of discussing parliamentary issues with the two lawmakers, according to a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The Democratic effort has already sparked one vow of procedural revenge from Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who told Blue Light News on Thursday that he would introduce his own privileged resolution to try to force the release of other Ethics Committee reports after Congress returns from the break in December. Bishop declined to say which members he will target but smiled when asked if it was Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).
“If we’re going to release the report, let’s release a lot of reports. Let’s go for full transparency,” added Bishop, who is retiring at the end of this term.
Meanwhile, it’s not just Republicans who are signaling they’re ready to move on from Gaetz.
“My interest in him, in his political future, our government’s future, is diminished dramatically by this decision. So there are lots of other things we need to do,” said Senate Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Jordain Carney, Olivia Beavers and Ursula Perano contributed to this report.
Congress
SEC Chair Gary Gensler to step down Jan. 20
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who pursued a sweeping and controversial agenda as Wall Street’s chief overseer over the last three-plus years, plans to step down on Jan. 20, the agency said Thursday.
His departure will clear the way for President-elect Donald Trump to install his yet-to-be-named pick to lead the top U.S. financial markets regulator.
Gensler’s exit will cap one of the most memorable periods in the SEC’s history, as the 67-year-old veteran regulator sought to enact a slate of ambitious rules and pursue lawsuits that led to high-profile clashes with both the traditional financial world and the cryptocurrency industry.
Among the rules enacted under Gensler were measures seeking to shore up the U.S. Treasury market and to force corporate America to tell investors about climate-related risks. His agenda also included rules aimed at shedding light on the more opaque corners of finance, such as the massive private funds market, as well as a contentious push to bring crypto squarely under the SEC’s authority.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is a remarkable agency,” Gensler said in a statement. “The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.”
Gensler plans to step down at noon on Jan. 20, according to the SEC.
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