At least one Republican senator has gone public with concerns that some of President Donald Trump’s supposedly “controversial” Cabinet nominees are in danger of not being confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate, drawing ire from some, including Vice President JD Vance.
In an interview Thursday evening with Fox News host Jesse Watters, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said he was particularly worried that Director of National Intelligence nominee and former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard wouldn’t be confirmed because of “what I hear from some of my Republican colleagues.”
“What are your colleagues on the Republican side thinking here?” Watters asked, leading Hawley to say that he hoped GOP senators actually listened to Gabbard’s responses.
“Here’s her real ‘sin,’ Jesse, in the eyes of so many of the Washington establishment of both parties,” the senator said. “Her ‘sin’ is that she challenges the surveillance state. She told the truth about the government spying on Americans and about the abuses of FISA. She went out there and was honest about it and for that, she is getting absolutely roasted and persecuted.”
“Do your Republican colleagues understand what will happen if they vote down Tulsi?” Watters asked, suggesting that Republicans who oppose her will draw the ire of President Donald Trump.
“I don’t know,” Hawley said. “And I have to tell you, I’m worried by what I hear from some of my Republican colleagues. I’m worried that her nomination may be in jeopardy. And I’m just worried about what that will mean. It will mean that the reforms that we desperately need in the intelligence space — let’s not pretend everything is fine and dandy and hunky-dory in the intelligence community. It’s not.”
“Besides the fact that they have missed major, major issues,” Hawley continued. “And beside the fact they misled us on COVID for so long. We need reforms to stop the abuses of things like FISA Sect. 702, stop spying on Americans.”
He added: “I hope Tulsi gets confirmed because we need that kind of reform.”
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Meanwhile, Vance delivered a blunt message to Republican senators contemplating votes against President Donald Trump’s nominees to lead key intelligence and security agencies: “You don’t get to make these decisions.”
Vance joined Fox News host Sean Hannity for an exclusive interview Wednesday from Washington, D.C., just one day before the Senate’s confirmation hearings for Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel and Gabbard.
The upcoming votes are expected to be contentious, as Patel, Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. —Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—are widely considered among the administration’s most controversial picks, Fox noted in a separate report.
Despite some GOP reluctance, Vance, however, made it clear: Trump’s Cabinet picks reflect the will of the voters, and party unity is non-negotiable. Vance said he ultimately believes the trio will make it through the process, but Republicans will “have to fight for each one.”
He commended Senate Republicans for being “freethinking” and “independent,” but he argued that the commander-in-chief ultimately gets to decide who will serve in his Cabinet.
“…The president has made his selections and the advice and consent power of the United States Senate should not be used to block people because you have one policy disagreement on one issue,” Vance, a former U.S. senator from Ohio, told Hannity Thursday. “You don’t get to make these decisions. President Trump gets to make these decisions, and he already has.”
Vance urged his fellow Republicans to consider Trump’s 2024 coalition, challenging them to reflect on whether they could have secured victory in November without the support of figures like Gabbard and Kennedy Jr. , both former Democrats.
The VP also emphasized that the coalition that propelled Trump back into the White House was broader and more diverse than past Republican victories, and warned that alienating key allies now could fracture that momentum heading into the administration’s critical first year.
“Donald Trump won an imposing mandate because he got a different group of people to vote Republican than had ever voted Republican. We have to give those parts of the coalition some wins, too. So, yes, we’ve got a lot of traditional Republicans in the administration. We’ve got a lot of traditional national security hawks in the administration. But we’ve also got some new people, some people who bring a fresh perspective,” he told Hannity.
