Thom Tillis Just WENT OFF on Kristi Noem!
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Kennedy, who previously voted to confirm Kristi Noem, unexpectedly grilled her during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
- ❖Tillis criticized Noem for killing her dog and goat, and for her department's handling of the Minneapolis incident where citizens were labeled 'domestic terrorists.'
- ❖Noem consistently avoided apologizing for her department's actions, attributing issues to 'bad information' and adhering to the Trump administration's 'no apologies' culture.
- ❖The hosts argued that the senators' belated critiques were hypocritical and a political maneuver to scapegoat Noem without taking responsibility for their initial confirmation votes or addressing systemic issues.
Insights
1Unexpected Republican Scrutiny of Kristi Noem
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Kennedy aggressively questioned Secretary Kristi Noem, despite both having voted for her confirmation. Tillis specifically attacked Noem's controversial decisions, including the killing of her dog and goat, and her department's handling of the Minneapolis incident where citizens Alex Prey and Renee Good were killed and initially labeled 'domestic terrorists.' Kennedy challenged Noem on the use of $220 million in DHS ad spending that prominently featured her.
Tillis's questioning on the dog and goat incidents, and the Minneapolis killings (, , ). Kennedy's questioning on the $220 million ad spending featuring Noem ().
2Noem's Refusal to Apologize and Blame Shifting
Kristi Noem consistently refused to apologize for her department's actions, particularly the labeling of Alex Prey and Renee Good as 'domestic terrorists.' Instead, she claimed she was 'relying on information we were getting from the ground' and that she 'did not call him a domestic terrorist,' but rather 'it appeared to be an incident of' domestic terrorism. The hosts attributed this to the Trump administration's culture of never admitting mistakes.
Noem's response to Senator Klobuchar's direct question about apologizing to the victims' parents (, ). Host JVL's comment on 'Trump world' where 'you cannot ever admit a mistake' ().
3Hypocrisy of Senate Confirmations and Lack of Accountability
The hosts vehemently criticized Senators Tillis and Kennedy, as well as other Democrats who voted for Noem's confirmation, for their belated outrage. They argued that all the 'disqualifying' information, including the dog and goat incidents from her book, was available before her confirmation. The hosts framed the current critiques as a lack of personal responsibility for their role in enabling Noem's appointment and subsequent actions.
JVL's statement, 'watching people who voted to confirm her... suddenly get all chesty... Go [expletive] yourselves' (). Discussion about the book being out before her confirmation (). The hosts' broader critique of senators not taking responsibility for their votes ().
4Political Scapegoating to Avoid Systemic Reforms
The hosts suggested that the Republican critiques of Noem might be a strategic effort to scapegoat her for the administration's immigration and enforcement failures. This tactic aims to remove Noem as a 'weak link' and appease Democrats regarding DHS funding, without implementing the fundamental reforms (e.g., body cams, badges, targeted enforcement) that Democrats are demanding for the agency.
Sam Stein's observation about DHS funding being frozen and the 'whiff' that Republicans are signaling a willingness to remove Noem for an agreement (). Andrew Edgar's explanation that Tillis and Kennedy are trying to 'send Christine out as the scapegoat' to avoid 'needed and... minor reforms to DHS' ().
Quotes
"Watching people who voted to confirm her, suddenly get all chesty about 'no idea.' Go [expletive] yourselves. That's basically how I feel about it. Go [expletive] yourself, Kennedy."
"You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time in training. And then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it's a leadership lesson about tough choices."
"Not in Trump world, right? In Trump world, you can't ever, it's dominance politics and you cannot apologize. You cannot ever admit a mistake in Trump world. That would get her fired."
"Let's all agree that it's Christy who's the problem and then we can get her out of there and ICE can go back to, you know, doing its great patriotic work without any of these reforms that Democrats have demanded."
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