The Trump Administration

Elki

-44

This is the thread for keeping up with the developments in the Trump presidency. Appointments, legislative agenda, foreign policy, various going-ons, etc. Assbutt speculation not welcome.

Appointments:



-Baffler

Requires confirmation

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson??? (65)
Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos (58)
Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross (78)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Price (62)
Secretary of the Treasury: Steven Mnuchin (53)
Secretary of Defense: James Mattis (66)

CIA Director: Rep. Mike Pompeo (52)
Attorney General: Sen. Jeff Sessions, racist (69)
UN Ambassador: Nikki Haley (44)

Does not require confirmation

Senior Counselor, Chief Strategist: Stephen K. Bannon (62)
Chief of Staff: Reince Priebus (44)
National Security Advisor: Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, (57)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-administration-appointee-tracker/

Supreme Court:

OptimusZed

Christie and Kobach have both gone the way of Trotsky.

They're still trying to find some way to make Kushner a legal hire, but those pesky nepotism laws keep getting in the way.

syndalis

OptimusZed wrote: »

Christie and Kobach have both gone the way of Trotsky.

They're still trying to find some way to make Kushner a legal hire, but those pesky nepotism laws keep getting in the way.

Most recent strategy? If they don't pay him and he just does the work it's not a hire.

Because he is rich enough to not need the salary.

So effectively rich people can ignore nepotism laws.

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Hakkekage

Background on Sessions and Pompeo (from WaPo):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-chooses-sen-jeff-sessions-for-attorney-general-rep-mike-pompeo-for-cia-director-transition-sources-say/2016/11/18/a0c170ae-ad8e-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_transition-desktop-only:homepage/story

Sessions, 69, was Trump’s first endorser in the Senate and quickly became the then-candidate’s chief resource on policy. Known for his hard-line views on immigration, the fourth-term senator has been dogged by accusations of racism throughout his career. In 1986, he was denied a federal judgeship after former colleagues testified before a Senate that he joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he thought they were “okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana.”

Pompeo, 52, was elected to the House in 2010 as part of the first wave of so-called tea party lawmakers. A West Point and Harvard Law School graduate, he serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is a close ally of Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

Notably, Pompeo backed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) over Trump in the Republican presidential primary. In May, a Pompeo spokesman gave a somewhat tepid endorsement, saying the congressman would “support the nominee of the Republican Party because Hillary Clinton cannot be president of the United States.”

Pompeo is a vocal critic of President Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran. “I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” he tweeted Thursday, before his offer to become CIA director was public.

The choices of Sessions and Pompeo follow Trump’s decision to offer the position of national security adviser to retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, and confirm the president-elect’s desire to assemble his Cabinet by naming national security and law enforcement leaders first.

I guess I'm just surprised Pompeo's lack of vocal support during the general didn't disqualify him out of hand, so perhaps enthusiastic loyalty isn't a necessary qualification

OptimusZed

Oh, and Flynn is likely the National Security Advisor.

The guy with direct ties to Russia. And who was collecting a paycheck from Turkey as of last week.

Nyysjan

syndalis wrote: »

OptimusZed wrote: »

Christie and Kobach have both gone the way of Trotsky.

They're still trying to find some way to make Kushner a legal hire, but those pesky nepotism laws keep getting in the way.

Most recent strategy? If they don't pay him and he just does the work it's not a hire.

Because he is rich enough to not need the salary.

So effectively rich people can ignore nepotism laws.

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Pretty sure you need to hire him to give him authority to hand out orders.
Though if he just hovers over the person who technicly holds the position, and tells him (and it will be him) what to do, he can get away with it (as long as the technicly office holder goes along with it, which he probably will).

syndalis

Nyysjan wrote: »

syndalis wrote: »

OptimusZed wrote: »

Christie and Kobach have both gone the way of Trotsky.

They're still trying to find some way to make Kushner a legal hire, but those pesky nepotism laws keep getting in the way.

Most recent strategy? If they don't pay him and he just does the work it's not a hire.

Because he is rich enough to not need the salary.

So effectively rich people can ignore nepotism laws.

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Pretty sure you need to hire him to give him authority to hand out orders.
Though if he just hovers over the person who technicly holds the position, and tells him (and it will be him) what to do, he can get away with it (as long as the technicly office holder goes along with it, which he probably will).

Just need to give him Top Secret security clearance and have the person holding the office bring him on as an advisor (NOT trump directly), and then act as a puppet.

At least until the nepotism laws get modified and Trump can bring his whole family into the fold.

