Last night, I participated in another “Empty Chair” Town Hall. Once again, Indiana Senator Todd Young has declined to face his constituents, and I was among those making brief, preliminary remarks. (I should note that I blame Young far more than I blame our other Senator, Jim Banks, because Banks is a Christian nationalist lunatic. Young clearly knows better, and is thus more culpable.)
Here’s what I said.
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Hoosiers are well aware that Senator Young has failed to object to Trump’s multiple violations of the Constitution. Most recently, this former Marine voted against efforts to invoke the War Powers Act—in other words, against a measure that would have asserted Congress’s constitutional authority over Trump’s insane war against Iran.
Less attention, however, has been paid to what may have been his most abject failure–his performance of a critically important function imposed upon the Senate under that same Constitution.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires Senators to approve or reject presidential nominations for key positions. The Senate must pass judgment on ambassadors, Supreme Court judges, and cabinet officials.
Todd Young voted to confirm every single one of Trump’s cabinet nominees—individuals who range from incompetent to corrupt to mentally ill. Despite the fact that these nominees were clearly unfit and unqualified—and frequently scandal-plagued—Indiana’s Senators obediently approved them. And Hoosiers are suffering the consequences.
Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Lori Chavez-DeReme have already left the administration—all three were being investigated for serious misconduct and self-dealing, but their departures were a result of not doing Trump’s bidding effectively enough. Their replacements will undoubtedly be worse.
Meanwhile, We the People are still stuck with Pete Hegseth, a pompous drunkard who is busy firing women and minorities, committing war crimes, and Christianizing the Pentagon. We are still stuck with Kash Patel, another drunk, who has been plagued by a slew of scandals , has gutted the FBI’s counterintelligence staff, and demonstrated utter incompetence.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.– a known crank–has systematically undermined our public health system; spread disinformation about vaccines, vitamin A, and autism; fired qualified scientists who refused to adopt his anti-science policies; slashed grants and upended critical research.
The list goes on. None of the people in this circus of incompetent buffoons—not one–would have been nominated or confirmed for their positions in any other administration. A stable, competent president would never have nominated them, and Senators who took their responsibilities seriously would never have confirmed them.
The Constitution requires Senators to consider the qualifications and ethics of Presidential nominees. The people Trump nominated were obviously—in several cases, ludicrously—unqualified for the positions involved. Most were ethically compromised as well.
Todd Young obediently voted to confirm every single one of them.
Hoosiers and all Americans are experiencing the results, including a ridiculous and unnecessary war, accompanied by war crimes; the return of inflation; mounting deaths from the return of measles (which had been eradicated); disruption of important medical research; efforts to revise accurate history, retreat from environmental protections, and persistent assaults on democratic norms and constitutional principles.
Americans and Hoosiers are in a world of hurt because Todd Young and other spineless Republican Senators obediently confirmed Trump’s choice of blatantly and obviously unfit individuals.
In a recent interview, Hakeem Jeffries said it best: “It’s extraordinary to me that Senate Republicans confirmed people like Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., and Kash Patel. All of them. Deeply unserious and deeply unqualified. And now the country is paying the price because of the individuals that Donald Trump chose to nominate as part of the Trump cartel that’s now doing great damage to the nation, and the fact that Senate Republicans, like helpless sheep, went along with it all.”
The good news is that the continuing cowardice of Republicans like Todd Young has created an enormous popular backlash. As Simon Rosenberg recently wrote, “Just look at the news coverage – the disgraced FBI Director yelling at reporters, Tucker Carlson apologizing for supporting Trump, the Labor Secretary resigning due to a really nasty scandal, utter legislative chaos and infighting in both chambers, Trump’s unending whining about his gilded ballroom, and then there is the failed war – gargantuan, historic, shocking levels of buffoonery, idiocy, incompetence and now desperation too.”
Todd Young’s chair is as empty as his allegiance to his oath of office.
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Will any of the spineless GOP Senators, including Todd Young, vote not to fund $1 billion in tax money for Trump’s ballroom? (The ballroom he claimed would be funded entirely by private donations?) I wrote Young to ask that question of him. Just one example of the widespread grift in this administration, draining the US Treasury like the mad king, and our Congress standing silently by.
Your summary of what the “people” elected to govern breaks my heart. And yet, with all this destruction of our democracy, nearly 35% of Americans think this is all good. A cult by any other name …
“The Constitution requires Senators to consider the qualifications and ethics of Presidential nominees.”
The Constitution requires much more than those issues of Senate and House; State level Constitutions require the same upholding of laws and support of each Constitution. At least those failing to perform duties and responsibilities required and sworn to at all levels are easily identified today as they appear to be members of the Republican party with few Democratic supporters. Their allegiance appears to be to support Donald Trump from the bottom up; and can be found now in our families, friends, neighbors and churches. I am hoping to receive another flyer from my Warren Township Democratic Team with names of the recent Primary Election winners in my area to be researched for information to base my decisions on.
