The media warned for months that Donald Trump would have “no guardrails” in a second time period, and would most likely hand out prime positions to a bunch of right-wing crazies.
As an alternative, he picked Marco Rubio yesterday as secretary of State, a 14-year Senate veteran and son of Cuban immigrants who has been informally advising him on international coverage.
MEDIA LIBERALS SAVAGE KAMALA AS TRUMP PICKS EXPERIENCED HARD-LINERS
The president-elect has additionally tapped plenty of Hill veterans who’re typical conservatives, agree with him on key points and will simply as simply have been named by Mitt Romney.
Additionally yesterday, Trump chosen Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, as Homeland Safety secretary, after she overcame the dog-shooting incident that knocked her out of the veepstakes.
Trump has been rolling out these appointments at hyper-speed, only a week after the election. He has stayed off TV and hasn’t made any inflammatory posts. He’s making an attempt to display a seriousness about governing, by hitting the bottom operating.
Previously, presidents and presidents-elect have appeared on air, praising their nominee or perhaps two, and yielding to a brief, grateful speech by the chosen ones. However Trump seems to be skipping all that.
All the highest jobs haven’t been stuffed, clearly, however even some prime Democrats are praising the selection of Rubio (whereas some within the MAGA motion are upset). He’s unquestionably a hawk, and would be the face of American international coverage as he travels world wide.
President-elect Donald Trump is pictured in entrance of the White Home. (Getty Pictures/AP Pictures)
Certain, he mentioned some horrible issues about Trump, who derided him as Little Marco, when each ran in 2016. I watched Rubio on the path that yr and he’s a really charismatic speaker.
However the two have lengthy since mended fences. Rubio tried to push immigration reform a decade in the past as a part of numerous Senate gangs, however has since distanced himself from the trouble.
I preserve seeing tv chyrons that, virtually in accusatory trend, say Trump is hiring “loyalists.” Excuse me–do you suppose that Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Invoice Clinton didn’t rent loyalists? Presidents need aides who typically agree with them and gained’t flip into troublemakers. Biden employed such longtime advisers as Ron Klain, Mike Donilon and Steve Richetti.
From a conservative standpoint, when Biden employed prime officers who needed to strengthen environmental guidelines, enhance labor unions and spend a whole lot of billions of {dollars} to dig out of the pandemic, that was a hard-line departure from Trump 1.0. Now Trump will reverse many Biden insurance policies with the stroke of a pen.
DEPRESSED MEDIA REACT TO TRUMP VICTORY: HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED?
The opposite picks thus far: Upstate New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a member of the Home management and impeachment defender, has been tapped for U.N. ambassador.
Trump additionally selected former Lengthy Island congressman Lee Zeldin to run the EPA. He’s a mainstream conservative who has crusaded towards extreme environmental rules and gotten a lifetime rating of 14 p.c from the League of Conservation Voters. He instructed Fox Information that the administration will “roll back regulations” which are inflicting companies to “struggle” and are “forcing” them to maneuver abroad.
After that, Trump tapped Florida GOP congressman Mike Waltz, a former Inexperienced Beret, as White Home nationwide safety adviser, which doesn’t require Senate affirmation. He’s a China hawk and Ukraine skeptic. “Stopping Russia before it draws NATO and therefore the U.S. into war is the right thing to do,” Waltz wrote. “But the burden cannot continue to be solely on the shoulders of the American people, especially while Western Europe gets a pass.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., attends a marketing campaign rally for former President Donald Trump on the Trump Nationwide Doral Golf Membership on July 9, 2024 in Doral, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures)
These are critical individuals who know the way Washington works.
By the way in which, Trump has shrunk what’s anticipated to be a really small GOP edge within the Home by choosing two members. However in Rubio’s case, Gov. Ron DeSantis can appoint a alternative who would serve till the midterm elections.
As I’m typing this, Trump simply named Mike Huckabee, the previous Arkansas governor and presidential candidate, as ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has led many delegations to the nation and is staunchly pro-Israel.
And after I filed this, Trump named Invoice McGinley, who labored on election integrity for the RNC and was normal counsel for the Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee, as his White Home counsel.
