19 votes

Tracking who US President Donald Trump has named to serve in his cabinet and administration

19 comments

  1. [12]
    moocow1452
    Link
    Quick list: Secretary of state: Marco Rubio Department of Homeland Security secretary: Kristi Noem Secretary of defense: Pete Hegseth 'Department of Government Efficiency': Elon Musk and Vivek...

    Quick list:

    • Secretary of state: Marco Rubio
    • Department of Homeland Security secretary: Kristi Noem
    • Secretary of defense: Pete Hegseth
    • 'Department of Government Efficiency': Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
    • Attorney general: Matt Gaetz
    • 'Border czar': Tom Homan
    • Chief of staff: Susie Wiles
    • Deputy chief of staff for policy: Stephen Miller
    • Ambassador to the United Nations: Elise Stefanik
    • Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: John Ratcliffe
    • Environmental Protection Agency administrator: Lee Zeldin
    • National security adviser: Mike Waltz
    • Director of national intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard
    19 votes
    1. vord
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. Seriously it's a who's who of incompetant shitheads and cronies. Can't say I'm surprised. I wish I had the time...

      You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.


      Seriously it's a who's who of incompetant shitheads and cronies. Can't say I'm surprised.

      I wish I had the time to properly document how bad these are. But Marco Rubio is a climate change denier and Stephen Miller is a white nationalist seeking to deploy private red-state armies into blue states that don't comply with deportation orders so......

      29 votes
    2. [5]
      hobbes64
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset. See, I'm not the washington post or whatever, I can state a fact like that and not have to say dumb legalese like "She has apparent conflicts of interest" or "has...

      Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset.

      See, I'm not the washington post or whatever, I can state a fact like that and not have to say dumb legalese like "She has apparent conflicts of interest" or "has made statements that favor Russia and China over the United States", or "nobody knows why Russian agent Elena Branson donated to her campaign".

      For a while I wondered why the republican party has so many ties to Russia. It seems that they are very cheap to buy. A lot of people assumed that there was kompromat against them that would cause them to do openly shocking things, such as when 6 senators and a house member prominently went to Russia on July 4 2018. This was right after the Senate Intelligence committee confirmed the US Intelligence communities assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump. But I should have noticed see that Russia is not just handing them bags of money, but coordinating the dark money propaganda that helps them get into power, regardless of their total lack of ability to do the job.

      16 votes
      1. teaearlgraycold
        Link Parent
        Is the president elect not a Russian asset?

        Is the president elect not a Russian asset?

        7 votes
      2. [3]
        skybrian
        Link Parent
        There are people stating their opinions bluntly all the time, in forums great and small, claiming all sorts of things to be facts. I find it tedious, unpersuasive, and don’t see it as something to...

        There are people stating their opinions bluntly all the time, in forums great and small, claiming all sorts of things to be facts. I find it tedious, unpersuasive, and don’t see it as something to encourage. More “dumb legalese” from careful journalists, please - or better yet, more reporting on what evidence there is.

        6 votes
        1. hobbes64
          Link Parent
          With respect to Trump, this has not been the issue. The issue has been reluctance or refusal to report on what evidence there is. Trump himself is a Russian asset. This was found in the Mueller...

          With respect to Trump, this has not been the issue. The issue has been reluctance or refusal to report on what evidence there is.

          Trump himself is a Russian asset. This was found in the Mueller Report. It said that there was collusion between the trump campaign and Russia. That Trump associates with Russian officials and spies. That Trump obstructed justice which tied the hands of doing more investigation.

          Trump's AG William Barr went on the news and said there was no collusion. This was repeated over and over by right wing media such as Fox News which has propagandists which are called "journalists".

          This story should have been much bigger than Watergate. The NY Times, Washington Post, Network News, and other bastions of the American press ran some stories about it but soon went on to other scandals and continued to normalize Trump as if he was a typical politician.

          This is just a fraction of the story.

          My blunt opinion is not borne from thin air, but from absolute fury at how the most dangerous person in American history is once again going to work on destruction of the country with the help of foreign enemies and a largely compliant corporate press.

          4 votes
        2. psi
          Link Parent
          "Tulsi Gabbard’s Nomination Is a National-Security Risk." The Atlantic. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's a Russian asset, but she doesn't seem to mind behaving in a manner consistent with one....

          Gabbard’s shilling for Assad is a mystery, but she’s even more dedicated to carrying Putin’s water. Tom Rogan, a conservative writer and hardly a liberal handwringer, summed up her record succinctly in the Washington Examiner today:

          She has blamed NATO and the U.S. for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (again, to the celebration of both Russian and Chinese state media), has repeated Russian propaganda claims that the U.S. has set up secret bioweapons labs in that country, and has argued that the U.S. not Russia is wholly responsible for Putin’s nuclear brinkmanship.

          I wouldn't go so far as to say she's a Russian asset, but she doesn't seem to mind behaving in a manner consistent with one. Her views would be problematic for anyone trying to obtain a security clearance; for the director of national intelligence, they're obviously disqualifying.

    3. [5]
      Eji1700
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Going to be real interesting to see how much the senate actually pushes back on appointments like Gaetz, and how much Trump tries to end around them. Edit- Oh also hoping someone sets up a head of...

      Going to be real interesting to see how much the senate actually pushes back on appointments like Gaetz, and how much Trump tries to end around them.

