Donald Trump's Mandate is Tested as 'Wobbly' GOP Senators Risk Getting 'Liz Cheney'd' in Voter Backlash

"The American people have made themselves clear: There’s a new sheriff in town and Trump’s not there to go along to get along'."

The future leadership of two of America’s most powerful government agencies remains in doubt as Washington D.C. resists the confirmation of two much-needed reformers set to take over the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Defense. Respectively, that would be Kash Patel and Pete Hegseth.

President-elect Donald Trump stated Friday that Pete Hegseth, his nominee for defense secretary, is “doing very well” as he continues to tangle with lawmakers on Capitol Hill ahead of his confirmation vote.

In a Truth Social post, Trump described Hegseth as a "winner" with "strong and deep" support in the Senate, highlighting his credentials and leadership qualities.

Hegseth recently had an interview with Megyn Kelly where he revealed that Trump told him he will have to be "tough as shit" but he was "the man for the moment."

It is clear that there are a few “wobbly” senators in the GOP ranks that are aiming to tank the Hegseth pick. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has signaled that she is not on board with the promotion of Hegseth to run the Dept. of Defense.

According to Newsweek, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa is facing a “MAGA onslaught” for not backing Pete Hegseth.

While it is unknown if Joni Ernst was secretly gunning to be Pentagon chief, there are signs nonetheless she is politically hostile to reforming the Department of Defense.

Senator Ernst has championed Woke military policies like adding “transgender talent” to the ranks.

Ernst also put on a maudlin performance in the U.S. Congress by claiming that “Americans will suffer” if the country doesn’t send endless billions to Ukraine.

Ernst also call Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky a “fearless leader.”

But the Military Industrial Complex’s gravy train is set to derail if a “warrior first” Pentagon chief like Pete Hegseth is confirmed. And that’s what all the unfounded allegations against the decorated combat soldier and Ivy League graduate are really all about.

Ernst, for her part, is set to become the “Liz Cheney” of the 2026 campaign if she votes against the Hegseth nomination. Liz Cheney, one might recall, positioned herself as the anti-Trump “voice of conscience” in the Republican Party only to get scorched in a primary in deep red Wyoming.

It is worth revisiting the Washington Post:

Rep. Liz Cheney’s loss in Tuesday’s Wyoming primary was a staggering setback for what exists of the anti-Trump movement in the Republican Party. She was defeated by more than 2-1 by Trump-backed Harriet Hageman, short-circuiting a once-promising political career and serving notice that, however much or little direct control the former president exercises over the party, running afoul of him remains perilous. […]

In fact, depending upon how you slice the numbers, it might be the biggest incumbent primary loss of the 21st century. The current results show Hageman taking 66.3 percent of the vote to Cheney’s 28.9 percent — a margin of more than 37 points — with 99 percent of expected votes counted.

In 2024, Trump supporters are not amused by the GOP backstabbers who are not only failing to fall into line to back a popular president, but who are sabotaging the country to benefit their own careers and to line the pockets of their political backers.

The Hegseth nomination will be an excellent test of Trump’s mandate and how much Washington fears reprisals from a political constituency that put him back into office against tremendous odds.

As Rasmussen polling reported on Friday, voters indeed believe Trump has a “mandate”:

Winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College makes the 2024 election a mandate for Donald Trump to implement his policy agenda, according to a majority of voters. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe the election is a mandate for Trump to enact the policies he campaigned on. Thirty-two percent (32%) disagree, while 13% are not sure if the election is a mandate. Trump captured 312 Electoral College votes and, unlike his 2016 election, also won the popular vote. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans say this constitutes a mandate for Trump’s policies, as do 35% of Democrats and 50% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

On Thursday, the incoming heads of the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, visited Capitol Hill to give their initial recommendations to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Musk, Lil X in tow, laid out his view that $2 trillion needs to be trimmed from annual government fat to get America’s budget back on track. The Washington Times reported:

Federal debt has topped $36 trillion and will soon reach the highest ratio of debt to gross domestic product in history. The previous record was set during World War II when the U.S. defeated two global adversaries and emerged with a strong economy and decreasing deficits.

The government is projected to run trillion-dollar deficits for the foreseeable future. The fiscal picture has generated fears that the longer deficits and debt go unaddressed, the more likely the nation will spiral into an economic crisis.

It is unclear what authority the new agency will have to implement cost-cutting recommendations. Mr. Musk has suggested that annual government spending cuts should equate to roughly $2 trillion.

Another question is how far DOGE will go in tackling the biggest drivers of national spending — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — or whether it will target the Department of Defense, which has failed multiple audits.

That’s right, the Pentagon has failed seven audits — in a row.

Meanwhile, another Trump nomination battle appears to be moving in the right direction for the incoming 47th president.

According to squishy RINO senator John Cornyn, a nominal Republican from Texas who failed in his bid to become Senate Majority Leader amidst vocal cries that he will be “primaried” (with the backing of conservative influencers like myself) — FBI director nominee Kash Patel “has the votes.”

It remains to be seen if the threats of the MAGA faithful will move Establishment Republicans like Senator Cornyn and Senator Ernst to “fall in line.'“

But the American people have made themselves clear: There’s a new sheriff in town and Trump’s not there to “go along to get along.” Something must be done. Because the status quo is no longer acceptable and change must come to Washington. Or else.