Trump has started nominating people to fill his administration and so far they are startling, even considering the low expectation that I had. He seems to have decided to populate senior posts with people who have little or no experience in the areas they are supposed to be dealing with or with the kind of administration skills required to run large organizations.
The most startling is the nomination of Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Gaetz was federally investigated on sex-trafficking charges for pursuing underage women and while the justice department finally declined to press charges, the congressional ethics committee is still investigating him. I suspect that Trump appointed him knowing that this would disgust many of the senior professionals in the justice department and they would resign, sparing him the trouble of firing them. He can now fill those positions with loyal hacks who will carry out whatever Trump wants them to do, and especially go after anyone who opposes him on anything. He promised revenge on his ‘enemies’ and there is no reason to think that he will not do just that, with an ‘enemy’ being defined as anyone who opposes or criticizes him.
Ideally, the attorney general position is one that should be held by someone with impeccable ethics, independence from the president, and respect for the law because the justice department can target ordinary people and harass them and threaten them with all manner of punishments. Although many past attorney generals have not been up to that standard, Gaetz may well become the worst ever. It is the perfect department for an administration that seeks revenge as Trump seeks to do. He constantly whined that he was the target of harassment by a ‘weaponized’ justice department but in reality he was treated much more circumspectly than any ordinary person would have been treated. But he will now unleash the department on all those whom he thinks ave done him wrong. This will put the career officials in an intolerable bind, forced to carry out orders that they think are wrong or quitting.
Then we have Tulsi Gabbard nominated as director for national intelligence, the body that is supposed to coordinate and oversee all the intelligence agencies, including the CIA, and Peter Hegseth, a Fox News personality, as secretary of defense.
On Tuesday, Trump shocked the Pentagon and the wider defense world by picking the army veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as the new defense secretary.
A staunch conservative, Hegseth opposes what he calls “woke” military programs aimed at promoting equity and inclusion and has questioned the role of women in combat. He has also advocated for pardoning service members accused of war crimes.
…Speaking with Politico, Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official during the Bush administration, said that Trump’s choices so far revealed that he “puts his highest value on loyalty” adding that one of the main criteria appeared to be “how well do people defend Donald Trump on television?”
Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America, criticized Hegseth’s appointment on X, describing the Fox News host as “undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history” and “the most overtly political”.
“Brace yourself, America,” he added.
Marco Rubio is to be Secretary of State. Rubio is a spineless lickspittle who has groveled before Trump to make amends for his harsh criticisms when they ran against each other in the 2016 primary.
Mike Huckabee is to be the ambassador to Israel. An evangelical nutcase, he will likely support Israeli annexation of the West bank and Gaza, the expulsion of Palestinians, and the resettlement of their lands with Jewish settlers. He will be aided by Elise Stefanik one of the most rabid supporters of Israel in congress, who has been nominated to be the UN ambassador.
Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who previously claimed “there is no such thing as a West Bank”, was chosen as the next US ambassador to Israel, indicating a return to an explicitly pro-Israel administration reminiscent of Trump’s first.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America criticized Huckabee’s nomination, stating that his “extremist views” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not advance US national security or prospects for peace.
Signaling a more combative US position toward the United Nations, the New York representative Elise Stefanik has been chosen to be the next ambassador. Stefanik has called to defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
Interestingly, Trump has explicitly ruled out any role for his former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, probably because they did not adequately lick his boots. They should have taken notes from Rubio.
And the appointment of people who oppose the work of the agencies they are supposed to lead goes on.
Lee Zeldin, the former New York congressman, has been chosen to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, leading to criticism from environmental groups.
As a representative, Zeldin voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed billions of dollars to expand clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and also opposed climate-related legislation, according to the environmental advocacy group League of Conservation Voters.
And then of course we have the twin egomaniacs Elon Mush and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said, which aims to cut federal bureaucracy by roughly a third.
Although not a government agency, it will operate externally to drive significant reforms and introduce an entrepreneurial approach to government.
And this is not the end of it. Puppy killer Kristi Noem has been given an important role as well.
On immigration, Trump has chosen loyalists and hardliners: Stephen Miller will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and Department of Homeland Security adviser; Tom Homan as “border czar”, and Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, will lead the Department of Homeland Security.
We still do not know what agencies that other nutcase RFK Jr will be put in charge of. That bit of delightful news still awaits us.
The US Senate, as part of its ‘advise and consent’ role has to approve most high level appointments. There was a time when that role was taken seriously and senators would vote against nominees even of their own party if they thought they were unqualified or unsuitable. Those days are long gone in the GOP. Although many have expressed shock at the Gaetz nomination, I don’t expect any of the GOP senators to vote against him and risk incurring the wrath of their cult leader.
That could actually be a silver lining: the more incompetent they are, the less effective they will be in carrying out their evil policies.
Every day more and more people are realizing that we are now living in a fascist country.
Although not a government agency, it will operate externally to drive significant reforms…
“Externally” as in outside/above the law (and not requiring Senate confirmation or offering any normal civil-service protections).
…and introduce an entrepreneurial approach to government.