      Edit-
      Oh also hoping someone sets up a head of lettuce for each one. The Trump Cabinet Carousel was already grinding its way through last time, wonder if it's going to start off on puree or ramp up.

      7 votes
      1. [3]
        smoontjes
        Link Parent
        Not a native speaker - can I ask what you mean by lettuce, carousel, puree? I have a suspicion that Gaetz is a scapegoat that the media will focus on, drawing attention away from everything else...

        Not a native speaker - can I ask what you mean by lettuce, carousel, puree?

        I have a suspicion that Gaetz is a scapegoat that the media will focus on, drawing attention away from everything else because of how outrageous it is to appoint him. Classic salesman tactic of giving a horrible offer at first, then giving another offer that is still awful but seems better in comparison.

        3 votes
        1. [2]
          Foreigner
          Link Parent
          I assume "lettuce" refers to the head of lettuce that outlasted Liz Truss's tenure as Britain's Prime Minister "Carrousel" I think refers to the high turnover of his previous cabinet members, like...

          I assume "lettuce" refers to the head of lettuce that outlasted Liz Truss's tenure as Britain's Prime Minister

          "Carrousel" I think refers to the high turnover of his previous cabinet members, like a revolving door of political appointments. There's even a meme where the length of time someone lasted working under Trump was measured in Mooches, named after Anthony Scaramucci who lasted 11 days as Trump's press secretary.

          Not sure about puree though!

          7 votes
          1. Frinet
            Link Parent
            Puree is one of the fastest settings you can set on a blender or food processor to turn food like fruit and vegetables into a liquid with small chunks/sauce-like state, so again using an analogy...

            Puree is one of the fastest settings you can set on a blender or food processor to turn food like fruit and vegetables into a liquid with small chunks/sauce-like state, so again using an analogy of the spinning object like the carousel but this time emphasizing speed and destruction.

            3 votes
      2. streblo
        Link Parent
        What I have heard (not sure if it's true, but it seems reasonable) is that Musk is basically offering / threatening to fund primaries for any Republican Trump opposition in congress. So as long as...

        What I have heard (not sure if it's true, but it seems reasonable) is that Musk is basically offering / threatening to fund primaries for any Republican Trump opposition in congress. So as long as Trump and Musk remain on good terms we should expect him to remain in Trump's orbit and 'opposition' to Trump to somewhat cowed.

  2. [4]
    moocow1452
    (edited )
    Link
    First initial thoughts is that the House Pubs are probably wincing every time Trump calls up someone who is eating into the lead that they still haven't won yet. "DoGE" is silly and not a real...

    First initial thoughts is that the House Pubs are probably wincing every time Trump calls up someone who is eating into the lead that they still haven't won yet. "DoGE" is silly and not a real thing, but is probably going to get a lot of chatter, just like it's namesake. It doesn't look like experience is much of a concern so much as it is Trump giving out positions to all his friends. Maybe it means that the state apparatus is going to fumble it's way out of the most efficient atrocities on its way to fascism and just be four more years of his last administration's nonsense? Is that too much too much of an optimistic take?

    Edit: Why Rubio? Probably a compromise with somebody?

    13 votes
    1. [3]
      public
      Link Parent
      I’d call your opinion the realistic scenario. It’s Donald Trump and friends, why expect otherwise? Besides, how many of these will last more than six months? Perhaps there’s still time for Ron...

      I’d call your opinion the realistic scenario. It’s Donald Trump and friends, why expect otherwise? Besides, how many of these will last more than six months?

      Perhaps there’s still time for Ron DeSantis to make up with the Orange Godfather and become EPA chief (the best of all the bad options).

      11 votes
      1. [2]
        raze2012
        Link Parent
        May only last 6 months, but will ruin some part of the coutnry for years to come. A hurricane, basically.

        May only last 6 months, but will ruin some part of the coutnry for years to come. A hurricane, basically.

        9 votes
        1. public
          Link Parent
          Less damage than if they stay the full 48 months. Hurricane vs. KT asteroid.

          Less damage than if they stay the full 48 months. Hurricane vs. KT asteroid.

          3 votes
  3. [2]
    patience_limited
    Link
    Well, we've tried everything else, how about kakistocracy?

    Well, we've tried everything else, how about kakistocracy?

    12 votes
    1. updawg
      Link Parent
      Interestingly not too significantly different than a cacastocracy, which would be a cacastrophe.

      Interestingly not too significantly different than a cacastocracy, which would be a cacastrophe.

      5 votes
  4. streblo
    Link
    I think these appointments beyond one or two are designed to create a background noise of Trump furor and everyone is falling for it again. I get it, most of these are bonkers and deeply unserious...

    I think these appointments beyond one or two are designed to create a background noise of Trump furor and everyone is falling for it again.

    I get it, most of these are bonkers and deeply unserious picks. It's understandable people want to talk about that. But the picks themselves aren't the actual and very real problem we'll be facing in a few months. I think the media (well, really it's readership) needs to show more restraint in covering Trump. It seems obvious that this kind of stuff is deliberately aimed at creating a background noise and temperature in the media space that's going to cause Trump fatigue again. Save the coverage and editorials and all the commentary for when it matters.

    The people in charge of these picks aren't dumb -- I don't think this is 5D chess or anything but it seems like the strategy is pretty well defined at this point. Report bluntly and move on imo.