A prospect of the Supreme Court bowed out after it was revealed that he had smoked pot in his youth. Two attorney general candidates were fired when it was discovered that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies. The third cabinet nominee – the former leader of the Senate no less – was nixed for not paying taxes on cars and drivers lent to him by associates. Even mean tweets are enough to sink one nomination.
The legal and ethical issues surrounding some of President Donald J. Trump’s choices for top administration jobs, not to mention the history of eyebrow-raising public statements, are far deeper than the type of revelations that have killed nominees in the Senate in the past.
What was once ruled out as a presidential nominee looks pretty good compared to the allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use by the chosen attorney general detailed in a secret congressional report, the sexual assault allegations followed by the settlement paid for his selection as head of the Pentagon and former heroin addict admitted by health secretary candidate.
It wasn’t long ago that nominees for high-level jobs and even some of the more obscure ones had to be blamed, until a relatively minor tax issue could ruin them. But times are clearly changing when the nominees are at the dawn of the second Trump administration.
“The standards seem to be evolving,” said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. The panel will consider the nomination of former Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, for attorney general if he is officially retained.
Mr. Gaetz is the subject of a Justice Department and House Ethics committee investigation into his drug use and whether he had sex with minors, among other allegations. He and his supporters dismissed the allegations as a smear and insisted that federal prosecutors declined to indict him, even though the underlying claims against him in the case were well documented. The ethics findings remain confidential as the panel is set to meet on Wednesday amid pressure to release the report.
Senate Democrats were shocked by the accounts of many of Trump’s picks for the top job and insisted they would not have passed the initial vetting stage of past administrations, either Republican or Democratic, let alone moved on to Senate confirmation.
“This is something you can’t get past the vet,” said Senator Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado. “Now people wear it like a badge of honor.”
In history some of the potential choices have also been raised with the Republicans who have expressed resistance to Mr. Trump’s choice and the prospect of him making the last run around the Senate confirmation process with appointments while the chamber is in recess.
“I am one of those who believe that integrity and character matter,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said in an interview. “I refuse to stand in the way, even given some indication that character and integrity are not the highest qualifications for office.”
Others among his fellow Republicans were unfazed by the history of the nominees and said the Senate should consider and approve them quickly or get rid of them, arguing that Mr. Trump has the right to select personnel.
“There were a lot of people, if you think about the first Trump administration, who were nominated and never confirmed,” said Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida. “So we need to know, how do we help this president who was elected with a mandate to change the country to get the nomination?”
Senate confirmation has historically been such a difficult process that some nominees have refused to enter the administration rather than face the gauntlet of hearings and open their lives and finances to intense scrutiny that could uncover potential problems and more.
In previous years, the disclosure of minor improprieties was often enough to stop the nomination process and lead to total withdrawal, sparing the White House and embarrassing individuals before the nominee got a vote. It is rare for a cabinet candidate to lose. The last was in 1989, when former Senator John Tower, Republican of Texas, reached the floor only to be rejected as defense secretary by the Democratic-controlled Senate because of alcohol abuse and other problems.
But Mr. Trump, who has faced his own accusations of sexual abuse and election subversion, does not seem ashamed at all about the background of his choice and so far has not shown any desire to resign. Instead, he has doubled down as a habit, giving his full support as the type of person who will make the changes he wants.
It is different from the past. Take Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2008 to be health secretary. It was discovered that he never paid income tax on the use of the loaned car and driver when he consulted with a financial company. Mr. Daschle said he did not know that the car was counted as income, and paid more than $100,000 in back taxes. But the damage was done, and it was determined that he could not remove the Senate he had once led.
Not one but two of President Bill Clinton’s potential attorney general picks have been found unpopular over their employment of undocumented immigrants and, in the case of corporate attorney Zoe Baird, failure to pay required payroll taxes on them. After that, the “nanny tax” issue became a standard vetting question for presidential candidates. Other potential candidates for various posts ended up backing out because of taxes or questions about deductions.
In another high-profile case, Justice Douglas H. Ginsburg was forced to withdraw his name from consideration as President Ronald Reagan’s nominee for a Supreme Court vacancy in 1987 after it was revealed that he had smoked marijuana as a student in the 1960s and occasionally. again in the 1970s while on the faculty at Harvard Law School.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mr. Trump’s pick for health secretary, has admitted his addiction to heroin. He was convicted of possession of heroin after being arrested after a flight to South Dakota in 1983 and said he had recovered.
For the tweet, Neera Tanden, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, resigned after it was determined that she could not clear the narrowly divided Senate in 2021 due to previous social media posts critical of senators. Mr. Gaetz’s social media feed is full of digs at some of the same senators who should now be confirmed, but there appears to be no movement to back down.
Both Democrats and Republicans also expressed concern over reports that Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and Fox News personality tapped by Mr. Trump to be defense secretary, reached a settlement to avoid a lawsuit by a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. conservative conference in California.
Democrats say questions about Trump’s selection go beyond minor infractions on the candidate’s failed record.
“It’s not a blemish,” said Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware. “It’s a deep stain.”
They and others said the reason that criminal charges were not filed in some cases — as they did for Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Hegseth — did not meet traditional corroboration standards.
“In the past, this sordid, raunchy, indisputed involvement in criminality will be totally disqualifying,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and another member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Cornyn, Texas Republican, said the question about the nomination and background shows why the Senate should follow the traditional confirmation process to sort out which report is true or not. He has pressed for the release of the House Ethics Committee report on Mr. Gaetz, for example, and even said he would be open to issuing a subpoena if the panel refused to allow the senator to see it.
“I don’t know if it’s people’s speculation or factual or opinion,” he said of the allegations against the nominee. “So the best thing we can do is do our due diligence.”
