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Trump's Cabinet and Advisors (1 Viewer)

ffldrew said:
Overheard during Christmas at the Mnuchnin's

"Come on Dad not another Picasso" 
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I can't even imagine this ####.  :lmao:

Buttmunchin: Hey son I have to sell you some art pieces, and when I mean "sell" I mean "give."

Son of Buttmunchin: Cool Dad, what do you think everything is worth?

Butt Sr: Oh, couple million bucks.

Butt Jr: Sweet, I love meth and disco.

Make America Great again! 

 
Moira Whelan ‏@moira 7h7 hours ago




Over 48hrs I've said goodbye to a lot of friends. I am struck by how low the morale is throughout the national security community.

Civil servants at many agencies are scared. Scared the mission will be undermined, scared for their jobs, scared for the Country & world

I was looking for hope. Civil servants in the past say "it will be bumpy but ok" but now they are just saying "we don't know"

Ppl who have worked 3 transitions are shaking their heads. It's not just lack of preparedness, it's that incoming team seems not to care.

"They are not here to govern and lead, they are here to be in charge" was from a senior civil servant who has worked w transition team.

DoD seems to be faring the best. DHS ok too. State, Intel, agencies in intl space are in the dumps.

On the public affairs side, nothing has been done. This is imp because it's the only way anyone knows what is happening.

National security transparency will be nonexistent in the days to come. No one knows what to say or who to ask.

Press lists, clearance processes, phone lists of agency contacts have not been transferred despite valiant efforts to do so.

No briefings w key public affairs staff to incoming team. Again, this isn't about spin. It's about transparency of Natl security decisions

Gambia, Turkey, ISIS: by the end of the day we need to say something. Who says it? Who will they say it to? What is US policy? No one knows.
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- Former State Department official (communications).
 
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Defense Secretary Issues Message to Nation’s ‘Sentinels and Guardians’


WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2017 — Almost immediately after taking office this evening, Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a message to the men and women of the Defense Department.

Here is the text of the secretary’s message:

It’s good to be back and I’m grateful to serve alongside you as Secretary of Defense.

Together with the Intelligence Community we are the sentinels and guardians of our nation. We need only look to you, the uniformed and civilian members of the Department and your families, to see the fundamental unity of our country. You represent an America committed to the common good; an America that is never complacent about defending its freedoms; and an America that remains a steady beacon of hope for all mankind.

Every action we take will be designed to ensure our military is ready to fight today and in the future. Recognizing that no nation is secure without friends, we will work with the State Department to strengthen our alliances. Further, we are devoted to gaining full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on defense, thereby earning the trust of Congress and the American people.

I am confident you will do your part. I pledge to you I’ll do my best as your Secretary.
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https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1055908/defense-secretary-issues-message-to-nations-sentinels-and-guardians

 
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Righetti said:
SaintsInDome2006 said:
DOJ OLC says anti-nepotism laws do not apply to president's son in law.
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I'm fine with other Jared getting a role but it is, by definition, nepotism 
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I must admit that I only read the first 3 or 4 pages of SID's link, but I have had enough experience in this type of thing to believe that unless I hunted down all the referenced case law, I would be still be an idiot on the matter (no criticism to SID here, I love this kind of info, rather its more a reflection of my own level of knowledge...thus, thanks SID).

Anyways, I believe that "nepotism" in this case is just grey enough to make it a minor issue in the bigger picture.  Plus, I believe that DJT's family is one of the few entities that can have a positive, stabilizing & moderating influence on him.  I'm all for that!

 
Righetti said:
I'm fine with Jared getting a role but it is, by definition, nepotism 
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It is entertaining seeing these supposedly impartial bodies jumping through the same mental gymnastics voters had to.  I mean I know decent people who voted for trump.  One with a disabled daughter said he simply "forgives Trump" for mocking the reporter.  And then off to church he goes. 

Now judges have to do the same thing lol.  

 
Well fwiw that was an inside opinion ginned up by Trump's DOJ. Nepotism laws were first created a long time ago and I wonder if they have ever been enforced. People just followed the law. I wonder how something like this gets challenged or if it even can be.

