(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Political analyst Mark Halperin said Wednesday that Defense Secretary-nominee Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing was a “template” for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet to sail through Senate approval.
Hegseth did not flinch Tuesday as disgruntled Democrat senators tried to smear him with false allegations about women and drinking.
Halperin said the former Fox News host’s “momentum” will help Trump’s other nominees get confirmed.
“I think it helps every other nominee for three reasons. One is they now have a template about how to do this, how to prepare, how to pack the room with supporters, how to work the chair, the committee, how to make sure everybody’s got statements,” Halperin stated while hosting his “2Way” show. “No. 2, there’s momentum now.”
Halperin said “the train’s leaving” and urged senators to “get the government up and running” as Trump will be president on Monday. He mentioned “Republican pressure for unity” as his third reason, pointing to Hegseth’s promising exchange Tuesday with former GOP holdout Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
“You don’t want to cross Trump,” Halperin emphasized, saying Hegseth’s hearing “helps them all.”
The 2Way host added, “I still think Tulsi Gabbard is currently the most endangered, but I still think she’s going to make it.”
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, one of Hegseth’s former colleagues, expressed a similar view to Halperin’s, telling his panelists Wednesday night that senators have nothing on Hegseth.
Sirius XM’s Megyn Kelly sat in Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, telling her audience on Tuesday, “I don’t think Pete Hegseth has trouble. I think he’s going to get confirmed. I don’t think anybody touched him.”
Kelly said she was “embarrassed” for Democrat senators who failed to tank Hegseth’s nomination, especially the “sh**ty” women who melted down during questioning.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
