
“We need the strongest men of the party in the cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services.”
That quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln by author Doris Kearns Goodwin, and it reflects the 16th president’s justification for assembling a cabinet which included three of his former rivals. Lincoln thought it wise to enlist his political enemies in the fight to protect our union and emancipate slaves. But these weren’t just any men. All three were or had been governor of their respective states, thus had executive experience outside of Washington. They also happened to be the “strongest men” for the job. The question is, can we say the same about Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees? And, are his picks consistent with the promises, policies and philosophies which he espoused during the campaign? In both cases, the answer is “No.”
To the first point, Mr. Trump’s nominees are NOT the strongest candidates available. What they are is wealthy and well-connected to Wall Street and Washington. To the second point, his cabinet picks are not consistent with his campaign pledge to bring in outsiders who would help him “drain the swamp.” Instead, many of them are career insiders who helped fill the swamp in the first place. Granted, political connections and personal wealth are not inherently bad things to have, but they shouldn’t be the overriding criteria in selecting a cabinet for a president who promised to reform government.
What follows is a run-down on some of Mr. Trump’s cabinet nominees and high-level appointees, along with my assessment of who should have been considered in their place.
WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR … Steve Bannon deserves shared credit with Kellyanne Conway for orchestrating a surprise electoral upset victory, but his association with Breitbart lends credence to the notion that Donald Trump panders to white supremacists, and is prejudiced against minorities. That’s because Breitbart will publish just about anything from just about anyone in the alt-right movement. By the way, following Bannon’s appointment as Chief White House Counsel, Kelloggs dropped all of its advertising from Breitbart, which is of no concern to the President-elect, but it reinforces the perception problem that Trump will continue to have, so long as Bannon is in and out of the Oval Office every day. Also on the negative side, Bannon once worked at Goldman Sachs. A better pick for the job would have been David Gergen, former advisor to three presidents. Not only would Gergen be the strongest candidate for WH counsel, he wouldn’t bring any baggage with him.
TREASURY SECRETARY … Speaking of Goldman Sachs, Steve Munchin was an executive for that firm when it helped to bring about the great recession of 2008, and throw millions of people out of their homes and jobs. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren call the nomination of Munchin, “hypocrisy at its worst.” Former BB&T chairman John Allison would have been a much better pick to lead Treasury. John is a Washington outsider who has dealt successfully with everything from TARP loans to student loans, and understands the struggles of small business owners.
EDUCATION SECRETARY … I suppose in some parallel universe, Betsy DeVos would be the logical choice to oversee public education in America. Her qualifications include never having attended a public school, and marrying a man who inherited his billions from Daddy’s AMWAY pyramid scheme. DeVos was a major contributor to Trump’s campaign, so it’s not surprising that she would be rewarded with a job in the new administration, but this is the wrong job. A better choice would have been North Carolina’s long-serving (and recently defeated) State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson. Actually any state superintendent with her track record of success would be a good pick to oversee the nation’s education system. June, for example managed to increase graduation rates and lower drop-out rates while performing a perennial balancing act between state budget shortfalls and federal mandates.
DEFENSE SECRETARY … Retired General James “Mad Dog” Mattis distinguished himself by being fired as head of Central Command. His “Dr. Strangelove” style nick name fit him well. President Obama booted Mattis because the General kept foaming at the mouth for war with Iran. Yet for all his war mongering, Mattis has also been accused of leaving wounded men behind in Afghanistan. Trump should have tapped Colin Powell to head-up the Defense department. Powell has the respect of presidents and elected officials from both parties, and he has an Eisenhower-like reputation for viewing war as a last resort. And if Trump wanted to reach across the aisles, he could have picked General Wesley Clark, who had a successful military career, then made a brief run for the White House as a Democrat. There’s simply no place for a mad dog in the war room.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT … Senator Jeff Sessions is an amiable, seasoned lawmaker, but, like Bannon, he comes to the job with racial baggage. Though Sessions once prosecuted and sought the death penalty for some KKK thugs who murdered a black man, he made a statement that was taken out of context which later cost him a seat on the Supreme Court. Rightly or wrongly, Sessions has been painted as a closet racist, and that perception will not stand him well as America’s top cop, especially in these times of racial unrest between law enforcement and the minority community. There are any number of current and former state attorneys general who would have been better suited and better prepared to lead the Justice Department, but Trump went with his friend Sessions because the Alabama Senator was the first high profile elected official to endorse the President-elect.
TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT … While I have no problem recycling folks like David Gergen and Colin Powell, I’m not comfortable with Elaine Chao returning to serve in a presidential cabinet which will have to deal with her husband, who just happens to be the Senate Majority Leader, and will vote on her confirmation. This isn’t just a perceived conflict of interest, it’s an actual conflict of interest. And what happens when Trump needs Mitch McConnell to come through for him on a particular bill, but McConnell’s quid pro quo is an increase in transportation funding? Trump should have brought in someone who has successfully run a regional transportation system, and who can navigate both federal and state regulations. Former PART chief, Brent McKinney would have been an excellent choice.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES … Georgia Congressman Dr. Tom Price was chosen to head up HHS because he is a physician who vehemently opposed Obamacare. But Price either can’t or won’t think outside the healthcare box, and believes that the insurance industry knows best. Bernie Sanders says Price has a history of wanting to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. What America needs is Bernie’s “Medicare for All” system, but that will never happen under Trump and Price, who don’t seem to care that the leading cause of bankruptcy is unchecked premiums and high medical bills. A savvy president would have tapped a current or former CEO of a major nonprofit hospital, preferably one who came from the nursing ranks and understands how to manage patients, budgets, and regulations with equal aplomb.
I’m basically OK with Trump’s picks for Chief of Staff, CIA Director, and United Nations Ambassador. Reince Priebus will be a good gatekeeper and political diplomat. Rep. Mike Pompeo will hit the ground running at CIA because of his Congressional experience with oversight of the agency. And South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will represent America with grace and competence at the UN, though I hope her right wing bent won’t significantly skew her thinking at critical moments. Those notwithstanding, Trump’s cabinet picks are neither strong nor appropriate, given their backgrounds and his campaign promises. As such, the President-elect is refilling the DC swamp faster than he can drain it. Swamps stink to high heaven, and so do most of Trump’s cabinet picks.
Trump’s Swamp Quickly Refilling
“We need the strongest men of the party in the cabinet. We needed to hold our own people together. I had looked the party over and concluded that these were the very strongest men. Then I had no right to deprive the country of their services.”
That quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln by author Doris Kearns Goodwin, and it reflects the 16th president’s justification for assembling a cabinet which included three of his former rivals. Lincoln thought it wise to enlist his political enemies in the fight to protect our union and emancipate slaves. But these weren’t just any men. All three were or had been governor of their respective states, thus had executive experience outside of Washington. They also happened to be the “strongest men” for the job. The question is, can we say the same about Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees? And, are his picks consistent with the promises, policies and philosophies which he espoused during the campaign? In both cases, the answer is “No.”
To the first point, Mr. Trump’s nominees are NOT the strongest candidates available. What they are is wealthy and well-connected to Wall Street and Washington. To the second point, his cabinet picks are not consistent with his campaign pledge to bring in outsiders who would help him “drain the swamp.” Instead, many of them are career insiders who helped fill the swamp in the first place. Granted, political connections and personal wealth are not inherently bad things to have, but they shouldn’t be the overriding criteria in selecting a cabinet for a president who promised to reform government.
What follows is a run-down on some of Mr. Trump’s cabinet nominees and high-level appointees, along with my assessment of who should have been considered in their place.
WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR … Steve Bannon deserves shared credit with Kellyanne Conway for orchestrating a surprise electoral upset victory, but his association with Breitbart lends credence to the notion that Donald Trump panders to white supremacists, and is prejudiced against minorities. That’s because Breitbart will publish just about anything from just about anyone in the alt-right movement. By the way, following Bannon’s appointment as Chief White House Counsel, Kelloggs dropped all of its advertising from Breitbart, which is of no concern to the President-elect, but it reinforces the perception problem that Trump will continue to have, so long as Bannon is in and out of the Oval Office every day. Also on the negative side, Bannon once worked at Goldman Sachs. A better pick for the job would have been David Gergen, former advisor to three presidents. Not only would Gergen be the strongest candidate for WH counsel, he wouldn’t bring any baggage with him.