OptimusZed

Anybody who isn't being paid by Trump will tell you that giving free stuff to the President (in this case, Kushner's time) doesn't make it legal.

It's still nepotistic and potentially viewable as a bribe under the current construction.

Hakkekage

OptimusZed wrote: »

Anybody who isn't being paid by Trump will tell you that giving free stuff to the President (in this case, Kushner's time) doesn't make it legal.

It's still nepotistic and potentially viewable as a bribe under the current construction.

The law prohibits it, sure

Who's going to enforce it?

OptimusZed

I think just about everyone in the country would have standing to bring that case.

You'll find a state AG somewhere that wants to be President someday.

GoodKingJayIII

Thread Title wrote:

The Trump Administration

The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one.

davidsdurions

Immediately after the election (okay after a bit of painful weeping), I was of the mind to "give Trump a fair chance". Well! Here we are, the man hasn't assumed office yet and he's blowing that chance already. These appointments are ridiculous.

But what did I expect? Moderation?

Kaputa

Hakkekage wrote: »

Background on Sessions and Pompeo (from WaPo):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-chooses-sen-jeff-sessions-for-attorney-general-rep-mike-pompeo-for-cia-director-transition-sources-say/2016/11/18/a0c170ae-ad8e-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_transition-desktop-only:homepage/story

Sessions, 69, was Trump’s first endorser in the Senate and quickly became the then-candidate’s chief resource on policy. Known for his hard-line views on immigration, the fourth-term senator has been dogged by accusations of racism throughout his career. In 1986, he was denied a federal judgeship after former colleagues testified before a Senate that he joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he thought they were “okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana.”

Pompeo, 52, was elected to the House in 2010 as part of the first wave of so-called tea party lawmakers. A West Point and Harvard Law School graduate, he serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is a close ally of Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

Notably, Pompeo backed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) over Trump in the Republican presidential primary. In May, a Pompeo spokesman gave a somewhat tepid endorsement, saying the congressman would “support the nominee of the Republican Party because Hillary Clinton cannot be president of the United States.”

Pompeo is a vocal critic of President Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran. “I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” he tweeted Thursday, before his offer to become CIA director was public.

The choices of Sessions and Pompeo follow Trump’s decision to offer the position of national security adviser to retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, and confirm the president-elect’s desire to assemble his Cabinet by naming national security and law enforcement leaders first.

I guess I'm just surprised Pompeo's lack of vocal support during the general didn't disqualify him out of hand, so perhaps enthusiastic loyalty isn't a necessary qualification

And that article says Huckabee might be ambassador to Israel?

...

moniker

Whelp, there goes the Civil Rights Division.

Jealous Deva

So Steve Bannon is in an advisory role in the white house, but at least there's not an alt right associated person that has said a bunch of horrible shit on the internet in an actual position of power that could be abused, right?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/kfile-flynn-tweets/index.html

...

Grunt's Ghosts

Jeff Sessions is everything that is wrong with Alabama rolled into a nutshell. Voted against same-sex marriage. Voted against a bill that would have make police brutality illegal, and said that he thought that the KKK was "OK until I found out that they smoked pot." which he also voted against the legalization of weed. He and Richard Shelby make me embarrassed to say I'm from Alabama.

am0n

davidsdurions wrote: »

Immediately after the election (okay after a bit of painful weeping), I was of the mind to "give Trump a fair chance". Well! Here we are, the man hasn't assumed office yet and he's blowing that chance already. These appointments are ridiculous.

But what did I expect? Moderation?

Would Hillary have been moderate in her selections?

TryCatcher

Bloomberg says that Mattis is being considered for Sec Def.

syndalis

am0n wrote: »

davidsdurions wrote: »

Immediately after the election (okay after a bit of painful weeping), I was of the mind to "give Trump a fair chance". Well! Here we are, the man hasn't assumed office yet and he's blowing that chance already. These appointments are ridiculous.

But what did I expect? Moderation?

Would Hillary have been moderate in her selections?

Yeah, she would have been.

There would have been a couple true progressives, a bunch of people the far left would consider wildly centrist to center-right, and she would have made a point to work across the aisle, simply based on precedent if nothing else.

We have governance history on her; we are witnessing the first attempts at governance from Trump right now.

durandal4532

am0n wrote: »

davidsdurions wrote: »

Immediately after the election (okay after a bit of painful weeping), I was of the mind to "give Trump a fair chance". Well! Here we are, the man hasn't assumed office yet and he's blowing that chance already. These appointments are ridiculous.

