MSNBC Questions Trump Cabinet Picks Over Ignoring Sexual Misconduct Allegations

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked her Deadline: White House panelists one “serious question” on Tuesday: Are Donald Trump and his administration “trying to fill the Cabinet with men accused of sexual misconduct?”

The question, directed to NBC News correspondent Vaughn Hillyard, was inspired by Wallace’s insightful summary of several cabinet members who have a sordid history of allegations, settlements, NDAs and, in the case of former Attorney General Matt Gaetz (“now a famous Cameo,” he joked Wallace), culminating in an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. They also include: sexual assault allegations against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth, and a lawsuit naming Linda McMahon as a defendant, citing WWE events held under her and Vince McMahon’s supervision that facilitated the sexual exploitation of teenagers by highly qualified employees.

“When you look at the people who are selected for these roles here, you see people who fit that profile,” Hillyard said of the pattern of misconduct allegations among the president-elect’s picks. “And I think the most important question for Americans in 2024 is how much are Americans willing to ignore in order to justify the means by which people believe that these individuals are a conveyor belt for the policies and types of government that they want.”

“What if people see RFK and the stories and allegations that have been made against him and acknowledge that this was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s past? and that this is who this man is, but at the same time I also believe that he will go in there and fundamentally change the FDA and the CDC – which is more important to you?” – he continued. “I think Americans in general, by electing Donald Trump and, by extension, people like RFK Jr., Pete Hegseth and Matt Gaetz, I think they made that decision very clearly this month.”

Watch the entire “Deadline: White House” segment below:

That’s when Wallace chimed in, playing devil’s advocate as she put it: “We can debate who’s the devil’s advocate here.”

“Why abandon the existing brand of ‘the best people’ and – judging by an objective analysis – hire the worst people? Wallace asked about Trump’s decisions since defeating Kamala Harris in the presidential election earlier this month.

“That’s a good question. I think if you look at the rationale behind what Pete Hegseth can bring to the table, you’ll see that here’s someone who fits the profile of Donald Trump again, who plays the role of someone who’s good on TV, who can make this idea a reality like what masculinity and strength should look like in a military general,” Hillyard explained. “But if you just look around, I think you see him turning to people like Mehmet Oz, people who have a pedigree here in their television history, to overcome maybe the gaps in their resumes.”

The journalist also gave a nod to Trump’s efforts to abandon the FBI’s background check protocol for his cabinet officials, arguing that “to a large extent, I think it’s clearly a lower priority than other reliable information and other presentations and other characteristics that Donald Trump considers that these individuals contribute to his administration.”