The Senate confirmation process for several of President Donald Trump's key administration nominees has turned into something of a media-induced soap opera in recent days.
Despite the drama and confusion stemming from the “will-they-or-won't-they” reporting from the mainstream media, Sen. Tom Cotton remains confident in the steps he and others are taking to ensure approval of Trump's personnel picks, as Breitbart reports.
Since Trump began naming his top choices to key administration roles soon after prevailing in November, media outlets began casting doubt and engaging in rampant speculation about each nominee's chances of confirmation.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, for instance, abandoned his bid to become attorney general, perhaps in large part due to media focus on past controversies, and the nomination of Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary was thrown into serious doubt before he eventually won sufficient votes to secure the job.
Now, media attention seems to have focused on the question of whether Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard will be able to overcome what some believe are serious obstacles to her confirmation and receive approval from the upper chamber.
Outlets such as The Hill have suggested that Gabbard's Thursday hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee did little to help her chances of confirmation, and NBC News quoted a source familiar with the state of the process as saying, “It's 50-50-she gets through.”
The Hill also quoted Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) as saying that with regard to Gabbard, “I think there's a lot of questions still that my Republican colleagues have. I think some of them have been answered, and probably in a way that she was hoping would have gone the other way,” and it was further reported on Sunday that Republican Sen. Todd Young (IN) is leaning against her confirmation.
During an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday, Cotton suggested that current scuttlebutt about Gabbard's supposedly dwindling prospects is the result of “speculation” without much substance, suggesting that the process of deliberations and information-seeking about the candidate is still very much ongoing.
“It just takes time for senators to digest all the information we have,” Cotton said. “As is the case with all committees, we just got some written questions, follow-up questions from our members out the door to her last night. She has those. I'm sure they'll get answers back promptly so we can move forward to a vote. That's a very common practice.”
Cotton added, “All of the media speculation about this one's in trouble, that one's on the rocks, they can't get there...is just that -- speculation.”
Detailing his position on the situation, Cotton said, “I'm voting for Tulsi Gabbard. I'm encouraging my colleagues to vote for Tulsi Gabbard. To the extent any of them are undecided, I'm working through their concerns and explaining why I think that we should vote her out of committee, confirm her on the Senate floor, and put her in place as the Director of National Intelligence, and why Donald Trump wanted her there.”
Further attempting to tamp down any undue press influence on the current scenario, Cotton added, “So, again, I would not believe much of what you read in the media about these things.”
Perhaps giving credence to Cotton's take on where things presently stand, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), often a hard sell when it comes to Trump's personnel decisions, offered some positive -- yet still noncommittal -- words about Gabbard, saying, “I was happy with her responses to my questions, including the question of whether she would recommend a pardon of Edward Snowden, where she clearly said no.”
In addition, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), whose support was the subject of speculation in recent weeks, said on Sunday that he is a “yes” on Gabbard, but whether she will secure the full measure of support needed in the end is something that remains to be seen.
