The Trump Cabinet

The nominees for president-elect Trump's cabinet and inner circle are almost now in place. It's a strange mix. Some are old hands at government and others are neophytes. Some seem qualified and knowledgeable about their agencies, others seem to not even know the name of the agency they will head. Several seem to be outright opposed to their new agencies and their policies. Will any of them actually shrink or even eliminate their agencies or will they try to build a larger empire? I was hoping to post this after all the cabinet was designated. There has been a lull in his appointments and the remaining positions won't make much difference. 

Let's go through the list:

• Secretary of State - Rex Tillerson - The current chairman and CEO of Exxon-Mobile Corp. He has close ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia. Exxon-Mobile has business ties and substantial energy holdings around the world. That can be an advantage but can also be a problem if he lets his personal and company ties take precedence over the interests of the country. He has stated that he thinks humans are causing climate change. He also was a proponent of the Tran-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Those positions are in conflict with Trumps. His Senate confirmation hearings should be interesting. 
• Secretary of Defense - James Mattis - A recently retired Marine General, Mattis seems like a solid pick. He apparently convinced Trump that beer and cigarettes are a better interrogation strategy than waterboarding. That gets him points with me. He seems to recognize Russia as a threat and is no fan of Iran. He also has stated that Israel's current one-state stance is unsustainable. He may have a problem being confirmed because he hasn't been retired from the Marine Corp for the seven years usually required for former military to become Secretary of Defense. That requirement can be waived by Congress. I predict he will be confirmed. One of Trump's better choices.
• Secretary of Treasury - Steven Mnuchin - He is a Goldman Sachs alum who later went into hedge funds and then mortgage banking. While he was head of Dune Capital Management, the company invested in at least two Trump projects. He's a Wall Street and banking guy. Not much change from prior administrations.
• Attorney General - Jeff Sessions - This one is a little problematic. Sessions is a staunch conservative from Alabama. He is anti-immigration and has some sketchy racial issues in his past. He is against same-sex marriage and has voted against legislation to provide protections based on sexual orientation. He is against legalizing medical marijuana and certainly against recreational marijuana. Of course, he is pro-birth. Sessions is skeptical of climate change. Let's face it, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is a fairly typical 70-year-old conservative southern politician. Welcome to 1956. 
• Secretary of the Interior - Ryan Zinke - The US Representative from Montana. This is a tough one to figure. In his past, he was a believer of climate change and proponent of clean energy. Since his brief tenure in Congress, he has often voted against environmentalists and in favor of carbon energy interests. He is opposed to turning federal lands over to the states. A toss-up at best. 
• Secretary of Agriculture - unknown
• Secretary of Commerce - Wilber Ross - A 79-year-old billionaire. He is a former banker and investor. He founded the International Coal Group, a coal mining conglomerate that used bankruptcy laws to operate without unions, health care or pensions. Sounds like a lovely guy. 79 years old. Maybe he and Sessions can reminisce about the good old days in the 50's.
• Secretary of Labor - Andrew Puzder - This post should probably be renamed secretary of anti-labor. He is CEO of CKE Restaurants which owns Carl's Jr. and Hardees. Here is a surprise, he is against raising the minimum wage, increasing the number of people eligible for overtime pay and Obamacare. He was a large contributor and fundraiser for Trump's campaign. I'm sure that has nothing to do with his nomination. All you fast food workers in the country can be sure Puzder is looking out for you. 
• Secretary of Health and Human Services - Tom Price - Well, he is a physician. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be much for public health or human services. He is against Obamacare, is anti-abortion, pro-guns and anti-gay. Most of his past legislative record does not bode well.
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Ben Carson - I thought this guy would get the Health and Human Services or maybe Surgeon General post. He is a highly acclaimed physician so of course, you put him in charge of housing. You would think that Carson, being an MD, would be a man of science and logic. He proved that is not the case with some of his stances during the presidential campaign. He thinks the great pyramids of Egypt were grain silos. Nobody else does. He originally said he was not qualified to run a government bureaucratic agency. I guess a couple of weeks later he is despite the fact he still has no government experience. The department has about 8,400 employees. Carson has never managed more than a few dozen. I don't expect Carson to last for the four years of this term.
• Secretary of Transportation - Elaine Chao - This is kind of a typical insider appointment. Chao was Secretary of Labor during George W. Bush's administration. She is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. She also served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation during the George H. W. Bush administration. She has held various government positions since 1986. Prior to that, she was a banker with Bank of America and Citicorp. She has mostly been a nondescript public servant and I expect that pattern will continue. Transportation is not a very glamorous department.
• Secretary of Energy - Rick Perry - This is the guy who couldn't remember the name of the department he now is going to run. He is a career politician who changed parties from Democrat to Republican when the state of Texas began to go red. His beliefs and policies change with the wind. A true chameleon who should be right at home in the Trump administration. An administration headed by the person he once called "a cancer on conservatism". Guess the cancer is in remission or cured. Perry fits right in, he is anti-gay, anti-Obamacare, pro gun, pro death penalty, etc. I don't expect Perry to do anything that the energy industry opposes. He will be a rubber stamp secretary.
• Secretary of Education - Betsy DeVos - Another billionaire.and a huge Republican contributor and fundraiser. DeVos has never held public office. She has never attended a public school or college. Was never a school teacher or administrator. All her education was in religious schools. Her four children also attend private schools. She is an advocate for school vouchers and scholastic tax credits which funnel public money to private schools, including religious schools. She is pro-choice when it comes to schools but of course not pro-choice for women's health. This looks like another agency that will see major revisions that don't necessarily improve public education and allow for more religious influence into our schools. I'm not a fan of this appointment.
• Secretary of Veteran Affairs - David Shulkin - A surprise appointment. Shulkin is the current Under Secretary of Health for the Department of Veteran Affairs. He was nominated by Obama for that position. He is an MD who has extensive experience in medical administration. Seems like a good selection. 
• Secretary of Homeland Security - John Kelly - Another former Marine General. He served in Iraq and held several command posts. I don't see any experience specifically related to intelligence or security. There is also little information on his political leanings. This is a wait and see appointment.

