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Linda T. Cades's avatar

Mr. Dean asks: "What would a detailed investigative report on RFK, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Pete Hegseth look like?"

Well, given what has already been reported in the press, reports on any of them would reveal that none of these nominees is even remotely qualified for the positions for which they have been nominated.

People have so far focused on unacceptable personal behavior. However, the more important question is whether any of them have the education and experience necessary to do those jobs. People in cabinet level positions have to know what they are doing because the welfare of their subordinates as well as of the rest of us depends upon their making good decisions.

While he has some military experience, Hegseth, who has achieved only the rank of major, has never commanded a group larger than a platoon, about 40 people. Should the Senate place him in charge of 3 million service members who may be asked to risk their lives should Hegseth make the wrong decision?

Kennedy, Jr. has opposed most vaccines which protect all of us from sometimes deadly viruses. As a cancer survivor, I am in remission because researchers at NIH continue to discover new and more effective treatments for cancer and other diseases. Do we want Kennedy ordering those scientists what to investigate and what to leave alone?

Finally, Gabbard has had significant contacts with people like Putin and the now deposed dictator who ran a brutal regime in Syria. With her apparent approval of authoritarian leaders, do we want her defending our democracy and all of us?

The Senate has the power to advise and consent on these nominations. They should just say no. If they cede the power they have to Trump, they have no power at all. They should have learned both from the Gaetz fiasco as well as the past weekend's conflict about funding our government that they can and should oppose Trump. After they voted to reject his proposal to suspend or eliminate the debt ceiling, the sun came up the next day anyway. So, Senators, do the job people elected you to do: lead.

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