Dem Sen.-Elect Stratton: 'I Won't Vote for Any of Donald Trump's Nominees'

On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Sen.-elect Juliana Stratton (D-IL) declared that she “won’t vote for any of Donald Trump’s nominees” in the Senate. Co-host John Berman asked, “President Trump, maybe with a lukewarm endorsement of the current Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, you will get a chance, if there is a new nominee, after January, to be a confirmation vote on a defense secretary. What would it take for you to vote yes on someone that President Trump nominated to be the next defense secretary?” Stratton answered, “Well, Hegseth should never have been nominated, and I can’t imagine anyone that Donald Trump would nominate would be competent for the role. I won’t vote for any of Donald Trump’s nominees, and I’ve made that very clear.” Berman then asked, “Period. Full stop. No matter what?” Stratton answered, “No. Look at what this administration is doing, led by a President who is not concerned about what’s in the best interest of the American people, and certainly not interested in what’s in the best interest of our national security. This is a time that we are going to have majorities in both the House and the Senate. This is the time for Democrats to demonstrate to Americans all across the country that we are there to, not just push back and fight back against this President’s authoritarian agenda — a President who is the most corrupt President in history — but it’s time for us to set the agenda about what the American people deserve. They deserve competent leaders. They deserve people who are going to really focus on what’s in the best interest of the American people.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett