Senators being pressured with 'death threats' to confirm Trump's cabinet

[UNCjigga]

Not sure if anyone's seen this Vanity Fair article yet. I wanted to updated a previous post of mine in the USAID thread, but thought this probably deserves its own thread in the wake of Kash Patel's confirmation.

“Who is pulling their strings, and what leverage do they have?”

That is the question that should be on everyone’s mind as this shambolic presidency unfolds.

Is it Donald Trump himself, or his kids? I find it hard to believe he is both a hollow-brained septuagenarian AND a master manipulator. The kids don’t seem to have the chops either. Who is their enforcer?

Is it organized crime? With people like Roy Cohn, Bernie Kerik, Michael Cohen etc. in his orbit at one time, it’s certainly plausible, but I expect we would’ve had more reporting about any direct links after his first term. And I doubt the mob is still playing an active role in his 2nd term.

What about Leonard Leo and Russell Vought (Federalist Society/Heritage Foundation/Project 2025?) Are they at the head of some cabal of billionaire donors and media outlets pulling the strings? It’s plausible, and they have a well-established track record of getting lawmakers to toe the line or face primary threats. But they don’t strike the same note of fear as some of the other suspects.

Russia, China, Netanyahu or the security apparatus they control (FSB, Mossad etc.?) They could possibly play a part, but the level of coordination required is immense.

I don’t think it’s Elon Musk—but he’s definitely under their control now. But he is too new to the scene—and this has been going on for years.

I don’t know who it is—but it’s certainly someone with a ton of leverage AND the ability to strike fear of reprisals. I don’t know how else you get all of these unqualified assholes confirmed—even with Democratic votes. I don’t know how else January 6 goes from an insurrection against the country to “no big deal” in the span of 3 days (I will forever remember Josh Hawley running the halls and Speaker McCarthy changing his mind about January 6 after one phone call with Trump.)

There are forces at work here that I don’t understand, that are able to make people with long standing beliefs and principles do a complete 180 in the span of minutes. Marco Rubio is just one example.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/05/politics/video/kfile-marco-rubio-usaid-foreign-aid-praise-ebof-digvid

Or maybe, just maybe…conservatives never held any principles to begin with. It was all just lies for votes and dollars—manipulating those of us who are easiest to manipulate based on fear. And perhaps now they don’t need our votes anymore, or our dollars—because someone else is paying them top dollar to sit back and watch it all burn.

Well, the VF article provides a bit more clarity on the leverage being used against Senators:

According to one source with direct knowledge of the events, North Carolina senator Thom Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about “credible death threats” when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary. Tillis ultimately provided the crucial 50th vote to confirm the former Fox & Friends host to lead the Pentagon.

But where are these threats coming from? Now, I wouldn't go so far as to accuse Trump's FBI of "manufacturing" these threats for political gain--but there's a non-zero chance that could happen now that Kash Patel is replacing Brian Driscoll.
I hope we get more reporting on this in the future. I doubt Tillis is the only one being pressured, given that Trump's batting 1000 when it comes to cabinet confirmations. Tillis is an interesting case--he certainly started his Senate career as an anti-liberal demagogue pre-Trump, but has drifted further away from MAGA over the years. He had real concerns over Hegseth's potential to slash military funding and affect jobs/base closures in NC. Up until January, he was also a staunch supporter of USAID, then quickly pulled a 180 even as university funding, research grants, and hundreds of jobs were lost in NC. His sudden shift in support made no sense to me--even with the threat of a primary, given he's built a solid fundraising base at home.

But threats to one's life are a whole different matter than threats to future campaigns. How many more GOP Senators are really "scared shitless"? What about Democrats who we've been calling feckless and ineffective--what threats are they seeing? What does this mean for our democracy?

EDIT: Forgot to mention that we can't really overlook what impact Trump's near IMMEDIATE blanket pardon for J6 felons had on Congress ahead of the confirmation hearings. I know it was a campaign promise to get that done on "day one", but the timing of that pardon ahead of the confirmation hearings was certainly fortuitous for Trump.

 

[HomerJS]

We know it's not Democrats or left leaning people because we don't want any of them confirmed.

 

[Brainonska511]

You know what you are when you ignore your oath of office? An oathbreaker. It doesn't have a fucking asterisk for "void if death threats come in".

If they can't handle the job, they should quit.

 

[UNCjigga]

You know what you are when you ignore your oath of office? An oathbreaker. It doesn't have a fucking asterisk for "void of death threats come in".

If they can't handle the job, they should quit.

When they quit, another MAGA lackey probably takes their place given how most GOP districts are carved out…

 

[Brainonska511]

When they quit, another MAGA lackey probably takes their place given how most GOP districts are carved out…

And how would that be different than what they're doing now? They're already bending over backwards for Trump.

 

[BoomerD]

The congress critters swore much the same oath as I did when I enlisted in the USMC 55 years ago.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

MAGA, in my opinion, is one of those "domestic enemies."