Take a deep breath.
Trump's proposed nominations over the last 48 hours are so bad they are disturbing and unsettling—not only for Americans but for citizens of the world. Let’s review where we are. But before we do, let’s catch our breath.
One challenge of writing a daily newsletter during difficult times is to avoid a format that sounds like, “This bad thing happened, then another bad thing happened, and then another bad thing happened.” However, on some days, that is how the news comes at us.
Even on such days, we must remember that the consequences of events will unfold over time—giving us the opportunity to absorb, adjust, and resist. That is where we find ourselves on a day when Trump's cabinet and senior officer nominations seem like a sick joke being played on the American people by Vladimir Putin.
The nominations are so bad that they are likely to have two short term consequences that offer a smidgen of a glimmer of hope.
First, they decrease the likelihood that the Senate will allow Trump to make “recess appointments” that would result in unreviewed confirmations of a Putin ally running our intelligence agencies and a congressman currently under investigation for having sex with underage girls running the Department of Justice.
Second, there is a real possibility that Trump may withdraw some of the nominations. They are so bad that confirming them may be too humiliating for a handful of Republican Senators. We will see.
But there is no soft-pedaling the import of the nominations announced on Tuesday and Wednesday. The nominations suggest that the top priorities of the second Trump tenure will be mass deportations and political vengeance—just as Trump promised on the campaign trail.
Before turning to the nominations, two stories regarding Congress deserve our attention.
Senate Republicans elect John Thune as Majority Leader
Trump lobbied for Senator Rick Scott (FL) to be elected as Majority Leader in the Senate. Scott had promised to put the Senate into recess so that Trump's cabinet nominations could evade the Senate confirmation process.
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans elected South Dakota Senator John Thune as Majority Leader, ignoring Trump's wishes. See Politico, GOP senators brush off concerns about Thune’s relationship with Trump. Thune is an institutionalist who will not allow Trump to evade Senate confirmation hearings and opposes abolishing the filibuster.
Thune will have a narrow two or three seat majority—with Senators Collins, Murkowski, and Bill Cassidy (who voted to convict Trump on the second impeachment)—offsetting against the hardline MAGA faction in the Senate. Of course, Susan Collins has demonstrated an astounding lack of conviction previously and can be counted on for nothing.
In short, “It could have been worse” in the Senate race for Majority Leader. That may be small consolation, but we should accept it for what it is worth.
Hakeem Jeffries concedes that Republicans will control House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement that said, in part, that “we will not regain control of the Congress in January.” In a Democratic caucus meeting, Jeffries took responsibility for the loss. See Axios, Hakeem Jeffries tells House Democrats he owns 2024 election loss.
I do not understand the concession while there is still a mathematical path to control for Democrats, especially after the resignation of Matt Gaetz and the nominations of GOP House members Pete Hegseth (Defense) and Elise Stefanik (UN), Mike Waltz (NSA), which will result in at least four vacancies—all in Republican held districts. But perhaps Hakeem Jeffries has insights into the state of those races that are not available to us.
If you are still working on ballot curing for House members, cure away! Reducing the GOP margin of control will help Democrats remain relevant in the 119th Congress, which begins on January 3, 2025.
Trump cabinet and senior officer nominations.
Trump's nominations for cabinet and senior officers have confirmed that he is prioritizing deporting tens million immigrants and exacting political vengeance. Still, no one was ready for the outrageously unqualified hacks he has nominated.
Before turning to the shocking nominations made on Wednesday, we must revisit two aspects of nominations made earlier in the week.
Mike Huckabee’s nomination as Ambassador to Israel.
Two days after Trump indicated he would nominate Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel, Huckabee said during a radio interview that he would support Israel annexing the West Bank and resettling Gaza with Israeli citizens. (Israel withdrew from Gaza in 1994.) See The Times of Israel, Trump ambassador pick Huckabee says administration could back West Bank annexation.
In a separate interview, Huckabee said that there “isn’t such a thing” as a Palestinian.
Of course, ambassadors do not set US foreign policy. But Trump's selection of Mike Huckabee sends a strong signal that Trump will support Netanyahu’s vow to “finish the job”—as Trump said during his debate with Joe Biden in July.
Solutions relating to Israel’s security and the territories of Gaza and the West Bank have eluded every world leader from 1948 to the present. But Mike Huckabee’s views are likely to inflame a situation that is already dire.
Pete Hegseth’s nomination as Secretary of Department of Defense
As I wrote yesterday, Fox entertainer and former national guard officer Pete Hegseth is manifestly unqualified to assume the leadership role at the Department of Defense. One day after Washington asked in unison, “Pete Hegseth who?”, reports emerged that Hegseth was barred from serving as part of a national guard security detail in Washington, D.C. for Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Per those reports, Hegseth was removed from the inauguration security detail because he has tattoos that are popular with white nationalist anti-Muslim groups in the US. See HuffPo, Pete Hegseth Was Removed From Biden Inauguration For Tattoo | HuffPost Latest News.
Hegseth claims that the tattoos are “religious symbols.” Those symbols date back to the Crusades—an effort by the Christian west to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim control. One of the tattoos says, “Deus Vult.” Hegseth explained in 2020, “I’ve got Deus Vult – God Wills It – which was the cry of the Crusaders, on my bicep.”
A 2020 book by Hegseth says, “Just like the Christian crusaders who pushed back the Muslim hordes in the twelfth century, American Crusaders will need to muster the same courage against Islamists today.”
Hegseth thus confirms that the tattoos are “anti-Islamist” in nature. Whether those sentiments also include white supremacy beliefs should be an active area of investigation during his Senate confirmation hearing.