I do agree with the comments above though that anything that cuts into Bannon's influence and helps moderate Trump is probably a good idea. 

 
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elbowrm said:
The weekly standard on Spicer:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/trumpism-corrupts-spicer-edition/article/2006432

 Trump is exactly who he has told us he is.  We're all ####ed.
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this is the problem, the NYT, the Washington Post, even the Weekly Standard! are all saying the same thing, yet this administration refuses to even hear it.   This obsessive need to have our president's ego stroked is what happens in totalitarian dictatorships.   I don't know whose voice, if anybodies, will be the voice of reason in the administration.  Forget the distinction of it, the optics are embarrassing.    It certainly won't be Bannon or Conway.  I'm hoping Kushner can, but so far he's either not been able to or has no interest to tame Trump. 

 
Spicer just complained that the Dems were holding up confirmation of Trump's appointees. 

But that's not true, right? Dems can't do anything, can they?

 
whoknew said:
Spicer just complained that the Dems were holding up confirmation of Trump's appointees. 

But that's not true, right? Dems can't do anything, can they?
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The procedural rules of the Senate allow the minority party to force debate on appointments.  That's what Shumer has done.  Dems don't have enough votes to actually stop any of these guys from getting through, though.

 
Haley glides through 96-4.

Im mostly spending time following the Sessions saga for work purposes. He is despised by a few of his fellow Senators.

i would slow roll Pruitt as long as I could after today's events. What a stupid precedent. Basically that order was issued to circumvent whistle blower laws.  This is how your Shah deals with things. 

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
The procedural rules of the Senate allow the minority party to force debate on appointments.  That's what Shumer has done.  Dems don't have enough votes to actually stop any of these guys from getting through, though.
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Can't they filibuster?

 
Not anymore they can't.  Harry Reid invoked the "nuclear option" in nov 2013, eliminating the filibuster for all non-Supeme court presidential appointments in order to combat obstructionism on three D.C. Circuit appeals court judges.

 
Pruitt and DeVos are abominations and Sessions will set back voting rights by a few decades. 

But this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. 

I don't mind Mattis, Haley, Chao, and a few others though so I guess if I'm willing to overlook the environment, education, and justice it ain't all bad. 

 
Trey said:
Pruitt and DeVos are abominations and Sessions will set back voting rights by a few decades. 

But this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. 

I don't mind Mattis, Haley, Chao, and a few others though so I guess if I'm willing to overlook the environment, education, and justice it ain't all bad. 
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:goodposting:

 
They are all at least garden variety conservatives.  Lighthizer and Navarro will be responsible for the second Great Depression.

 
Trey said:
Pruitt and DeVos are abominations and Sessions will set back voting rights by a few decades. 

But this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. 

I don't mind Mattis, Haley, Chao, and a few others though so I guess if I'm willing to overlook the environment, education, and justice it ain't all bad. 
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Mattis is a brilliant American, Haley is sharp and deserving of that kind of post, and Tillerson is probably an ideal SecState all things considered.  Perry, DeVos (from what I've read), and Pruitt are truly horrific.  Price seems like a donk, smart for sure, but a donk.  He's a Trump lackey, he'll do nothing positive for those who need it.  Kelly and Pompeo seem fine, Perdue is awesome at chickens, and Puzder made those naked Carl's Jr commercials.  I don't know much about the Wall Street guys, I'll just assume they are there to rob me. 

This is the best political thread in the forum.  I suspect the reason is the shtick guys, on either side who post here know nothing about any of these people, so we remain in the area of acceptability here.  :thumbup:

 
Doctor Detroit said:
Mattis is a brilliant American, Haley is sharp and deserving of that kind of post, and Tillerson is probably an ideal SecState all things considered.  Perry, DeVos (from what I've read), and Pruitt are truly horrific.  Price seems like a donk, smart for sure, but a donk.  He's a Trump lackey, he'll do nothing positive for those who need it.  Kelly and Pompeo seem fine, Perdue is awesome at chickens, and Puzder made those naked Carl's Jr commercials.  I don't know much about the Wall Street guys, I'll just assume they are there to rob me. 