But what did I expect? Moderation?

Would Hillary have been moderate in her selections?

Yeah. Probably, based on her prior actions.

Jeff Sessions, the next Attorney General of the US, thinks that the KKK is a mostly positive organization.

Doodmann

Could we also include the age of these appointees in the OP? I find it fascinating that at 57 Pence might be the youngest person in the administration.

Fairchild

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

SyphonBlue

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

[Citation Needed]

Alternative:

SniperGuy

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

I'm hearing an overwhelming amount of negatives about the man. In the interests of fairness, why do you like him? It seems his casual support of the KKK and voting record don't indicate he's a great dude.

syndalis

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

Out of curiosity, what do you like about him? What policies do you support and why?

Neco

Thread title hurts my soul

And stomach from vomiting

Anyway I guess fucking Joe Arpaio is in the running for chief of homeland security, though he isn't expected to get the tap.

am0n wrote: »

davidsdurions wrote: »

Immediately after the election (okay after a bit of painful weeping), I was of the mind to "give Trump a fair chance". Well! Here we are, the man hasn't assumed office yet and he's blowing that chance already. These appointments are ridiculous.

But what did I expect? Moderation?

Would Hillary have been moderate in her selections?

I would at least expect her to not appoint literal white supremacists, so comparitively, yes.

RedTide

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

My wife's uncle is a federal judge who was appointed by a President of different political stripes. I'll have to ask him just what sort of a person you have to be to get nominated for a position and then utterly torpedoed like Sessions did.

Fairchild

syndalis wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

Out of curiosity, what do you like about him? What policies do you support and why?

Voted against the 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008', this was the big end of 2008 bank bailout. Voted against the 2009 Stimulus Act. Voted against the 'Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act'. Loudly and vigorously opposed Obamacare. Voted against additional funding for the VA that did not require the agency to show evidence of reform and improvement.

He also sponsored 'RESOLUTION
8. S.Res.408 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)
A resolution designating April 2016 as "National Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month".

Not quite sure what a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is, but it sounds painful and now I'm aware of it !

am0n

That last piece makes me feel a little like we are being punked.

Darkewolfe

RedTide wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

My wife's uncle is a federal judge who was appointed by a President of different political stripes. I'll have to ask him just what sort of a person you have to be to get nominated for a position and then utterly torpedoed like Sessions did.

You make statements supporting the KKK, you drop the n-word at work, and you say the NAACP is unAmerican.

Basically, you demonstrably prove that you hate black people with direct, explicit language to the point where even Republicans have to back off.

SniperGuy

Fairchild wrote: »

syndalis wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

Out of curiosity, what do you like about him? What policies do you support and why?

Voted against the 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008', this was the big end of 2008 bank bailout. Voted against the 2009 Stimulus Act. Voted against the 'Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act'. Loudly and vigorously opposed Obamacare. Voted against additional funding for the VA that did not require the agency to show evidence of reform and improvement.

He also sponsored 'RESOLUTION
8. S.Res.408 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)
A resolution designating April 2016 as "National Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month".

Not quite sure what a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is, but it sounds painful and now I'm aware of it !

So the KKK and the totally misinformed about weed thing doesn't bother you? Why is voting against the Matthew Shepard thing good, or the rest of those for that matter?

RedTide

Darkewolfe wrote: »

RedTide wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

My wife's uncle is a federal judge who was appointed by a President of different political stripes. I'll have to ask him just what sort of a person you have to be to get nominated for a position and then utterly torpedoed like Sessions did.

You make statements supporting the KKK, you drop the n-word at work, and you say the NAACP is unAmerican.

Basically, you demonstrably prove that you hate black people with direct, explicit language to the point where even Republicans have to back off.

Oh I know whats on the record.

I mean moreso just how unlikable you have to be for these people to come out of the wood work to make sure you get slapped down.

Grunt's Ghosts

Fairchild wrote: »

syndalis wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

Out of curiosity, what do you like about him? What policies do you support and why?

Voted against the 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008', this was the big end of 2008 bank bailout. Voted against the 2009 Stimulus Act. Voted against the 'Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act'. Loudly and vigorously opposed Obamacare. Voted against additional funding for the VA that did not require the agency to show evidence of reform and improvement.

He also sponsored 'RESOLUTION
8. S.Res.408 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)
A resolution designating April 2016 as "National Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month".

Not quite sure what a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is, but it sounds painful and now I'm aware of it !

It's a disease that causes the abnormal organs in infants to crush their lungs, with a 45-62% mortality rate.

schuss

Fairchild wrote: »

syndalis wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

Out of curiosity, what do you like about him? What policies do you support and why?

