Trump's Dream Team is a Nightmare
An old Turkish proverb tells a cautionary tale: “When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” Well, it looks like the circus is coming to town with President-elect Trump’s latest picks for his Cabinet and top administrative positions. Rather than qualifications, experience, and competence, his early nominations reward loyalty, obsequiousness, and subservience. And I’m not so sure that the proverbial clown does not become a king. Especially in this case, given Trump’s admiration of authoritarian leaders, his plan and vision to vastly expand presidential power and to run the presidency more like a kingship (see here, here), Add to that his expressed desire to bypass the Senate confirmation process for his nominees, and I’d say that the circus is well on its way.
Shock and Awe [not really]
How to add to what’s already been written (for example here, here, here)? Even the Financial Times had this headline: “Donald Trump’s alarming picks for government.” I recap some of his picks below but briefly, as you’re most likely aware and depressed enough already. Drum roll……
· Matt Gaetz for Attorney General and head of the Department of Justice. Yes, the DOJ, the very department that investigated but did not charge him for sex trafficking crimes. Gaetz has called the DOJ “corrupt and highly political,” and has also suggested abolishing two agencies he would oversee as attorney general, the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. His rapid resignation from Congress upon the announcement of his nomination will likely save him from the embarrassing release of the House Ethics Committee investigative report on allegations of sexual misconduct. Unless, of course, someone leaks it. Read more here, here, here, here.
· Robert F. Kennedy, Jr to head the Department of Health and Human Services, thus giving a vaccine skeptic with no medical or public health background vast control over our country’s health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. The President elect wants him “to go wild on health.” Kennedy has a history of false or misleading claims regarding vaccines, fluoride and other topics. Hold on to your hats! Read more here, here, here, here.
· Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. Mr. Trump wants to overhaul the nation’s intelligence services, which he views as part of the “deep state” with civil servants insufficiently loyal to him. Unlike past directors, Gabbard hasn’t held any senior government roles. Yet she would manage a budget of more than $70 billion and oversee 18 intelligence agencies. No stranger to conspiracy theories and misinformation, Gabbard once said there were 25 to 30 American-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine. There weren’t. Read more here, here, here, here
· Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Hegseth is a former Fox News host and a highly educated military veteran who has run a veteran’s advocacy group. His most glaring problem appears to be inexperience. Though he’s a decorated war hero, running the Pentagon and overseeing millions of people is a gargantuan task. His résumé pales in comparison with the people who have held the post before him. He is a vocal critic of a focus on diversity in the military, noting “The dumbest phrase on planet Earth in the military is 'our diversity is our strength.’” Also going on to say “any general that was involved -- general, admiral, whatever -- that was involved in any of the DEI woke s---, has got to go.” Read more here, here, here, here.
· Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy. If you like fossil fuels and are a climate change skeptic, then Wright is your man. He’s the CEO of Liberty Energy, a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, and has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change.” In a video he posted on LinkedIn last year, Wright said “There is no climate crisis…The only thing resembling a crisis with respect to climate change is the regressive, opportunity-squelching policies justified in the name of climate change.” Read more here, here, here here.
· Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the top Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Rubio comes to his new post with knowledge and foreign policy experience. He has been an advocate for a robust national defense and a proactive U.S. role in global security. He has also been a vocal critic of some authoritarian regimes (notably Cuba and Venezuela). He will be our nation’s top diplomat, so there is some comfort in knowing that he comes with relevant knowledge and experience. Read more here, here, here, here.
· Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency. No surprise here. Though Mr. Zeldin has a thin track record on environmental policy, he has a robust record of support and loyalty to the president-elect. A former U.S. representative from NY, Zeldin frequently criticized federal investigations into then-President Trump around his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia and remained a key defender during the subsequent impeachment efforts. Indeed, he was part of Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. He was also one of 126 Republican House members to sign onto the Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He supported Trump’s 2017 exit from the Paris climate agreement and supports Trump’s plan to undo Biden's signature environmental law, the Inflation Reduction Act, which plowed hundreds of billions of dollars into the green energy transition. [Note: President Biden reinstated U.S. endorsement of the Paris agreement, Trump promises to pull out of the accord once again.] More here, here, here, here.
Three-Ring Circus
A "three-ring circus" is the simultaneous performance of multiple exciting and entertaining acts. A fun event for kids, but a scary concept for governance. OK, I know I’m stretching the analogy here, but bear with me. Like circus performers, this team will be juggling and balancing a host of critical issues – health, climate change, energy, law enforcement, civil rights, the environment, and global security to name a few. They will be running our largest federal agencies, interacting with global leaders, and advising the president on current issues and emerging problems. All happening in real time. You tell me, is this a team of competent and accomplished acrobats?
Don’t get me wrong. Every president gets to pick his/her team. Ideally, each member of the team will have the public interest top of mind as they run their departments and advise the president. My worry with this team, in addition to their lack of experience and agency-related competence, is that they will simply tell the president what he wants to hear and be his willing agents of retribution and disruptions. The public interest won’t be in the ring. Further and with the possible exception of Rubio, none of these nominees have any credible international standing and will diminish our nation’s own standing in the global community.
Bottom Line
Unless the Senate caves to Mr. Trump’s desire to bypass the historic confirmation process, there is still a chance that some of his nominees won’t make through. Gaetz is the most likely to go down, but I suspect the others will sail through, given Republican senators support for (or fear of) Mr. Trump. In any event, with or without this “dream team”, we will have our work cut out for us over the next four years. It will be a circus, and it won’t be fun. But in a perverse way, the nightmare will be energizing, with no shortage of issues to inflame and inform our passions and actions. Here, at SciLight, we’ll be with you. There is no way through this but forward.
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I agree we have a problem with scientific integrity, but its as much about lack of integrity from the outside in as from the inside out. The best example is the politically closed shop of science about climate change. The idea that the science is settled and the cancel culture against anyone that questions the so-called accepted science is profound. Also, we appear to have a total meltdown in the value of the peer review process and the subjugation due to the funding process.
I would like you position on this please.