This is the best political thread in the forum.  I suspect the reason is the shtick guys, on either side who post here know nothing about any of these people, so we remain in the area of acceptability here.  :thumbup:
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Mattis, Tillerson, and Wilbur Ross are all super-competent people. 

The rest: :puke:

 
Maybe it was a bad fit here as a Governor for Haley.  I don't get the love....maybe a position like this is better?  She did seem pretty smart which made it worse when she made some of the decisions she did.  She handled the confederate flag thing as well as she could, but that was sort of a no brainer given the circumstances and where we were as a country.

 
I've heard from a number of sources that she was an excellent pro-business governor.  Literally available on her personal cell phone at any time for any reason.

 
The Breitbartization of the White House comes as no surprise to people at the conservative news site.

“I’m surprised it took this long,” one Breitbart reporter told The Hill. “There are a number of people on staff who clearly have resumes that would lend themselves to the administration. These two are ideologically in line with Bannon. They’re people he can trust. It makes sense.”


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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315990-breitbarts-influence-grows-inside-white-house

- Tail now wagging dog.

 
elbowrm said:
I've heard from a number of sources that she was an excellent pro-business governor.  Literally available on her personal cell phone at any time for any reason.
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If "she" here is Haley, she absolutely was.  She whored out the state letting pretty large companies come into the state for pennies on the dollar, if not free.  Then, when money was needed, made cuts to education.

 
 


Steve Bannon Is Making Sure There’s No White House Paper Trail, Says Intel Source


The Trump administration’s chief strategist has already taken control of both policy and process on national security.

If there was any question about who is largely in charge of national security behind the scenes at the White House, the answer is becoming increasingly clear: Steve Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, a far-right media outlet, and now White House advisor.

Even before he was given a formal seat on the National Security Council’s “principals committee” this weekend by President Donald Trump, Bannon was calling the shots and doing so with little to no input from the National Security Council staff, according to an intelligence official who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution.

“He is running a cabal, almost like a shadow NSC,” the official said. He described a work environment where there is little appetite for dissenting opinions, shockingly no paper trail of what’s being discussed and agreed upon at meetings, and no guidance or encouragement so far from above about how the National Security Council staff should be organized.

The intelligence official, who said he was willing to give the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt when it took office, is now deeply troubled by how things are being run.

“They ran all of these executive orders outside of the normal construct,” he said, referring to last week’s flurry of draft executive orders on everything from immigration to the return of CIA “black sites.”

After the controversial draft orders were written, the Trump team was very selective in how they routed them through the internal White House review process, the official said.

Under previous administrations, if someone thought another person or directorate had a stake in the issue at hand or expertise in a subject area, he or she was free to share the papers as long as the recipient had proper clearance.

With that standard in mind, when some officials saw Trump’s draft executive orders, they felt they had broad impact and shared them more widely for staffing and comments.

That did not sit well with Bannon or his staff, according to the official. More stringent guidelines for handling and routing were then instituted, and the National Security Council staff was largely cut out of the process.

By the end of the week, they weren’t the only ones left in the dark. Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, the secretary of homeland security, was being briefed on the executive order, which called for immediately shutting the borders to nationals from seven largely Muslim countries and all refugees, while Trump was in the midst of signing the measure, the New York Times reported.

The White House did not respond in time to a request for comment.

...
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http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/30/steve-bannon-is-making-sure-theres-no-white-house-paper-trail-trump-president/

 
I thought this was an interesting piece, so putting it here with long form stuff about Trump's circle.


 


This Is How Steve Bannon Sees The Entire World


The soon-to-be White House chief strategist laid out a global vision in a rare 2014 talk where he said racism in the far right gets “washed out” and called Vladimir Putin a kleptocrat. BuzzFeed News publishes the complete transcript for the first time.
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Given the size, I may lay this out in portions.

Here's the audio.

 
 


Bannon’s reckless pursuit of ethno-nationalist greatness


Two sets of remarks, a day apart, by two men more accustomed to being behind the scenes.

