The Abuse of Senatorial Advise and Consent

Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States grants the Senate the power to “advise and consent” concerning presidential appointments. However, I have read and reread that portion of the Constitution and cannot find a single reference to “berating and demeaning” a presidential nominee let alone engaging in character assassination.

And yet, that is exactly what has been happening throughout the Senate confirmation hearings for some of President Trump’s nominees.

Yes, it is true that Republicans have engaged in some political theater over the years while holding Democratic appointees’ feet to the proverbial fire. But it has been the Democrats who have raised such boorish behavior to an artform… and not a pretty one at that.

Nominee after nominee – from Pete Hegseth to Pam Bondi – have been asked some of the most juvenile, ridiculous, and offensive questions in the history of the U.S. Senate. Many of those questions have been in the form of ludicrous hypotheticals that would be laughed out of any courtroom in the country. Others have been reminiscent of the “When did you stop beating your wife” line of inquiry.

For instance, Sen. Tim Kaine – looking like he just emerged from the spin-dry cycle – tried to trap Defense Secretary nominee Hegseth with a series of questions about his past drinking problems. My guess is that an uninformed viewer who was just tuning in would have assumed that it was actually Kaine who was three-sheets-to-the-wind.

Maybe they should require senators to take a breathalyzer test before each hearing begins?

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) seemed to suggest that possibility as he rose to Hegseth’s defense, asking his colleagues to take a long look in the mirror before judging Hegseth. “How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night?” Mullin said. “Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it because I know you have.”

“How many Senators do you know have got a divorce for cheating on their wives?” Mullin continued. “Did you ask them to step down? No, but it’s for show.”

"I think it's so hypocritical of senators, especially on the other side, to be talking about his qualifications," Mullin said of his Democratic colleagues. "And yet your qualifications aren't any better."

"You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man's made a mistake,” Mullins added with disgust, “and you want to sit there and say that he's not qualified. Give me a joke. It is so ridiculous that you guys hold yourself as this higher standard. You forget you got a big plank in your eye."

Did I mention that Markwayne Mullin is my newest hero?

Of course, Mullins smackdown of his Democrat colleagues didn’t stop Sen. Elizabeth Warren from embarrassing herself on national television. After Warren demanded that Hegseth make a pledge like other generals, he answered with a wry smile, “But I’m not a general… Senator.”

I don’t know if Hegseth ever wrestled in college, but the Princeton University and Harvard Law School graduate who also earned a Bronze Star in Iraq, certainly knew how to pin Warren to the canvas.

Then it was Pam Bondi’s turn to be grilled by the likes of Sen. Adam Schiff of California. Schiff’s litany of lies while a member of the House Intelligence Committee should have resulted in his being expelled from the House and disbarred as an attorney, but he was apparently emboldened by his recent elevation to the Senate. However, Bondi would have none of it, refusing to respond to any of Schiff’s “gotcha” questions.

Atta girl, Pam!

Throughout her hearing, Bondi kept her cool and maintained her composure while standing her ground and firing back when necessary. A polished trial attorney who has prepared countless witnesses to testify in court, Bondi realized that taking the high road leaves the Democrats angry and flustered because they can’t relate to it.

If only every Democratic senator would approach the confirmation process in the same manner as Fox News political contributor Harold Ford, Jr. A former Democratic congressman from Tennessee and a co-host of The Five, Ford said the following on a recent broadcast.

“I may not agree with all of his [President Trump’s] nominees, but that doesn’t mean that they are not qualified… and I think a president deserves to have the cabinet he wants.”

Good for you, Harold. Are you sure you don’t want to switch parties?