Senate Will Block Trump’s Gaetz Nomination, McCarthy Says

The article has a quote about how Musk is a great asset to the US: “He’s a Thomas Edison. He doesn’t care about wealth.” Musk fired about 20% of his workforce earlier this year and took a 46 billion-dollar bonus that was so large it was blocked by a judge (as far as I know he got it anyways when the shareholders voted again). What a selfless hero showing he cares more about people than money.

I’d say the comparison between Edison and Musk is pretty spot-on. Both were men who were better at taking credit and monetizing an idea than at improving things for the common people.
https://www.grunge.com/250292/the-shady-side-of-thomas-edison/
Besides Edison’s famous rivalry with Tesla, he also made a LOT of money as a patent troll. He’d buy patents for cheap from starving inventors and then sue anyone who made anything remotely similar. He’s even the one responsible for the precursor to the MPAA - the Motion Picture Patent Company.
Like Musk, Edison wasn’t stupid, and had some business sense. He knew how to take advantage of others, and had no reservations for doing so if it got him further ahead. He wasn’t above ruining someone’s reputation if he couldn’t beat them at technology or business.
- He’s even the one responsible for the precursor to the MPAA - the Motion Picture Patent Company
  And he was such a litigious patent troll that filmmakers left the east coast for California, which means that Edison was indirectly the creator of Hollywood.
- I'm not sure Elon's business sense is all that great. He's running Xitter in the ground.

He resigned from Congress because the ethics investigation was about to finish. This might have all been a ploy to manufacture a reason for Gaetz to leave early, and then the report gets squashed.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/11/13/politics/house-ethics-committee-report-gaetz-investigation
Then, if the Senate does not confirm the nomination, it gives Trump more grievances to air.
- Or they have some kind of quid pro quo. Or someone has dirt on someone. Or they both explicitly know that each are very willing to do crimes for each other
- No source, sorry, but I heard a clip of a senator stating they should subpoena the report as relevant to the confirmation process.
  Edit:
  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/us/lawmakers-demand-ethics-report-gaetz.html

Wait there was something that was going to come out today about him?
- Tomorrow. There had been a House Ethics Committee investigation into his antics, which was just wrapping up. But that committee can only investigate House members, so now that he isn't anymore they may not be able to release that report.
  He is in the unique position that his political career may actually improve after resigning a House seat but getting his nomination torpedoed by the Senate. He can make a living off listing off his grievances on Conservative talk shows, biding his time for the 2028 Presidential Nomination.
Wait when did he resign???

Maybe block the Fox News host from becoming the secretary of defense while you're at it.

And the ani-vaxxxer guy with brain worms from running Health and Human Services. Or the convicted felon from becoming President.

My theory: Gaetz’ nomination was suggested by Trump’s GRU handler as a smokescreen for ensuring GRU asset Gabbard’s nomination glides through unchallenged.

I hope they fail, not because accelerationism, but because Republicans lack empathy. They only get it when it happens to them, and I want the "moderate" and "traditional" Republicans to feel exactly like the girls Ge aetz creeps on: powerless and alone.

Maybe then they'll understand what the sane half of the country has been yelling about.

No, they will cave. Pussies and grifters.

Don't besmirch pussies. They're a bunch of feckless cowards as well as grifters.
Yeah, how often do the Republicans actually manage to come together to stop Trump?

https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/filibusters-cloture/overview.htm

"The Senate adopted new precedents in the 2010s to allow a simple majority to end debate on nominations"

With a 53-47 split, and no filibuster on nominations, there's no way to block it.

The only way to stop the nomination is for a Republican sentator on the relevant committee to vote no, or for 4 Republican Senators to vote no if it leaves committee. What are the odds of that?
- Very likely. This guy does not have the support and multiple Republican senators have said they won’t confirm him.
- Same as the odds of someone playing a Change of Heart card on Trump
- Well I'm certain Susan Collins will do her dog-and-pony show of pretending to care about women again, and Murkowski will probably also object. It would be amusing, given the bad blood between them, if McCarthy had any allies in the Senate who would knife Gaetz.
Some Senate Republicans are signaling that they won't vote for him, and it wouldn't surprise me all that much if 4 Rs defect to block his confirmation.
Of course, Trump can and will still force him through as a recess appointment (fitting, giving Gaetz' track record on consent) which will secure him as AG at least until the midterms when the balance of power in the Senate will inevitably shift again.
- My understanding is that there hasn't been a technical Senate recess in a long time. I think there b has to be a 5 day gap or something, so one senator stays in DC, calls the Senate to order, then adjourns it. Something like that.
McConnell already blocked Trump's ally from becoming the leader of the house. They voted yesterday, and the next senate majority leader is John Thune, who has criticized Trump for Jan 6 and for claiming the 2020 election was stolen. He was also against Trump's tarrifs 6 years ago. Thankfully the senate doesn't seem to be ending up under Trump's control, and the checks and balances in our government might actually be working.

Uh huh.

Good. Because of of all the stupid appointments he's ever made, that one's the must stupid be an order of magnitude.

Dont issue that challenge to the universe
I think appointing a political commentator to lead the world's most powerful military might be worse.
I don't know about that. There is a lot of stupid in the running here. Gabbard? Not sure where Brainworms is at right now. Same with Elon's role in "efficiency"....I mean the guy with actual brainworms, in charge of health and food safety? Elon, the guy who is running Xitter into the ground, in charge of "efficiency"?
FFS.

Kevin who?

Well that's just adorable.