Stephen K. Bannon, appearing Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, made the case for “economic nationalism” and called President Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership “one of the most pivotal moments in modern American history.” The passage of the Civil Rights Act and the defeat of the Soviet Union finally have some company.

As the ideologist in Trump’s inner circle, Bannon is a practitioner of Newt Gingrich’s mystic arts. Take some partially valid insight at the crossroads of pop economics, pop history and pop psychology; declare it an inexorable world-historic force; and, by implication, take credit for being the only one who sees the inner workings of reality.

For Bannon, it has something to do with “the fourth turning,” or maybe the fifth progression, or the third cataclysm. At any rate, it apparently involves cycles of discontent and disruption. Lots of disruption. Across the West, as he sees it, the victims of globalization — the victims of immigration, free trade and internationalism in general — are rising against their cosmopolitan oppressors. Institutions will crash and rise in new forms. And this restless world spirit takes human form in . . . Nigel Farage and Donald Trump.

Like many philosophies that can be derived entirely from an airport bookstore, this one has an element of truth. The beneficiaries of the liberal international order have not paid sufficient attention to the human costs of rapid economic change. (Just as the critics of internationalism have not paid sufficient attention to the nearly 1 billion people who have left extreme poverty during the past two decades.)

But there is a problem with the response of economic nationalism and ethno-nationalism. It is morally degraded and dangerous to the country.

Which brings us to the second set of remarks, at a State Department retirement party, complete with cake. This speech was from one of the most distinguished diplomats our nation has recently produced, Ambassador Dan Fried. Fried was on diplomatic duty for 40 years, focusing mainly on Europe. He was ambassador to Poland and pulled into the White House as a special adviser on Central and Eastern Europe to both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Most populists would probably view Fried as the pinstriped enemy. I came to know him in the Bush administration as a freedom fighter, deeply and personally offended by oppression. He had been an enemy — not an opponent, but an enemy — of the Soviet Union, and remains a committed friend to 100 million liberated Europeans.

Fried used his retirement remarks to describe “America’s Grand Strategy.” For decades, the U.S. has stood for “an open, rules-based world, with a united West at its core.” Despite occasional failures and blunders, “the world America made after 1945 and 1989 has enjoyed the longest period of general peace in the West since Roman times.”

What would happen if the United States were to leave the global order and pursue its own ethno-national greatness? This is the proposal that the populists have placed on the table, in which blowing up the TPP is a sign of things to come. “By abandoning our American Grand Strategy,” argued Fried, “we would diminish to being just another zero-sum great power.” This would result in a system entirely based on “spheres of influence,” which are “admired by those who don’t have to suffer the consequences.” And accepting spheres of influence would “mean our acquiescence when great powers, starting with China and Russia, dominated their neighbors through force and fear.”

“Some so-called realists,” said Fried, “might accept such a world as making the best of a harsh world, but it is not realistic to expect that it would be peaceful or stable. Rather the reverse: A sphere of influence system would lead to cycles of rebellion and repression, and, if the past 1,000 years is any guide, lead to war between the great powers, because no power would be satisfied with its sphere. They never are.”

This is a foreign policy cycle more substantial than a “fourth turning.” The disrupters of international order — the liberal democratic order built and defended by FDR, Truman, Kennedy and Reagan — are thoughtless, careless and reckless. And they must be resisted.

The founding fathers of the ethno-state are also in violation of the country’s defining values. The United States was summoned into existence by the clear bell of unifying aspirations, not by the primal scream of blood and soil. And this great ideal of universal freedom and dignity is not disrupted; it disrupts.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bannons-reckless-pursuit-of-ethno-nationalist-greatness/2017/02/27/096fe836-fd28-11e6-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca_story.html?postshare=7111488264903309&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.0f376a62c80e

- I usually don't post opinion articles, but I think this raises an excellent point - America has had a grand ideology and strategy for national survival and growth for 200+ years - and it's worked incredibly well. - Getting rid of that for this ethno-nationalist nonsense is one of the dumbest ideas ever.

 
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