Later this morning I will keep my second appointment with a new doctor at Jane Pauley Medical Clinic; my first visit in April included completing a form regarding my level and issues of depression. The doctor asked why I was so depressed, my response was to ask him if he had been watching the news. His reply was, “I believe we will all be fine under this administration.” Whether he was referring to State or Federal level doesn’t matter as they are one and the same here in bright red Indiana. I am now questioning my change of medical care with what is left of my much lowered medical coverage which increase in cost lowered the amount of my Social Security checks.
Two thoughts crossed my mind at the same time: We’d actually be better off without Todd Young, and he’s only perpetuating and endorsing this failed so he can keep grifting.
Meanwhile, he knows that if he refuses Trump, he’ll be out of a job next primary, just like the State Senators who voted against mid-cycle redistricting. Didn’t they all lose in Indiana?
Therefore, Todd Young faces a dilemma based on past decisions: his success now depends on Trump’s success. Todd is situated in the middle of straight-ticket/low-information voters. Unlike Banks, Todd’s history shows he likely has a conscience, but he’s voting against it. All of this contradiction would make a person age overnight. 😉
There is a remedy; massive Democrat voter turnout in November.
I am not holding my breath. Leadership of the Dems, at every level, is not rising to the moment. Sometimes I wonder if they are secretly working as operators for the Republican Party.
Never underestimate the ability of Dems to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
I couldn’t have articulated it any better than Sheila. Add to that list Todd Young’s abysmal stance on the environment.
Young recently voted in favor of opening the Minnesota Boundary Waters pristine wildlife area to copper sulfate mining for a Chilean billionaire’s company with strong ties to the Trump family which overturned a 2023 Biden administration 20-year mining ban over that area. Sulfide mining poses a permanent risk to the area’s water quality, wildlife and tourism-based economy.
Todd is correct: we would all be better off without Todd Young.
James Todd – Only your 1st sentence is correct. Massive Dem turnout is required to safeguard elections against the MAGA charge of “fraud.” Marc Elias (Democracy Docket) stresses exactly this point.
The rest of your comment needs revision in the face of: considerable overperformance in special elections across the country including in Red places, huge enthusiasm gap in Dems favor, emergence of qualified candidates in places rarely if ever challenged by us, etc.
Sheila quotes Simon Rosenberg of Hopium Chronicles and I urge you to check out that site. Simon keeps many of us sane and focused. Could we do more? Yes. But is the Dem Party moribund and unaware of the moment we are in? No.
Okay, we know how bad the Republicans are. They are a cult of personality and the leader is someone who doesn’t have a clue about anything that really matters. American voters don’t care. The question they ask is, “What have you done for me lately?”
We still hear about Joe Biden on a regular basis. Often his dementia is being compared to that of Orange Jesus (OJ). The Dems forced him out of the race after a bad performance in a debate. How much do debates matter? Harris made OJ look as pathetic as Biden.(They’re eating the dogs, really?) Give me Biden as the dementia President any day. At the very least we knew he would surround himself with a cabinet that knew what they were doing and respected the Constitution and the rule of law. Todd Young and Bill Cassidy could have continued to pretend that they had values and Good and Pritti would still be alive.
Hakeem may have said it right, but we know that just being against OJ isn’t enough. Can he articulate what the Democrats will do about the “affordability hoax” using no more words than he did in the quote.
Sad.
Oaths of office are meaningless to these bozos, especially the head bozo…the biggest looser bozo, ever!
Todd Young really lost me in Senate hearings for Trump nominees when he asked the softball questions and voted for Pete Hegseth.
Todd has real credentials – Annapolis, a master’s degree and service – what happened to him? Shame on him.
How many times have we heard that Republicans say one thing in private and something else in public when T. is listening.
The thing that bothers me most about T. is he is absolutely against anything bipartisan and he put his nose in every piece of legislation during Biden’s term. If Todd Young watched Trump with those kids in the Oval Office yesterday, he is remiss in not getting together and pulling a Barry Goldwater – who confronted Nixon. He would say ‘oh I didn’t watch’ to wheedle out of having an opinion.
Thank you, Sheila. I am guessing that Trump loyalist Toad Young will be up for election…in IN in two years. We have got to pick the best of the best woman or man to move into his current position and put him out in one of our dumps. It doesn’t seem to me that he does anything except vote “NO” on every important issue that would be good for our country and “YES” on that damage us. Apparently he is a boot licker like those that followed Hitler…Trump’s idol. I worked the primary last Tuesday. I was a Democrat Clerk and my neighbor was also a Democrat Clerk. I had a 19 year old high school Junior that is to graduate in 2027 working as the Repubican Clerk and the second Republican Clerk didn’t show up at our polling location. I heard that she was needed else where. We were short one Democrat Judge. The Republican Inspector was doing the job for the first time. My experience working with the high school recruit was a nightmare. We had 21-27% turnout in our county. We had no local candidates on our Democrat ballot. I ran for Treasurer four years ago and was not contested. At soon to be 83 I can’t do what I did four years ago and I swear it aged me. I worry….. we have very low membership in our local Democrat organization that attend our monthly meeting. I am very worried about our future and what is happening in our country. I do what I can…but am limited in what I can do at this point in my life.