Jeff Bezos' Newspaper Endorses All of Trump's Nominees

As President-elect Donald Trump gears up to take office, his first political challenge lies in getting confirmation for all his intended cabinet and cabinet-level officials. And while many are likely to easily get the votes needed to take their posts, others are facing more challenging scenarios.

In this context, the Washington Post's editorial board weighed in on the matter, publishing an article detailing which nominees it deemed acceptable and those who don't meet its standards.

The overwhelming majority got the board's green light, including Pam Bondi, nominated to be the country's Attorney General after Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, Marco Rubio for Secretary of State and Doug Burgum for Interior Minister.

In contrast, the four potential officials who have been rejected by the publication are: Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Health and Human Services), Russell Vought (Office of Management and Budget), and Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence).

The outlet gave brief explanations for its rejection. Regarding Hegseth, it said that the former Fox News anchor "lacks the temperament and moral fiber required to lead the Pentagon." "He persuaded Trump to pardon accused war criminals and has a well-documented history of womanizing and heavy drinking, though he says he'll give up the bottle if he gets one of the most sensitive and powerful jobs in the world."

Even though Hegseth's nomination seemed in jeopardy shortly after its announcement, his chances have seemingly improved over the weeks. In fact, Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly told Trump that he will get enough votes to be confirmed.

Thune, however, expressed more caution when discussing the issue in public. Speaking to "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," he said Hegseth's private meetings with senators have gone "very well," but warned he will still have to make his case "in front of the committee." "And, you known, we don't know all the information about some of these nominees."

Hegseth, a former national guardsman at Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, has been accused of sexual assault, allegations he has denied. He also faces other allegations of alcohol abuse and mismanagement of nonprofits dedicated to veterans. Other potential detractors are Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

RFK Jr. is another pick who has met public resistance. 15,000 doctors recently signed a letter addressed to the Senate urging its members to vote against him, saying that he is "not only unqualified to lead" the Department of Health and Human Services, but he is "actively dangerous."

The letter, published online by the Committee to Protect Health Care, cites numerous instances in which RFK Jr. voiced statements or beliefs incompatible with legitimate medical practice. These include unsubstantiated beliefs that accused vaccines are linked to autism and anti-depressants are linked to school shootings, reported NBC News.

"With bird flu on the rise, now is not the time to put an anti-vax conspiracy theorist in charge of public health," the Washington post piece read.

In the case of Gabbard, nearly 100 former U.S. officials signed a scathing open letter saying that "her sympathy for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Assad raises questions about her judgment and fitness."

The letter was signed by the former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, along with a slew of additional former intelligence and national security officials.

The Post's editorial board said that Gabbard is "overly friendly with U.S. enemies and cannot be trusted to be an honest broker when the president makes national security decisions."

Vought, on his end, is one of the authors of Project 2025, a set of policy proposals that seek to advance several conservative policies and from which Trump distanced himself during the campaign after facing backlash. However, he then embraced many and appointed its authors to key government posts.

In his case, the WaPo board said that he plans to "violate federal law by ignoring the Impoundment Control Act and not spend money appropriated by Congress." "When he had this same job during Trump's first term, he played a key role in holding up funding to Ukraine and then defied a congressional subpoena about it."