Voted against the 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008', this was the big end of 2008 bank bailout. Voted against the 2009 Stimulus Act. Voted against the 'Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act'. Loudly and vigorously opposed Obamacare. Voted against additional funding for the VA that did not require the agency to show evidence of reform and improvement.

He also sponsored 'RESOLUTION
8. S.Res.408 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)
A resolution designating April 2016 as "National Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month".

Not quite sure what a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is, but it sounds painful and now I'm aware of it !

So which of these is directly applicable to the position of AG? Just asking. Most of those seem more suited to general legislation and economic or health care concerns, not legal acuity.

SyphonBlue

Grunt's Ghosts wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

syndalis wrote: »

Fairchild wrote: »

I'm a huge Jeff Sessions fan, so this is a great pick. He's a real bulldog who will clean house at a Dept. of Justice which has badly run off the rails under Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.

I would have preferred Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, but Donald Trump seems to have bigger plans for him in mind.

Out of curiosity, what do you like about him? What policies do you support and why?

Voted against the 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008', this was the big end of 2008 bank bailout. Voted against the 2009 Stimulus Act. Voted against the 'Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act'. Loudly and vigorously opposed Obamacare. Voted against additional funding for the VA that did not require the agency to show evidence of reform and improvement.

He also sponsored 'RESOLUTION
8. S.Res.408 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)
A resolution designating April 2016 as "National Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month".

Not quite sure what a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is, but it sounds painful and now I'm aware of it !

It's a disease that causes the abnormal organs in infants to crush their lungs, with a 45-62% mortality rate.

Well that certainly cancels out his votes against LGBT people and 22 million new people on health insurance!

PantsB

More details on Sessions in 1986 from the hearing via HuffPo

Sessions testified that he did not believe he had made such a remark, but his views changed as he reflected.

“The best I could recall was that I said, well, he is not that popular around town; I have heard him referred to as a disgrace to his race,” Sessions said. He said he did not personally believe that the white civil rights attorney was a race traitor, and that he had respect for him

And

Thomas Figures, a former assistant U.S. attorney, backed up Hebert’s testimony about Sessions’ views. He told Congress that Sessions said the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Operation Push and the National Council of Churches “were all un-American organizations teaching anti-American values.”

“I recall saying that civil rights organizations, when they demand more than is legitimate, it hurts their position,” Sessions testified.

Figures, who died last year, also said that Sessions once warned him to “be careful what you say to white folks” after Figures told a white secretary that he found a comment she made offensive. Figures was the only black assistant U.S. attorney in the office.

“Had Mr. Sessions merely urged me to be careful what I say to ‘folks,’ that admonition would have been quite reasonable,” Figures said. “But that was not the language that he used. I realize, on the other hand, that Mr. Sessions’ remark may not have been premeditated. There was a period in our own lifetimes when blacks where regularly admonished to be particularly polite or deferential, and a remark of that sort may have just slipped out inadvertently.”

Sessions also remarked that he thought the KKK was OK until he found out they smoked marijuana, according to Figures. The statement was made in connection with the prosecution of a Klan member who had hanged a black man. From Figures’ testimony:

Questioned at the time by now-Vice President Joe Biden, Sessions admitted to the comments and said they were intended humorously.

Biden also asked Sessions about the allegation that he had used a racial slur after a court hearing when he was in private practice. (The term appears uncensored in the transcript below. The U.S. Senate didn’t approve C-SPAN cameras until later that year.)

He was considered too racist for appointment in the 1980s, but he's Trump's choice for AG

SyphonBlue

Big fan!!!

Maximum

The D's don't have the numbers to even think about blocking any of these nominations, do they?

Void Slayer

Is this the right place to talk about children suing the Trump administration over global warming?

after obama trump may face children suing over global warming

bloomberg.com wrote:

The 21 children and teenagers who filed the case claim that by perpetuating the use of fossil fuels, the U.S. government has trampled on their constitutional rights to life, liberty and property. Olson said she’s called on the Obama administration to negotiate a settlement with a binding court order to “protect the future of the children” before Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

I doubt they would be able to actually get anything done but at least the argument is out there.

syndalis

Maximum wrote: »

The D's don't have the numbers to even think about blocking any of these nominations, do they?

Their only hope is that some of the people on the right who are not fans of trump or the nominees will break rank on the worst of them.

Hopefully Sessions crosses that line.

Nothing to be done about Flynn, no nod needed.

Darkewolfe

Flynn might actually be worse than Sessions...