Susie Wiles, who co-chaired Donald Trump’s campaign and is now his incoming chief of staff, helped pilot her boss through an electoral effort that, by Trump standards, was a model of discipline and control. But she made one mistake once the election was over. She took a few days off. Within that week, Trump — urged in her absence by such “kitchen cabinet” advisers as his son Donald Jr., Tucker Carlson, and radio talk show host Dan Bongino (though Bongino denies any role in their selection) — had chosen Matt Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense.
The ticking time bomb that was Gaetz quickly blew up under scrutiny and after he had tried to avoid the release of a devastating House Ethics Committee report by trying to leave Congress for the safety of the Justice Department. But Hegseth has held on, and — aided by a thuggish group of online MAGA satellite players who threaten anyone who raises objections to his nomination — his team has proclaimed that he has the votes to win Senate approval after his confirmation hearing concludes this week.
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