After Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) announced he is putting holds on DOJ nominees after the Trump indictment, Mitch McConnell’s former Kentucky senatorial opponent and first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corp Amy McGrath blasted him and his like-minded colleagues, “These people are not serious about national security. They are not serious about the rule of law.”
Vance announced that he intended to hold all Department of Justice nominees for the purpose of making “this department work a little more slowly until Merrick Garland changes course and does his job the right way.”
There’s language in the middle where Vance tries to justify what he’s doing by claiming Trump is being unduly harassed, so that suggests that Vance is not doing his job to defend the United States against all enemies and threats, foreign and domestic. Because even if he was correct (and he’s not), the evidence shows that Donald Trump recklessly took, stored carelessly, lied about having, refused to return and in two instances shared our secret and very sensitive defense information.
Either way, what Vance is suggesting is giving extortion energy and given what is at stake, it’s surreal that a U.S. Senator is responding this way to Donald J. Trump being held accountable for endangering the U.S.
We are talking about the kind of material that if it gets out “causes people to die.” We are talking about the kind of material that puts every person’s safety at risk if it gets out. That’s what national security comes down to — the safety of the people in this country and the safety of the people working for this country in various capacities from military to intelligence assets.
Instead of standing up for the U.S., Vance is standing up for Trump. Trump before country. Trump before security. Trump before the military. Trump first, the U.S. way down the list.
U.S. Marshal nominees aren’t being targeted by Vance, and really, his show isn’t expected to do a lot of damage, but if a DOJ nominee does get blocked by him, it will be more bad news for our national security.
However, the broader point is: When faced with his country being put at risk, with “causes people to die” levels of threat to the U.S. military, Vance pivots to how can he take the U.S. hostage to show Trump how much he cares.
What is being lost in all of this is how Representatives and Senators should be responding. They should all, Democrat and Republican, put this country first. There should be no doubt that this country’s safety comes before their allegiance to a man found liable of sexual assault who is a criminal defendant in two separate cases currently, with several others pending.
Yet, we do not have the security of knowing that all of our lawmakers put this country and her people’s safety first.
Days ago, McGrath, a retired US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel who served as a Congressional Fellow advising a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on defense and foreign policy, noted, “Any elected official who defends the actions of DJT is not serious about our national security.”
Okay, but before that, how about you stop your reckless hurting of our national security by holding up an unprecedented 800+ military and defense positions from being filled. https://t.co/p9m3sgQ3QR
— Amy McGrath (@AmyMcGrathKY) June 12, 2023
She knows of what she speaks. After flying 89 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, McGrath served in the Pentagon as Marine Corps’ liaison to the State Department. She knows what’s at stake.
Suddenly, our national security is a partisan issue. Only Democrats care? Only Democrats can manage to prioritize the safety of our military, our relationships with our allies, and our defense plans? Republicans are only able to manage to offer weak tea like ‘looks problematic, but don’t ask me to say anything in defense of the United States, which I serve.’
We are witnessing a tragic display of self-interest over country. Republicans are not stuck with a criminal defendant as their front-runner. They actually have power and control over their own messaging and could accurately inform their constituents that what Trump is accused of and what is laid out in the indictment is horrifying. There are other presidential hopefuls, some even with star power, and there is plenty of time to change course.
If Republicans don’t change course, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
