People generally don’t call to say, “Please vote yes for Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense even though he has no real qualifications.”

These callers are probably saying things like, “Tulsi Gabbard should not be the director of national intelligence. She has ties to Russia. She also lacks the needed experience. In a time when our adversaries are working together to attack other nations, we cannot afford to put our intelligence agencies at risk. This should be an easy ‘no’ vote.”

An understandable position given Russia’s history of antisemitism, Putin’s Russia becoming increasingly antisemitic and Gabbard’s troubling views on Russia. This should be sounding alarm bells through the halls of Congress. But is it?

Our own president said Hitler “did some good things” and that he needs “the kind of generals that Hitler had.” Hegseth and Gabbard’s histories of loyalty to Trump suggest they might support his worst instincts.

Despite the public outcry, unqualified nominees are sailing through the confirmation process. Utah’s senators — John Curtis and Mike Lee — have voted yes for every one of them, including Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

So, as Utahns, why should we keep calling our senators and asking them to vote no? Because in Utah, we believe in democracy, the rule of law and standing up for what’s right. And because we need to be ready to hold our senators accountable for not representing the will of the people when things inevitably go wrong.

How might things go wrong? Well, maybe like Scott Bessent, the newly confirmed treasury secretary, allowing Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire with no legal authority, access to the Treasury Department payment system. Things might go wrong like that.

What can we ask our senators to do when we call?

We can ask that our Cabinet secretaries be fully vetted by the FBI. They should not have a history of law breaking, sexual violence, foreign connections to our adversaries, refusal to put principle over party, making politically motivated threats to their rivals, or any statements that indicate they will prioritize President Trump over the Constitution.

We can ask that our Cabinet secretaries are qualified for the job. You would never ask your excellent car mechanic to complete your loved one’s heart surgery. You would want an excellent heart surgeon to perform heart surgery. Why would we want a Cabinet secretary who has no relevant experience leading a massive federal agency that affects our day-to-day lives?

We can point out our concerns about specific nominees. I shared these concerns with our senators about Hegseth:

“Pete Hegseth does not have the experience or qualities needed to be the Secretary of Defense. Sexual violence in the military is a problem. The person leading the entire military should not have credible accusations of sexual violence against them. His failed leadership at two different veterans organizations is a huge red flag. If he was pushed out when he ran a small organization, why would he do a good job leading the largest military organization in the world? He is not qualified.”

And yet, Curtis and Lee voted yes on Hegseth.

More Cabinet votes are coming, and our senators need to hear from us!

Sens. Curtis and Lee need to speak up. They need to use their votes to protect our nation and all Utahns.

Lee claims he “acquired a deep respect for the Constitution early in life.” Shouldn’t he expect nominees to say, without reservation, that they will uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States?

Curtis’ family motto is “In Unity There is Strength.” This is not a time for unity with Trump and Musk; it’s a time for unity with the Constitution, the rule of law and the will of the American people.

We need Cabinet secretaries who aren’t enemies of the Constitution, the rule of law and evidence-based science.

Please, friends, keep flooding them with calls like our democracy depends on it, because it does.

Amberly Beck is a registered Republican who votes based on principles, not party. She is an accredited genealogist professional and former kindergarten teacher.