Establishment Republicans wanted to go to war with Donald Trump.
But the old guard learned a painful lesson the hard way.
And a RINO traitor just waved the white flag of surrender in this fight with Donald Trump.
The opposition to Pete Hegseth crumbles
Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense to purge woke from the military and help him end the war in Ukraine.
Trump nominated other change agents like Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services, and Kash Patel to take over the FBI.
These picks would help Trump drain the Swamp, end the weaponization of the government, put a stop to illegal spying used to target Trump and his supporters, as well as hold the public health establishment accountable for lying to the American people throughout the COVID pandemic.
Establishment Republicans loyal to the Swamp thought they could reject Trump’s nominees by following the Saul Alinsky playbook of picking one target at a time, freezing the target, and personalizing the target.
Senate RINOs put that strategy in motion when Iowa RINO Joni Ernst – who voted for Joe Biden’s woke Secretary of Defense pick Lloyd Austin – began making noises about not supporting Hegseth.
Ernst seized on an allegation Hegseth faced in 2017 of sexual assault that law enforcement and a local prosecutor deemed not credible.
Trump’s team knew it had to join this fight.
That’s because if Hegseth went down the Senate RINOs would run the same playbook to take down, Gabbard, Kennedy, and Patel.
Trump allies sprang into action.
Ernst faced intense criticism on social media for opposing Hegseth’s nomination.
🚨 Sex scandals and political power plays collide. Now, Donald Trump’s transition team is in turmoil, and the culprit? RINO Senator Joni Ernst.
Here’s the shocking story of sabotage, scandals, and self-interest 🧵1/7👇
— Renewed Right (@RenewedRight) December 9, 2024
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird authored an op-ed declaring all of Trump’s nominees should get confirmed, a warning shot that signaled she would mount a Trump-endorsed challenge to Ernst in a 2026 Primary if Ernst opposed Hegseth’s nomination.
After a few days, Ernst had just one question to ask.
“How do I make this go away?” Ernst reportedly asked an intermediary with the Trump team.
The Bulwark’s Marc Caputo reported Ernst was given a simple answer – support Hegseth.
“The answer was obvious to everyone involved. All Ernst had to do was back away from her tacit opposition to Hegseth and the MAGA dogs would stop baying. Sure enough, on Monday, Ernst changed her tune – not explicitly saying she’d vote for Hegseth’s confirmation but saying she supported him in the process. By then, the Trump team was feeling good, not just about her vote but about the slate of confirmations to come,” Caputo reported.
And that’s exactly what Ernst did, releasing a statement saying she would support Hegseth through the confirmation process.
“I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process. Following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas — and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” Ernst stated.