Trump nominates Matt Gaetz as Attorney General
Trump's nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General felt like a gut punch. Gaetz’s only qualification for running the Department of Justice is that he was under investigation by the DOJ for having sex with underage girls (involving travel across state lines). The DOJ dropped that investigation two years ago, but a House ethics committee was scheduled to release a report on Friday of this week on those charges and allegations of illicit drug use. Gaetz resigned from the House on Wednesday in an attempt to forestall the release of the report. See NYTimes, House Ethics Panel Was Set to Vote to Release Report Critical of Matt Gaetz, (Article accessible to all.)
Matt Gaetz is a conspiracy theorist who believes that the January 6 insurrection was incited by the US government. He was involved in the attempted coup to prevent the count of electoral ballots by the Joint Session of Congress. He has called for the FBI to be abolished. He invited a Holocaust denier as his guest to the 2018 State of the Union. Gaetz supports the pardoning of January 6 defendants
Trump's nomination of Gaetz stunned members of Congress. See Axios, Republicans "stunned and disgusted" as Trump taps Matt Gaetz for AG.
It is difficult to capture the depravity of Trump's nomination of Gaetz. It demonstrates that Trump is hell-bent on vengeance above all else. Gaetz views the DOJ as his enemy and persecutor. Gaetz will take a wrecking ball to the DOJ and the FBI as he seeks to destroy evidence of Trump's past crimes (and his own)—even as he uses the DOJ to target Trump's political enemies.
Trump nominates Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is the “head of the US intelligence community.” The DNI prepares the president’s daily intelligence briefing (which Trump famously did not read during his first term).
Vladimir Putin could hope for nothing better than to have a sympathetic ally as the leader of the DNI. On Wednesday, Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard to lead the DNI. Gabbard has a long and suspect affinity for Putin (and Syrian dictator Assad). See Tom Nichols in The Atlantic, Tulsi Gabbard’s Nomination Is a National-Security Risk.
As Nichols notes, Gabbard is spectacularly unqualified to serve as DNI. Worse, when her political positions are not incoherent, she has been a cheerleader for Russia’s interests against the US and its allies. Per Nichols,
She has blamed NATO and the U.S. for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (again, to the celebration of both Russian and Chinese state media), has repeated Russian propaganda claims that the U.S. has set up secret bioweapons labs in that country, and has argued that the U.S. not Russia is wholly responsible for Putin’s nuclear brinkmanship.
When she appeared on Sean Hannity’s show in 2022, even Hannity blanched at Gabbard floating off in a haze of Kremlin talking points and cheerleading for Russia.
It seems doubtful that Gabbard can obtain the security clearances necessary to serve as DNI. As recently as this summer, she claimed to be on the TSA “domestic terror watch list.”
Like Pete Hegseth, Gabbard blames the US for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin could not be happier with Hegseth and Gabbard if he picked them himself.
Opportunity for Reader Engagement
My Managing Editor and I will hold another reader meeting via Substack Livestreaming and Zoom on Saturday, November 16 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific / 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
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You do not have to be a paying subscriber to join the meetings via Substack or Zoom. We are trying to create a space for readers to join in community. We will continue to hold these meetings until people get bored and stop showing up—which will be a good sign that we are on our way to a full recovery!
Concluding Thoughts
Well, that was a dollop of bad news. Take a deep breath. Recognize that they aren’t going to achieve everything they want merely by declaring their intentions. Watch this space for collective actions in the future to defeat the confirmations of Pete Hegsmith, Tulsi Gabbard, and Matt Gaetz (at least).
The silver lining in Trump's nominations is that they are so outrageous they highlight his bad faith and ill intentions. His nominees for Defense, DNI, and DOJ reveal that he has no interest in governing, only in exacting revenge and deporting ten million immigrants. Even a craven GOP caucus in the Senate must be brought up short by the audacity of nominating anti-government provocateurs to run the most important agencies in the US government.
So, take a breath. Let’s see how this all works out—especially after the American people have the opportunity to make their voices heard.
That’s it for today! Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
Yesterday, I featured the Eastern Veil Nebula. The image below is part of the same supernova remnant that includes the Eastern Veil Nebula. The portion below is called Pickering’s Triangle. It is in the center of the broad loop formed by the Eastern and Western Veil Nebulae. It is 2,400 light years from Earth.
I now have no faith in any part of our government actually functioning in any logical or moral manner. All the MSNBC lawyers declared for months that SCOTUS would never, just NEVER actually give DJT total immunity, it was just too, TOO outrageous. They would never, just NEVER overturn R v W, there was just too much precedent. Look at how SCOTUS trashed our civilized norms already. Why should the GOP now not confirm a Putin lover for DNI or a sex offender for DOJ. Nothing is too horrible to happen.
It was a real shit day, Robert. I did let out a laugh when I heard trump announce lil’ Mattie was nominated as AG. It’s sick and like Kamala repeatedly said, this man is not a serious candidate for president. Gabbard is no surprise for a job but DNI is one I think even the moderate R’s (Are there any left?) wouldn’t say aye to but you’re right about her being a loving ally to Putin and Assad. She might as well spit in our faces. Mainstream media is already saying the House belongs to the MAGAs but I have been staying away from them besides watching Lawrence O’Donnell. He is a true pleasure because he needles trump all of the time and he has not made that announcement about the House. We all want Hakeem to be Speaker so badly. I would love to have at least, one small victory.
This nebula…I could be wrong but it sure looks like a dog holding a pair of sun glasses! Guess it’s time for me to go to bed. See ya’ tomorrow.