The cartoonishly catastrophic Cabinet of Donald Trump is quickly devolving into an unprecedented political disaster area. As he has endeavored to cast his reality TV show administration, the glaring dearth of qualified, ethical nominees is impossible to ignore.

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On Thursday morning Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration for the post after the flood of allegations of his criminal sexual misconduct and dishonesty became too abundant to pretend they were merely innocent misunderstandings. To the contrary, they were consistent with Trump’s utter deprivation of principles that is now following him back into the White House.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Refusal to Sign the Required Ethics Agreement is His Virtual Promise to Violate It

The fact that Gaetz was so tainted that his nomination could not go forward is just the first sign of trouble for Trump’s nascent second term. His other nominees have problems that are even more disturbing. For instance, his pick for National Security Director, Tulsi Gabbard, is a Russian sympathizer. His choice for Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy, Jr, is a conspiracy crackpot with a dead worm in his brain. His chosen head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, is a a quack and a Snake Oil salesman. His Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is a puppy killer.

However, perhaps the worst of Trump’s motley screw ups is Pete Hegseth, his proposed Secretary of Defense. Hegseth has zero experience managing any kind of large institution, much less the largest in the U.S. government. Nor does he have experience with senior Pentagon level command. What he has is a face that Trump has seen on television as a co-host on the Fox News morning program, Fox and Friends.

Despite Hegseth’s TV resume, he seems entirely unprepared for the media encounters he would face as a member of Trump’s Cabinet. During a brief Q&A on Thursday, Hegseth pitifully mishandled what ought to have been an easy question…

Reporter: Did you sexually assault a woman in Monterey, California?
Hegseth: I have…ah…As far as the media is concerned, it’s very simple. The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it.

REPORTER: Did you sexually assault a woman in Monterey, California?

PETE HEGSETH: I have — ah — as far as the media is concerned, it's very simple. The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared, and that's where I'm gonna leave it. pic.twitter.com/JovTk3kLyB

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 21, 2024

What is painfully obvious in Hegseth’s response is that he does not bother to deny that he committed the sexual assault. Wouldn’t that be the first thing that an innocent person would want to establish before commenting on anything else? But to Hegseth, it was just a matter of what “the media is concerned” with.

What’s more, Hegseth is lying about the matter having been “fully investigated” and his being “completely cleared.” In fact, more details about the assault came out the very same morning that Hegseth was saying this. And not being charged doesn’t mean that he isn’t guilty, There are many reasons that prosecutors decline to file charges, even when there is evidence of guilt. As reported by CNN…

“A California woman told police that Trump Cabinet pick Pete Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone, and then sexually assaulted her even though she ‘remembered saying ‘no’ a lot,’ a police report obtained by CNN shows.” […and…] “Hegseth later entered into a settlement agreement with his accuser that included an undisclosed monetary payment and a confidentiality clause.”

Hegseth shares much in common with his mentor Trump. He is on his third marriage, after the first two ended due to his serial adultery. And he also emulated Trump’s fraudulent financial practices as head of a veterans organization that ripped off the vets it purported to help.

Given the nature of these legal and moral lapses by Hegseth, and their similarity to those by Gaetz, could an announcement that Hegseth’s name will be withdrawn from consideration as well be far from hitting the news wires? If not, there will only be more exposure of his degenerate behavior in the weeks to come. Not to mention his utter lack of relevant experience.

All of this should make for some interesting reality TV melodrama as Trump’s own lack of principles bleed over to every one of his nominees. Unfortunately for America, it doesn’t bode well for the administration of critical government services. The one bright spot is that Trump’s inability to get anything done also means that the manifestly harmful things he wants to do won’t get done either. It’s small comfort, but we have to appreciate whatever we can get.

RELATED STORIES:

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• Dictator on Day One! Trump Nixes FBI Background Checks for his Unqualified, Anti-American Cabinet
• Trump is Stacking His Cabinet with Fox News Trump-Fluffers

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