Progressives Fume as Democrats Fold in Face of Trump's 'Corporate-Owned Cabinet'

The government watchdog group Revolving Door Project on Monday denounced Democratic lawmakers for the "perfunctory resistance" with which they appear to be preparing for confirmation hearings on President-elect Donald Trump's nominees to lead federal agencies, saying some in the party's upper ranks appear willing to allow far-right appointees to sail to top government positions without facing a true opposition party.

As Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) toldNOTUS on Monday, some of Trump's nominees are "objectionable," but others "are going to get bipartisan support."

Jeff Hauser, executive director of Revolving Door Project (RDP), acknowledged that with Republicans now holding 53 seats in the Senate and the Democratic Party holding 45, "Democrats do not have the votes to kill any of these nominations."

"But they do have the ability to begin drawing attention to the cronyism that will inevitably appear from within the Trump administration. Contrary to the party's current position, being able to say 'I told you so' is helpful to future success," said Hauser.

Democrats aren't ensuring they'll have the ability to say that, Hauser warned, as they signal little resistance "to the few Trump nominees so brazenly offputting that they draw nearly uniform skepticism."

"For all the Trump nominees not accused of killing a dog or committing heinous crimes, Democrats do not seem poised to offer even a whisper of resistance, no matter how unqualified," said Hauser.

"Democrats must find their inner populists and fight at all times, even in battles that they will almost certainly lose."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) held a meeting Monday with Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss the upcoming questioning of defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth this week, saying his upcoming confirmation hearing on Tuesday will provide the party an opportunity to attack the GOP's "brand." Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault, which he has denied.

But the party has not called attention to problems with nominees like Scott Bessent, Trump's treasury secretary nominee, or Chris Wright, the fracking CEO who has denied the climate emergency and whom Trump picked to run the Department of Energy (DOE).

"Senate Democrats have failed to question how Scott Bessent's experience of running a second-tier hedge fund with declining assets under management qualifies him to hold one of the most powerful economic policymaking in the world," said Hauser. "Or how Chris Wright's experience as an unhinged plutocrat out of touch with scientific reality would qualify him to manage some of the world's most important laboratories."

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told NOTUS that Democrats are prepared to use the confirmation hearings to answer the question: "Are they fighting for Americans, or are they going to fight for the kind of cronyism politics that's really hurt this place?"

"I want to support nominees that are going to really fight for the American people, not fight for special interests, not fight for rich people, not fight to take away our freedoms," he told NOTUS.

But with nominees like hedge fund manager Bessent, former corporate lobbyist Pam Bondi for attorney general, cryptocurrency promoter Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary, and Medicare Advantage proponent Mehmet Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Hauser said Democrats shouldn't act as though the nominees' conflicts of interest and loyalty to the wealthy are a question.

"Every senior Trump administration official will have the discretion to exercise presidential authority on behalf of corporate interests in ways that will hurt ordinary Americans. Workers, consumers, breathers of air—every typical American is at risk from the most corporate captured set of nominees in American history," said Hauser. "Democrats should be telling this story now, not only to raise alarms ahead of the inauguration, but to be able to tell a compelling story about what went wrong and why when things inevitably decline across so many critical fronts in the next few years."

Instead, Booker told NOTUS that the party is "not looking to make this partisanship or tribalism."

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), for his part, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and told NOTUS his plan going into confirmation hearings is "to listen." He has expressed support for secretary of state nominee Marco Rubioubio, United Nations ambassador nominee Elisa StefanikStefanik, and transportation secretary nominee Sean Duffy.

"Senate Democrats are seeking strategic retreat wherever possible, convinced that 'opposition' is a bad strategy for the opposition party," Hauser warned.

In a post at RDP's Substack newsletter, research assistant KJ Boyle wrote that the problem with Booker and Fetterman's approach "is that Trump's picks are partisan, chosen for their loyalty both to him and the moneyed interests they'll ostensibly be tasked with overseeing. Now is not the time to sit back and listen. It's time to make a big stink about how unqualified and dangerous these nominees are, and explain how that will translate to real world consequences that harm everyday people."

The group plans to release suggested questions for Democrats to ask at each of the confirmation hearings in the coming days; Boyle started with Wright, interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum, and Office of Management and Budget director nominee Russell Vought.

He suggested senators ask Wright about his former company, trade association Western Energy Alliance, and its public comment opposing energy efficiency standards for gas stoves.

"The public comment erroneously claimed the DOE's rule was 'intended to ban new gas stoves and compel a transition to electric,' rather than a commonsense rule to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save consumers money," Boyle wrote in a suggested question. "Moreover, are you aware that approximately 13% of childhood asthma cases can be attributed to nitrogen dioxide exposure from gas stoves? Do you believe the federal government has no role in protecting our children from exposure to these hazardous airborne pollutants?"

Boyle suggested senators ask Vought about his record of budget cuts that have harmed low-income families, and ask Burgum why he opposed a rule requiring coal plants to reduce mercury emissions, which are linked to heart attacks, cancer, and developmental delays in children.

"Why do you think that the coal industry should be given handouts and allowed to make people sick?" Boyle suggested senators ask.

Hauser said that Democrats' electoral defeat in November has left them "doubling down on an ostrich-like strategy of hiding their heads until Donald Trump goes away."

"But the MAGA movement will not go away on its own, it will have to be defeated," he said. "Defeating the MAGA movement does not require clever theories, it requires the hard work of opposition on behalf of the millions who will suffer at the hands of Trump's corporate Cabinet. Democrats must find their inner populists and fight at all times, even in battles that they will almost certainly lose."

"There is never a better opportunity to find an opposition's voice," he said, "than when a would-be populist president appoints a corporate-owned Cabinet."