Trump’s Denied Cabinet Nominees
Renee Parsons
As millions of Americans clustered around on November 5th to watch the US Presidential election returns, it is a good bet that few of them had the foresight to think about how Donald J. Trump would appropriate a Cabinet of fifteen Federal Executive Department heads to represent his Administration.
At that time, the American people supported significant major economic and political reforms and a range of necessary administrative restructurings which is exactly what they are about to receive. As with any Presidential appointments, there are going to be disappointments as well as those rewarded with a burst of enthusiasm.
With total responsibility regarding who is appointed to which position, President Donald Trump can take full and total credit for the level of transformation that the Federal government and the American people are about to witness.
As history has shown, any Presidential Cabinet can be expected to reflect the President’s view on assorted matters of utmost importance by experts in their fields or, just as often, the Cabinet may be recognized by close personal associates of the President, an intimate confidante trusted within the Executive Branch to express their personal and/or political opinion via presidential edicts.
There was a great sense of relief from Trump’s landslide victory confirming that democracy still functioned; perhaps not as smooth as it once did but good enough to get through a difficult, contentious campaign. A campaign that proved the Constitution is still a vibrant contract for all Americans to live by; that we still have a choice to decide how we want to live.
With the appointment of a radically innovative generation of American government appointees, Trump’s nominees were selected to act on behalf of 330 million residents who live in a 250 year old Constitutional Republic. Contrary to their predecessors, many nominees were deliberately chosen to adopt intensely dissimilar policies as examples of how far the globalist Dems had strayed away from the Founders’ vision of American First principles.
While some nominations were a surprise, many nominations were met with anger, indignation, outrage or resentment. Cabinet nominations eliciting the most extreme opposition included former Rep. Matt Gaetz who is Trump’s candidate for Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been named as Secretary of Health and Human Services while Army Lt. Colonel Tulsi Gabbard has been designated as Trump’s Director of the Defense National Intelligence.
Each are being opposed based on expressing a different political ideology such an America First perspective that does not fit with the Biden Administration’s totalitarian globalist view of America.
There may be other Trump Cabinet nominees that may stir political conflict or feedback but the point with all of them is this:
in the past, every President has been allowed his own Constitutional prerogative to appoint his own Cabinet, free and unfettered from any political interference. No President has ever had to participate in a public process to ‘vet’ his Cabinet applicants. Every President has been afforded the right to nominate who they chose without out any intimidation or hostility from the public or the opposing political party.
Obviously, Cabinet appointees that require Senate approval will participate in a Senate hearing and be subject to a Senate committee and a Senate floor vote in order to confirm their nomination. If any participating Senator wanted to vote against any nominee, each Senator retained the right to vote Nay.
In other words, Trump, like every President before him for 250 years, has an inherent and justifiable right to choose Cabinet members of his choice without providing a public justification and no expectation that any member of the public has a right to block that appointment.
Some may be reminded that Biden nominations of Secretary of State Blinken, Treasury Secretary Yellen, AG nominee Merrick Garland and Homeland Security nominee Mayorkas were all adopted without threats to their safety and without personal attacks on their character. No one raised any eyebrows until these members of Biden’s Cabinet failed in the performance of their responsibilities that each proved incompetent as political leftists.
The difference between every other Cabinet nominee and the Trump nominees has been habituated into Democratic culture as political leftists is based on a partisan difference of opinion that is unacceptable to the Democrats. In other words, the Democrats are intolerant of governmental and administrative policy variations that threaten the concept of free and open elections and an American civil society entitled to their own opinions, thoughts and beliefs as guaranteed by the US Constitution.
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In addition to the previously named Cabinet appointments, Trump’s nominations cited ‘ending partisan weaponization of the American justice system.” Kash Patel has been named FBI director, as Democrats fear that he could use the position to investigate political enemies, declassify sensitive information, and fire career civil servants. In addition, John Ratcliffe has been nominated to serve as CIA Director which can also be expected to ring some Democratic bells.
All of these nominees may need to rely on a recess appointment to get beyond the reach of entrenched Senators who are owned by the Deep State, the globalists or the Democratic Socialists.
There is great irony to recognize that Americans have experienced eight long years of the DOJ running roughshod over the rule of law, Constitutional judicial review and appointment of unqualified Federal judges as well as unconstitutional abuse that prosecuted and imprisoned its political opposition.
The ADL has announced its opposition to Matt Gaetz as AG because of a Bible dispute that has enabled a hot – heavy debate on perceived anti semitism.
Trump’s mandate includes adopting an America First foreign policy which includes an end to the Ukraine war, no new interventionist wars, an end to a proxy war with Iran and avoidance of an outbreak of WW III even as Trump’s well known penchant for peace took a hit. What has been unexpected in Trump’s appointments is the presence of neocon Forever War supporters in Trump’s cabinet; some more controversial than others.
The next level of heavy lifting continued with the critique of a team of war hawks including Rubio, Stefanik, Pete Hegstrom nominated as Defense Secretary and Ukraine war supporter Rep. Michael Waltz as his National Security Adviser.
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Some of Trump’s earliest nominations included Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN Representative and Sen. Mario Rubio as Secretary of State and Gov. Noem (SD) as Director of Homeland Security were announced, sighs of disappointment could be heard although offset by the news that Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo would be excluded from a Trump administration. Rubio’s appointment, better known as a Senate Foreign Relations neo-con was a mystery, until the nomination of Lara Trump to the Senate became a real possibility. Rubio walked into a small mine field recently by claiming that Russia blew up the Nordstream pipeline which is contrary to Trump’s already admitted role when he was still in his first term.
With limited policy experience, Noem deployed her state’s National Guard to the southern border several times and has threatened arrest for what identified anti-semitism. She will be guided in the mass deportation of thousands of undocumented illegals by former ICE Chief and incoming border chief Tom Homan to keep a lid on the southern border.
My own disappointment with Noem’s nomination was hoping that Homeland Security would be slated either for demolition or massive funding ($62 Billion) and personnel cuts (240K) via Elon’s DOGE efforts.
None have the edgy American First voice that might have been imagined as more nominees appear entwined with Trump’s Zionist connections. Whether Stefanik at the UN, as a frequent visitor to Israel with no foreign policy or international diplomatic experience, is indispensable, rather than maintaining the thin GOP House majority remains an essential political challenge.
In his first term, Trump continued to appoint neocon warmongers and pro war activists who opposed his efforts to end America’s foreign wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. It is questionable whether Trump has learned his lesson and may be intent on failing to appoint any America First foreign policy advocates in this term. In his first term, Trump has pledged to deport all “Jew haters” which will presumably trigger First Amendment challenges.