Presidential appointees usually face questions about their past. But because Donald Trump is living in a parallel universe, Democrats are instead peppering his nominees with queries about Trump's endless number of entirely unfounded statements. Josh Dawsey writes:
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions was asked Tuesday during his confirmation hearing if grabbing a woman by the genitals without her consent is sexual assault, whether millions of Americans voted fraudulently in November's election, and whether banning all Muslims from entering the United States was good policy.
Those may seem absurd questions at a confirmation hearing for a U.S. Cabinet appointee. But Sessions' boss is President-Elect Donald J. Trump, who said he could grab women by the vagina because he was a celebrity, falsely claimed that millions of Americans voted fraudulently and proposed banning Muslims from entering the country. [...]
“I don't know what the president-elect meant or was thinking when he made that comment or what facts he may have had to justify his statement," Sessions said.
That was Sessions' response to Trump's assertion about millions of fraudulent voters, but yeah, “I don't know what on earth he was thinking or what could possibly justify his statement” is the perfect catchall for Trump.
Of course, none of this is likely to derail these nominations. The hope for Democrats is that they expose rifts either between Trump and his nominees or the nominees and GOP party orthodoxy. Either one could prove to be a win. In one instance, Trump will be at war with his own appointees, in the other instance, the incoming administration will be at war with the GOP Congress.