Is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) trying to get a primary challenge? This man is determined to carry out the political version of the Bataan Death March. The North Carolina Republican was reportedly on the fence regarding voting against Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, which would’ve killed the nomination. Tillis seems to have gotten scared regarding a fake news story about Pete Hegseth being abusive toward his second wife, Samantha, which she denied. However, the outlet ran with the story anyway. Hegseth’s former sister-in-law is the one who came forward with the accusations, and Tillis apparently spoke with her, saying her name would add weight to the allegations and move votes against Mr. Hegseth (via WSJ) [emphasis mine]:
A key witness in the contentious Senate confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was assured by Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) that her sworn statement would carry weight in last week’s vote and could convince Republican senators to oppose the nominee, according to people familiar with the events.
Tillis personally assured Danielle Hegseth in a call on Jan. 19, witnessed by two other people, that if she signed the statement testifying that she believed her former brother-in-law Pete Hegseth has an alcohol abuse problem and was abusive to his second wife, it would carry weight, and potentially move three votes—his own, along with the votes of Sens. Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska), those people said.
On Friday, Tillis became the 50th senator to vote “yes” on Hegseth, clinching his confirmation to lead the Pentagon.
In a statement, Tillis didn’t dispute The Wall Street Journal’s reporting about the call. He said Danielle Hegseth’s statement “did carry weight, which is why I communicated my concerns to the White House and spent days doing my due diligence and seeing if there were any firsthand corroborating accounts of the sworn statement.” He continued that he was “not able to speak with anyone who provided firsthand corroboration.”
No, you didn’t need to do it, Thom. You don’t take the meeting—Hegseth’s brother’s ex-wife is the source of the new allegations, and the former Mrs. Hegseth denied the claims. You didn’t see any red flags, sir? Instead, you made a circus of the vote, gave Senate Republicans agita, and wasted two hours of Pete Hegseth’s time; the pair spoke on the day of the vote.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also voted against Hegseth and was later seen frolicking with Senate Democrats.
What are you doing, man? Totally Braindead.
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