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MaddowBlog-Why so many Trump nominees keep flubbing a simple question: Who won in 2020? [View all]
As more presidential nominees refuse to answer questions about the 2020 election results, it’s worth understanding why this keeps happening.
If Trump nominees acknowledge Trump’s 2020 loss, he’ll pull their nominations. If they peddle conspiratorial nonsense under oath, they risk alienating key senators.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-23T20:09:14.265Z
The result is 15 months of mind-numbing confirmation hearing exchanges — including Kevin Warsh's hearing this week.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/why-so-many-trump-nominees-keep-flubbing-a-simple-question-who-won-in-2020
The first sign of trouble emerged before Donald Trump returned to the White House. Five days before Inauguration Day 2025, Pam Bondi appeared before a Senate committee for her confirmation hearing, and Sen. Dick Durbin broached a subject that she’d had eight weeks to prepare for: The Illinois Democrat asked who won the 2020 presidential election.....
We saw fresh evidence of the phenomenon earlier this week, when Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts asked Kevin Warsh, the nominee to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, whether Warsh was willing to acknowledge the reality of Trump’s 2020 defeat. He was only willing to say that the Senate had “certified” the results of the election, which was a rather pitiful dodge.
MS NOW’s Hayes Brown explained, “If Warsh is unwilling to address a factual matter like the results of the 2020 election, it does nothing to ease the concerns Warren and others have about his resolve to maintain independence in the face of far more complex issues.”.....
But for the nominees themselves, a different kind of problem hangs overhead: If they tell the truth and concede that Trump lost in 2020, the response would get back to the White House and the president could pull their nominations in response to the perceived betrayal. If, however, they overtly deny reality while under oath, they would present themselves to senators as anti-election conspiracy theorists, which might put their confirmations in jeopardy, given that a handful of GOP senators have expressed discomfort with supporting election deniers.
The result is a series of frustrating and ongoing confirmation hearing exchanges, which will very likely continue for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.
We saw fresh evidence of the phenomenon earlier this week, when Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts asked Kevin Warsh, the nominee to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, whether Warsh was willing to acknowledge the reality of Trump’s 2020 defeat. He was only willing to say that the Senate had “certified” the results of the election, which was a rather pitiful dodge.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-21T14:54:39.440Z
KEVIN WARSH: Uhm, we try to keep politics if I'm confirmed out of the Federal Reserve
WARREN: I'm just asking a factual question
WARSH: I believe this body certified the election
WARREN: That's not the question I'm asking
MS NOW’s Hayes Brown explained, “If Warsh is unwilling to address a factual matter like the results of the 2020 election, it does nothing to ease the concerns Warren and others have about his resolve to maintain independence in the face of far more complex issues.”.....
But for the nominees themselves, a different kind of problem hangs overhead: If they tell the truth and concede that Trump lost in 2020, the response would get back to the White House and the president could pull their nominations in response to the perceived betrayal. If, however, they overtly deny reality while under oath, they would present themselves to senators as anti-election conspiracy theorists, which might put their confirmations in jeopardy, given that a handful of GOP senators have expressed discomfort with supporting election deniers.
The result is a series of frustrating and ongoing confirmation hearing exchanges, which will very likely continue for the remainder of Trump’s presidency.
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