Letter: Please Tell Senators to Advise But Not Consent to Trump’s Cabinet Nominations

The adjudicated rapist-elect keeps picking his type. Please contact senators to advise but not consent to these nominations. I wrote to 10 non-maga GOP senators. So far, one down (Matt Gaetz has withdrawn from consideration for Attorney General). You can consider my letter as a model template. Your turn!

Dear Senator,

The Constitution requires the Senate to meet its most solemn and important responsibility: to advise and consent to a President’s nominations. To shirk that power, ceding it to the President-Elect is a dereliction of duty. He wants recess appointments since he fears his nominations will fail upon vetting. 

Be brave, withstand the pressure to give your power away, and do what the Constitution expects of you – use your powers of advise and consent as is required!

President-Elect Trump has nominated several of the most troubling, even dangerous candidates to the Cabinet. His choices are mainly incompetent, unfit loyalists. Please hold fast to your right to vet them in the Senate. Say no! Require Trump to do better.

Matt Gaetz – nominated for Attorney General. Not only does he have minimal legal expertise, but he’s been under investigation for drug and sex trafficking. He’s also obstructed justice in this matter. America’s top cop? He’s the bottom of the barrel.  Because of widespread opposition to his nomination,  Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration on November 21, 2024. 

Pete Hegseth– nominated for Defense Secretary. Fox TV host, possible white supremacist, Christian nationalist, anti-woman for military service; he’s also paid a woman to cover up sexual “misconduct” – reminder of Trump & Kavanaugh.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.- nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services – a Kennedy, but repudiated by family. Was also accused of sexual misconduct (is this a theme in these nominations?) Promoter of misinformation and conspiracies – fluoride, tap water, and notably “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective”, including COVID, polio, and measles. His anti-vax activism in Samoa led to the deaths of 83 from measles, mostly children. A former heroin addict, he’s had an affinity for road kill (whale, bear) and had a brain worm. Is there mental illness here? If installed as head of HHS, it could be catastrophic.

Tulsi Gabbard–nominated for Director of National Intelligence.  She has no background in intelligence, but is a fan of dictators – Syria’s Assad and Putin. She’s promoted Russian propaganda, and blames Ukraine for Russia’s attack on them. Russian State TV calls her “our girlfriend Tulsi.” She’s asked for leniency for Assange and Snowden, who leaked U.S. classified documents, putting our national security, assets, and allies at risk. And Trump wants her to head D.N.I.? Is it because he held top secret documents himself?

The President has uniformly chosen nominees who are slavishly loyal to him, and largely unfit to serve. He has no authority to demand that the Senate go into recess in order to make his own picks without “interference” by the Senate. His demand to unilaterally confirm his nominees is simply a way to bypass you, and avoid any judgment that some of his picks are ill-considered, incompetent, or even dangerous. Don’t genuflect to pressure or bullying: stand your ground! If you expect better choices, Do Not Confirm!

Thank you.

Send letters to: Collins (ME), Murkowski (AK), McConnell (KY), Thune (SD), Capito (WV), Ernst (IA), Barrasso (WY), Romney UT), Cornyn (TX), Young (IN), Cramer (ND)

Dinah Kudatsky

Dinah Kudatsky is a resident of Amherst.