By Nia-Malika Henderson

President-elect Donald Trump heard a word from Senate Republicans that few expected him to hear. That word is “no.” And now, the president-elect and MAGA allies are determined to never hear from her again. Their goal is to usurp the upper chamber’s powerful and independent “advice and consent” role by threatening retaliation against senators who balk at Trump’s Cabinet picks. This is a worrying development, if the prediction turns out to be correct. It is also a departure from the role the Senate played under Mitch McConnell in the first Trump administration.

After defeating Kamala Harris in the recent presidential election, which they gave Republicans control of the Senate and (barely) the House, Trump quickly got to work announcing new executive appointees. He thought that the Republican Senate would be unquestioningly compliant in giving its consent to all his wishes. Initially, things did not go according to the president-elect’s plan.

Pete Hegseth: The “Stone of Scandal”

On several critical occasions, the Senate has delivered early and unexpected defeats to Trump, suggesting there may be some red flags in Trump 2.0. That was a hopeful early sign — but it called into question Trump’s influence in his own party. MAGA die-hards are now rushing to defend his most controversial choice, the Pete HegsethTrump’s unacceptable choice to lead the Pentagon.

THE former presenterFox News weekend anchor and Iraq war veteran is a uniquely bad candidate, a classic case of failure. After overseeing financial mismanagement at one veterans’ charity, he was hired to lead another, where he followed the same pattern. He was accused of public drunkenness and serial infidelity, as well as sexual assault, which he denied. He accused the media of defaming him. Perhaps most damning was a 2018 letter from his mother that accused her son of “dishonesty, infidelity, betrayal, degradation, denigration” of women, according to the New York Times. Appearing on Fox, his mother, Penelope Hegseth, said her son was a changed man and pleaded with women in the Senate to see him for who he is now, not what he was then.

But Trump stood by him, only to watch the likes of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump supporter, call the allegations “very troubling.” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, promised to subject Hegseth to a “thorough review” and it appeared that this was a possible “no” to his nomination. Ernst is the first female combat veteran in the upper chamber and a survivor of sexual assault. After threats of a primary challenge, she sounds more supportive of Hegseth. Graham, a human weather vane, has also changed course.

If Republicans had rejected Hegseth’s nomination before the confirmation hearings, it would have been Trump’s third major loss since winning the election. First, Trump wanted Florida Senator Rick Scott to become the new Senate Majority Leader. The Senate overruled him and went with South Dakota Sen. John Thune, an incumbent (and former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s associate).

Then Trump wanted former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general. At least four Republican senators were “adamantly opposed,” including Utah Sen. John Curtis.

Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: The candidates for whom Trump will “fight”.

If Hegseth is rejected, it would also make Trump look weak and the Senate look strong, potentially paving the way for other candidates to challenge. While Hegseth has gotten most of the media attention, there is also Tulsi Gabbard, an apologist for Vladimir Putin, who has been tapped as director of national intelligence, a choice that has been criticized by many former national security officials. Gabbard has recently been praised on Russian state television as “absolutely wonderful.”

The Russians are also excited about the choice of President-elect Kash Patel, a QAnon favorite, to lead the FBI. Patel has an enemy list of 60 people called “Members of the Executive Branch Deep State” who could be targeted as part of Trump’s revenge tour if Senate Republicans confirm Patel’s nomination. In Trump’s first term, when the president wanted to nominate Patel as deputy FBI director, then-Attorney General Bill Barr blocked the move, telling the White House chief of staff “over my dead body.” Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper accused Patel in his memoir of lying during an attempt to rescue a kidnapped American being held in Nigeria, potentially jeopardizing the mission and putting lives at risk. Trump also tried to name Patel as deputy CIA director, but Vice President Mike Pence intervened and CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign.

And then there is the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, who has peddled debunked and dangerous conspiracy theories linking vaccines to autism. He mistakenly believes that HIV does not cause AIDS and has pushed for raw milk and the elimination of fluoride from drinking water.

Gabbard and Kennedy are said to be the candidates Trump is “ready to run for,” according to Bulwark. This book has already been set in motion with Hegseth. Both Gabbard and Patel met with GOP senators earlier this week, and the meetings reportedly went well. A partisan war may not even be required.

For his part, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the incoming Democratic minority leader, has decided to remain strategically silent on Trump’s picks, hoping some Republicans will field nominees on their own. That basis will change next month when Republicans take over the Senate and hearings begin.

Trump expected the Senate to comply and support him unilaterally, allowing recess appointments and halting FBI audits. And most Senate Republicans have publicly supported his picks. Many will take Alabama Senator Tommy Tamperville’s place and simply be a rubber stamp for Trump.

But with their slim majority, only four Republicans are needed to act as a check on Trump. That they’ve shown their teeth a bit so far is a good sign, but not good enough. It looks increasingly likely that they will comply and confirm even Trump’s most controversial nominees. The threat of the MAGA mob cannot be ignored. Ideally, however, some of the damage will be limited by a small handful of Senate Republicans who can envision a post-Trump era and want to keep the Senate as the “spirit appeaser” envisioned by the US founders.