TREASURY SECRETARY … Speaking of Goldman Sachs, Steve Munchin was an executive for that firm when it helped to bring about the great recession of 2008, and throw millions of people out of their homes and jobs. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren call the nomination of Munchin, “hypocrisy at its worst.” Former BB&T chairman John Allison would have been a much better pick to lead Treasury. John is a Washington outsider who has dealt successfully with everything from TARP loans to student loans, and understands the struggles of small business owners.
EDUCATION SECRETARY … I suppose in some parallel universe, Betsy DeVos would be the logical choice to oversee public education in America. Her qualifications include never having attended a public school, and marrying a man who inherited his billions from Daddy’s AMWAY pyramid scheme. DeVos was a major contributor to Trump’s campaign, so it’s not surprising that she would be rewarded with a job in the new administration, but this is the wrong job. A better choice would have been North Carolina’s long-serving (and recently defeated) State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson. Actually any state superintendent with her track record of success would be a good pick to oversee the nation’s education system. June, for example managed to increase graduation rates and lower drop-out rates while performing a perennial balancing act between state budget shortfalls and federal mandates.
DEFENSE SECRETARY … Retired General James “Mad Dog” Mattis distinguished himself by being fired as head of Central Command. His “Dr. Strangelove” style nick name fit him well. President Obama booted Mattis because the General kept foaming at the mouth for war with Iran. Yet for all his war mongering, Mattis has also been accused of leaving wounded men behind in Afghanistan. Trump should have tapped Colin Powell to head-up the Defense department. Powell has the respect of presidents and elected officials from both parties, and he has an Eisenhower-like reputation for viewing war as a last resort. And if Trump wanted to reach across the aisles, he could have picked General Wesley Clark, who had a successful military career, then made a brief run for the White House as a Democrat. There’s simply no place for a mad dog in the war room.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT … Senator Jeff Sessions is an amiable, seasoned lawmaker, but, like Bannon, he comes to the job with racial baggage. Though Sessions once prosecuted and sought the death penalty for some KKK thugs who murdered a black man, he made a statement that was taken out of context which later cost him a seat on the Supreme Court. Rightly or wrongly, Sessions has been painted as a closet racist, and that perception will not stand him well as America’s top cop, especially in these times of racial unrest between law enforcement and the minority community. There are any number of current and former state attorneys general who would have been better suited and better prepared to lead the Justice Department, but Trump went with his friend Sessions because the Alabama Senator was the first high profile elected official to endorse the President-elect.
TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT … While I have no problem recycling folks like David Gergen and Colin Powell, I’m not comfortable with Elaine Chao returning to serve in a presidential cabinet which will have to deal with her husband, who just happens to be the Senate Majority Leader, and will vote on her confirmation. This isn’t just a perceived conflict of interest, it’s an actual conflict of interest. And what happens when Trump needs Mitch McConnell to come through for him on a particular bill, but McConnell’s quid pro quo is an increase in transportation funding? Trump should have brought in someone who has successfully run a regional transportation system, and who can navigate both federal and state regulations. Former PART chief, Brent McKinney would have been an excellent choice.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES … Georgia Congressman Dr. Tom Price was chosen to head up HHS because he is a physician who vehemently opposed Obamacare. But Price either can’t or won’t think outside the healthcare box, and believes that the insurance industry knows best. Bernie Sanders says Price has a history of wanting to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. What America needs is Bernie’s “Medicare for All” system, but that will never happen under Trump and Price, who don’t seem to care that the leading cause of bankruptcy is unchecked premiums and high medical bills. A savvy president would have tapped a current or former CEO of a major nonprofit hospital, preferably one who came from the nursing ranks and understands how to manage patients, budgets, and regulations with equal aplomb.
I’m basically OK with Trump’s picks for Chief of Staff, CIA Director, and United Nations Ambassador. Reince Priebus will be a good gatekeeper and political diplomat. Rep. Mike Pompeo will hit the ground running at CIA because of his Congressional experience with oversight of the agency. And South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will represent America with grace and competence at the UN, though I hope her right wing bent won’t significantly skew her thinking at critical moments. Those notwithstanding, Trump’s cabinet picks are neither strong nor appropriate, given their backgrounds and his campaign promises. As such, the President-elect is refilling the DC swamp faster than he can drain it. Swamps stink to high heaven, and so do most of Trump’s cabinet picks.