Where I come from that’s called corruption.
“He has also advocated for pardoning service members accused of war crimes.” Last month’s issue of the British magazine Private Eye stated that America has the worst record among every single country on Earth at prosecuting members of their own military for war crimes. basically, this is carte blanche to rape, pillage, and murder at will.
Remember Anthony Scaramucci? Completely and utterly unqualified for the job…but at least he tried his best--including giving Sarah Huckabee Sanders tips on professional presentation. That’s probably why he only lasted 11 days.
The folks getting nominated now aren’t going to bother to try their best. Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset. Matt Gaetz is a sex trafficker. What, his do-nothing kids don’t want to be involved this time around?
The funny thing is that groveling and licking boots is no guarantee that he won’t kick you away. How many hundreds have experienced that humiliation?
Refuge In Kakistocracy
How The Worst Of Us May Somewhat Shelter The Rest Of Us
…
Take, for instance, appointing Representative Matt Gaetz to be the Attorney General of the United States. If this is a sincere appointment — in other words, if it isn’t a head-fake to get the Senate to accept another candidate later, or a ruse to let Gaetz resign from Congress and avoid a damaging ethics report — it’s an example of self-indulgence thwarting malign intent. Gaetz is a buffoon. He has absolutely no qualifications to run the Department of Justice. Can he wander around firing everyone? Yes. Does he understand how the Department of Justice works in a way that would allow him to maximize its potential for abuse? No. Is he smart enough to figure it out? Also no. Is he charismatic enough to persuade insiders to help him use it effectively? Very much no. Gaetz as Attorney General will do petty, flamboyant, stupid things in clumsy ways. Some of those things will be very bad. But clown shoes are preferable to jackboots. We’d be in much more trouble if someone evil in a smart and competent way who understands how the machine works — say, Jeff Clark or Ken Paxton — took over. That would be terrifying.
https://www.popehat.com/p/refuge-in-kakistocracy
With 53 Republican senators you only need to find useful ‘kompromat’ for four of them to turn the tables.
Consider the moral fibre of this bunch.
.
Just identify the ones that have done mail fraud, insider trading, illegally stuffed money into numbered bank accounts abroad, accepted $$$ from foreign powers to influence the govenment, committed sexual assault, tax evasion, had sex with a minor/ a boy/ a domesticated pet.
You can start with the four most promising, and keep the other dozen in reserve.
Admittedly, president Rapist will pardon anyone revealed doing a federal crime during his presidency, This is why you start by hinting Mr 34 Felonies will only be around four years and #48 may not be as accomodating.
In case they call your bluff and threaten to go public, it is useful to start with the ones having the most embarassing secrets, things even Fox News will be unable to give a positive spin.
But I am confident there are plenty of non-federal crimes waiting for exposure.
There was a post at Lawyers, Guns, & Money (Strongman Politics) which quoted an Ezra Klein comment:
That sounds about right to me; Trump has a long history of asserting dominance by pushing people to bend the knee and kiss the ring If they want to stay anywhere near him and power. He’s putting absolute incompetent toadies in power and making sure everybody else has to bob their heads and agree because that proves to him that he’s in control and nobody is going to say anything mean to Trumplethinskin.
The other (non-exclusive, obviously) option is that he’s appointing people who would never have any access to power under a sane government because that way they’ll owe him more. It’s all transactional.
I think the critical point here is that Gaetz resigned his House seat yesterday because of this appointment. The House Ethics Committee were due to vote on the release of their report on their investigations of him tomorrow. That will not now happen, because of his resignation.
Trump just saved Gaetz’s political career from almost certain death.
I saw a great quote over at some subreddit: when a clown enters a palace, he does not become a king -- the palace becomes a circus.
@joelgrant #2
Not really, this was entirely the point of electing Trump…. every person voting for him was aware of the circus last time, and voted for more of it now. It was widely publicized that this is exactly the kind of people that were projected to be in the Trump 2.0 administration, and that’s what people voted for, and are now getting.
It’s not really fascist either, just plain corrupt. Trump is profit (and anti-accountability) motivated. He doesn’t give a crap about putting the work in to be a dictator.
I think circus/clown is right , but it is more than just Trump and his cronies.
The media is doing the exact same thing that they did last time around -- Trump does something outrageous and there is breathless coverage with and opinions are asked and disgust is expressed -- a lot of it never comes to pass but people act as if it has already happened and more.
In the end , do we expect trump to appoint reasonably competent people to positions ? At this point whats the difference between aboloshing Department of Education or heading Sarah Palin to lead it ?
We’d be in much more trouble if someone evil in a smart and competent way who understands how the machine works — say, Jeff Clark or Ken Paxton — took over [DOJ].
I get a feeling a Clark or a Paxton would be Trump’s second choice after Gaetz either backs off or gets rejected.
“This will put the career officials in an intolerable bind, forced to carry out orders that they think are wrong or quitting”.
I’ve heard it said that if an official thinks a direction is really stupid, his or her best revenge is to carry it out precisely, to the letter.
That’s what is often done in the armed forces, anyway.