And after I filed the insert, one other announcement: John Ratcliffe being tapped for CIA director. The previous Texas congressman, identified for criticizing the FBI as biased towards Trump, turned his director of nationwide intelligence in 2020.
Final night time, Trump made his first rent from Fox Information. Pete Hegseth, an Military fight veteran and co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” has been named Protection secretary. Trump famous that Hegseth did excursions in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, was awarded two Bronze Stars, and simply revealed the best-selling “The War on Warriors.”
Trump tried to get him confirmed the earlier yr, however Ratcliffe withdrew after GOP senators and ex-intel officers raised considerations about him, amid media disclosures that he’d embellished his prosecutorial efforts in immigration and terrorism circumstances. So he definitely qualifies as a extremely partisan decide.
The 2 appointees who can pretty be described as aggressive hard-liners–critics would say extremists–are Stephen Miller and Tom Homan–each employed to cope with Trump’s prime precedence, the border.
Miller, who spearheaded immigration coverage within the first Trump time period, has been promoted to deputy chief of workers, and even that title doesn’t seize the clout he’ll have as a trusted member of the internal circle. He pushed the household separation coverage that was extraordinarily controversial.
WHY THE MEDIA WAITED TILL NOW TO ADMIT HARRIS RAN A LOUSY CAMPAIGN
Homan, who ran ICE within the first time period, is being referred to as the border czar. When requested if there was a strategy to keep away from separating households, as occurred final time, he mentioned positive–deport all of them collectively.
He mentioned at a convention over the summer time: “Washington Post can do all the stories they want on me about ‘Tom Homan’s deportin’ people, he’s really good at it!’ They ain’t seen s*** yet! Wait till 2025!”
Miller and Homan will likely be accountable for finishing up mass deportations of the roughly 11 million unlawful immigrants residing in America, or no less than beginning the method so the president-elect can say he saved his promise. Critics name the purpose totally unrealistic.
Now there are others who may also get pleasure from enormous affect. Elon Musk, who donated $119 million to assist Trump, is now essentially the most highly effective personal citizen ever–heading a waste fee, posting a whole lot of messages on X, sitting in on Trump name to Volodymyr Zelenskyy – all whereas searching for billions in federal contracts.
Trump mentioned final night time that Musk will head a Division of Authorities Effectivity – he promised to “send shockwaves through the system” – with assist from former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Tom Homan, former performing director of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), speaks in the course of the Conservative Political Motion Convention (CPAC) in Nationwide Harbor, Maryland, US, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. ( Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)
RFK Jr. will get some title, however Trump has to resolve whether or not to go together with his hotly disputed concepts on vaccines and eradicating fluoride from water methods. He’s additionally threatened to fireplace FDA officers who’ve waged a “war on public health,” saying the company has suppressed such merchandise as uncooked milk, ivermectin and nutritional vitamins.
And naturally J.D. Vance will likely be an unusually energetic vice chairman and inheritor obvious.
Nonetheless to return: the highest jobs of Treasury secretary and the terribly delicate submit of lawyer normal. I additionally need to know who’ll be press secretary!
One motive we’re in for weeks and weeks of skeptical to unfavourable protection is that each beat reporter on the planet should now do compulsory items on Donald Trump.
Whether or not they cowl sports activities, faith, labor, housing, leisure, courts, vitality, tv, colleges or crime, they should write in regards to the influence of the forty seventh president–protecting in thoughts that he weighs in on every little thing.
From yesterday alone:
Washington Submit: “Trump Pledged to Close the Education Department. What would that mean?”
New York Instances: “Trump’s ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Cuts Two Ways for Oil Companies.”
And: “Colleges Wonder if They Will Be ‘the Enemy’ Under Trump”
However my private favourite: “What a Trump Presidency Means for the Liquor Industry.”
(Trump doesn’t drink, however each business desires much less regulation.)
There’s additionally this Drudge headline: “Wife Divorces Husband Over Vote.”
Because the Mirror studies, “A man has said he can’t believe his wife was ready to ‘throw away our entire life’ after filing for divorce over his vote for Donald Trump.
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The distraught husband wrote on social media that he has been left without words that the marriage could fall apart over politics.”
I assume a household separation coverage is available in many kinds.
