J.D. Vance won a fight against Mitch McConnell that left the establishment in shambles

Mitch McConnell is working to sabotage Donald Trump. 

But he wasn’t prepared for the administration’s counterpunch. 

And J.D. Vance won a fight against Mitch McConnell that left the establishment in shambles. 

Key members of Trump’s cabinet confirmed with the help of J.D. Vance 

President Donald Trump was staring down a knock-down, drag-out battle with the Republican establishment in the Senate to get some of the key members of his cabinet confirmed. 

RINO U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his establishment allies killed the nomination of former Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) behind the scenes in November. 

The establishment got a scalp and thought they had momentum on their side. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. all appeared to have an uphill battle getting confirmed after the establishment sank Gaetz. 

The media launched a character assassination campaign against Hegseth in December that was the most vicious smear job against a nominee since Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. 

Things looked dicey for Trump’s cabinet nominees who the establishment was at war with. 

But Hegseth, Gabbard, and Kennedy were all confirmed by the Senate. 

Vice President J.D. Vance served two years in the Senate and used connections to lobby his former colleagues behind the scenes.

Vance worked relentlessly to get support for Gabbard, Hegseth, and Kennedy among Senate Republicans. 

He was the ace in the hole for the Trump administration in the confirmation fight. 

J.D. Vance used personal touch to help Trump’s nominees get confirmed 

RINO U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), an ally of McConnell, was waffling about Gabbard’s nomination. 

He said that he had “extensive conversations” with Vance about Gabbard before he ultimately voted in favor of confirming her. 

RINO U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a medical doctor, was one of the early critics of the Kennedy nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Cassidy thanked Vance for his “honest counsel” during Kennedy’s confirmation process. 

He ended up voting to confirm Kennedy in the end. 

The Daily Caller reported that Vance worked on Young, Cassidy, and other skittish Senate Republicans since November to help secure support for Trump’s nominees. 

Young praised Vance for talking with him about Gabbard’s nomination and getting him to a yes vote. 

“He was respectful, he listened a lot more than he talked, and he, frankly, he seemed to be effective on his end in getting from me the sort of concessions that were required to get to a yes,” Young told reporters.

A source disputed that Young had actually gotten any “concessions” from Gabbard ahead of her confirmation vote. 

Young noted that Vance was Trump’s point man on Capitol Hill about cabinet nominees. 

“I think he’s been tasked with this role because of his pre-existing relationship with us,” Young said. 

Vance’s time in the Senate helped him lobby his former colleagues. 

“Whether you’re there two years or 12 years, there is connective tissue — like, I sat in your chair,” a senior Republican aide told POLITICO. 

A Kennedy ally credited Vance with getting him confirmed. 

“All I know is that Vance definitely made the difference. Don’t know specifics about the conversations. But after his visits, Bobby had the votes,” the Kennedy ally said. 

J.D. Vance helped ensure that Trump’s cabinet picks survived the gauntlet from the Republican establishment.