Cabinet picks show Donald Trump’s plan in action

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/11/2024 (608 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If nothing else, this much can be said about the lead-up to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s second (non-consecutive) term in office:

He is not doing anything to disguise his intentions.

With what might mildly be described as “controversial” cabinet-post nominations, the former and soon-to-be president has demonstrated he intends to do exactly what he stated he would if he were handed the keys to the White House for a second time: namely, to harness the full might of the U.S. government and its public institutions to unleash vengeance on all whom Trump perceives to have wronged him during and after his first term as president.

In so doing, he is also offering a clear indication of the contempt with which he views the departments whose administrators have had the temerity to demonstrate loyalty to the U.S. constitution rather than fealty to the holder of the Oval Office.

The expanding list of cabinet nominees is bizarrely impressive in the manner in which almost every one is unqualified — by conventional standards, at least — for the designated job. Experience and expertise seem to have had no bearing on Trump’s choices; only unwavering loyalty to him and a presumed readiness to “burn down” the institutions as an agent of Trump’s vengeance seem to have factored into the nominations.

Oh, and perhaps a desire on the president-elect’s part to deliver a not-so-subtle message to each federal department: “I hate you so much that this is who I’ve chosen to lead you.”

Consider just a few in this cavalcade of ill-suited characters: for attorney general, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, a rabid Trump defender who has been investigated by both the justice department and the House ethics committee for alleged sex trafficking and drug use, including a complaint of having had sex with a minor (he withdrew his name from consideration Thursday); for secretary of health and human services, Trump-supporting former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., well known for his anti-vaccine rhetoric and dissemination of debunked conspiracy theories; for secretary of defense, Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth, a military veteran with no relevant administrative experience and a personal history that includes extramarital affairs and sexual-assault allegations; for director of national security, Trump-supporting former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who has defended Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s rationale for invading Ukraine and repeated Russian propaganda in a way that has drawn praise from the Kremlin; and for secretary of education, former pro wrestling executive and influential Republican fundraiser Linda McMahon, who has no practical experience as an educator but once incorrectly claimed to have earned a bachelor’s degree in education.

The implication of these nominations — and, no doubt, others to follow — is that Trump does not intend to repeat the mistake of thinking career civil servants will unquestioningly bend to his will; instead, he will install in his cabinet loyalists whose only priority will be carrying out the president’s plan to systematically dismantle the processes, checks and balances which, under the constitution, would prevent the rise of an authoritarian leader.

Recent reports also suggest Trump might seek to circumvent the traditional congressional confirmation process by demanding the Senate pause its business so he can make so-called “recess” appointments, a measure that sidesteps confirmation hearings and Senate votes.

Mass firings and/or resignations across the civil service are sure to follow, and what’s left will be a U.S. administration whose sole directive will be to do Trump’s bidding. The despotic ascension will have begun.

Some might express shock and surprise, but they oughtn’t.

This will be nothing more or less than Trump delivering on his promise.