The United States Senate has often been characterized as the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” an expression allegedly attributed to former President James Buchanan in 1867, and often repeated by many since then.

The U.S. Constitution charges the Senate with the responsibility to provide “advice and consent” to the president in the appointment of officers of the United States. Sadly, today’s Senate Republicans appear to be woefully ignorant of their reputation and responsibilities as they confirm one unqualified individual after another to head federal government departments and/or agencies.

Hegseth, Gabbard and Vought are the sinister characters right out of a Cold War spy novel, and have been joined by Kennedy and Patel. Has “advice and consent” been replaced with “blink and rubber-stamp”?

Within this sham of an exercise we can find Sen. Susan Collins, Maine’s own version of Neville Chamberlain. It seems more and more apparent that her vote against Hegseth’s nomination was just for show, performative politics at its best. That vote will be long forgotten during the Senate campaign of 2026, when the dismal record of failures of her other approvals comes back to haunt her. Would that she could truly emulate Margaret Chase Smith.

As for the Senate as a whole, our transactional president should focus not on transforming Gaza into a Mediterranean resort, but should heed his mantra of “America first” and convert the U.S. Senate into a Planet Fitness club, truly a “judgment-free zone.”

James Fecteau
Brunswick