Other Cabinet-level positions:

• Chief of Staff - Reince Priebus - This guy is a career weasel, I mean political operative. He was defeated in his only run for public office. Priebus was initially critical of some of Trump's campaign statements. He changed his tune once it became probable that Trump would win the nomination. Since then, Priebus, along with VP-elect Pence and campaign manager Conway, has become a chief explainer for the BS that Trump spouts. He has become a complete Trump cheerleader. The chief of staff holds much power in the White House. I'm not convinced Priebus will temper any of Trump's inclinations. I don't see him as a strong player. 
• UN Ambassador - Nikki Haley - Interesting choice.The current governor of South Carolina was very critical of Trump during the primary campaign. She is pro-birth. She also was for removing the Confederate flag from the SC capitol grounds and was against an LBGT restroom restriction law. She does not appear to have any international diplomacy experience. I would assume that this position is about 99% diplomacy. 
• Administer of the Environmental Protection Agency - Scott Pruitt - This guy is pretty much anti-environment. He is a climate change doubter and has sued the EPA numerous times. Let's just rename his department to the Environmental Destruction Agency. Expect Trump and this cowboy to try their best to remove as many environmental laws, rules, and policies that they can. Those that they can't remove will probably not be enforced. 
• US Trade Representative - Robert Lighthizer - He served as deputy trade representative during the Reagan administration. He has also been a lobbyist for the US steel industry. He is a longtime critic of China. Another GOP insider.
• Director, Office of Management and Budget - Mike Mulvaney - A Republican US Representative from South Carolina. Mulvaney is a strict fiscal conservative who wants to drastically reduce federal spending and the deficit. When Republicans advocate reduced spending, it usually means reducing social services. Not military spending and certainly not increasing taxes. I'm not sure how much influence he will actually have. 
• Chairman, Council of Economic Advisors - unknown
• Administer, Small Business Administration - Linda McMahon - The former CEO of the WWE. This appointment has spawned the phrase about Trump's administration that now climate change is fake but wrestling is real. McMahon is a twice-failed candidate for US Senate in Connecticut. She is a large contributor and fundraiser to the Republican party. She and her husband have donated $5 million to the Trump Foundation. Those seem to be here primary qualifications for this post. Pay for play?
• Director of National Intelligence - Dan Coats - A former US Senator from Indiana. His only Intelligence experience is from serving on the US Senate intelligence and armed services committees. He is a member of The Fellowship, a secretive association of Christian lawmakers. He is a 73-year-old GOP insider. A rather neutral appointment to a position many of Trump's insiders consider a redundant position.  

And three more:

• National Security Advisor - Michael Flynn - Another retired general. Flynn has significant experience in the military intelligence community. He also retired a year early from the Army. Allegedly he was forced to retire because of an abusive and confrontational management style. It has also been alleged that he got a little cavalier with the facts that didn't conform to his beliefs. No doubt there was some political tension between Flynn and the Obama administration. Since military retirement, he has consulted with several foreign countries including Russia. He is also an avowed anti-Muslim. He seems to be prone to believing conspiracy theories that conform to his core beliefs. A little scary for a presidential advisor.This appointment worries me.
• Senior Counselor - Steve Bannon - This wingnut was the executive chair of Breitbart News. This is a far right wing news and opinion website and radio program. I use the word news loosely when referring to Breitbart. These guys are like the National Enquirer of politics. They pass on and embellish every conspiracy theory that puts the Democrats, liberals, LGBT, Muslims, Hispanics, etc. in a bad light. If there isn't enough allegedly bad news, they make something up. Yes, they manufacture fake news. The fact that this alt-right radical has Trump's ear and trust is very troubling and scary.
• Counselor to the President - Kellyanne Conway - Trump's campaign manager and Explainer in Chief. I assume she will continue to make the rounds of the news and political shows to explain what Trump really meant, deflect the spotlight from his mistakes and ignorance and confuse the issues. This is not a surprise appointment. It just means that we will be seeing Conway's linguistic acrobatics at work for the foreseeable future. 

We'll all have to wait and see if these are good, bad or indifferent appointments. Many are troubling but you never know. Some people rise to the occasion and some crumble under the pressure. Remember, none of these people have been confirmed by the Senate, things could change. Some of the nominees have some serious conflicts of interest and old baggage. Although in the case of some, like Priebus, Bannon, Conway and Flynn, there is no Senate confirmation or even hearings. 

You will notice that Trump's cabinet and staff are mostly White males, the whitest staff we have seen in some time. It is also a very rich group. The military is well represented even though our soon to be new Commander in Chief knows more than the generals. Wall Street is also well represented. Billionaire or multi-millionaire white guys. Sounds like a perfect group to promote and advance Trump's alleged "populist" agenda. All very empathetic to the workers of our country. 

It will be interesting to see how some of these successful rich people respond when they are expected to support and defend some of Trump's more outrageous ideas, policies, and statements.

I was disappointed when Trump won the election. Overall, his cabinet and staff appointments have not made me feel any better. Buckle-up gang.

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