GOOD NEWS! Thanks to the enormous pressure of MomsRising members like you, Donald Trump’s exceedingly awful pick for US Attorney General, Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his nomination. [1] Bye, Matt, don’t come back!
That’s one wacky Trump nominee down, but there are several insidious clowns left in this clown car of cabinet nominees, including multiple people accused of and investigated for sexual assault: Pete Hegseth, Robert Kennedy Jr., and even Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Education, Linda McMcMahon. [2]
We knocked out Gaetz! We can keep the pressure on and clean up Trump’s junk drawer of a cabinet.
-Ruth
References:
[1] NPR: Former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdraws as Trump's attorney general pick
[2] CNN:Lawsuit alleges Linda McMahon enabled sexual abuse of children
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I’ll get right to it: Matt Gaetz should NOT be United States Attorney General, despite being nominated by President-elect Donald Trump. Gaetz has been under investigation for underage sex trafficking and other ethics violations, including sexual misconduct. [1] Matt Gaetz, an accused sexual predator, as our nation’s top law enforcement official? In charge of the U.S. Department of Justice? Nope.
While the President of the United States can nominate whomever they want to their cabinet, the U.S. Senate must vet nominees, ensure they’re qualified, and confirm only those who are.
The timing of Trump’s announcement of Matt Gaetz as his pick for Attorney General is, as my kids would say…sus. The House Ethics Panel was just about to release its report on Gaetz. Then Trump named Gaetz the AG nominee. Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress mere hours before the report was to be released, and now we may never know the findings from that investigation. [2] This is cringe. This is not trustworthy behavior.
It goes without saying that the Gaetz report should be released as soon as possible so U.S. Senators have the information they need to vet and (hopefully not) confirm his nomination.
The Matt Gaetz nomination isn’t the only cabinet appointment that we will oppose.
Tulsi Gabbard, who President-elect Donald Trump has nominated for National Intelligence, has zero experience working in intelligence and is known to parrot fake Russian propaganda. [3] So, when Trump announced she’s his nominee for National Intelligence Director? That’s another nope.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is another cabinet nominee by President-elect Donald Trump who has been accused of sexual assault. [4] He’s also a widely known conspiracy theorist and anti-vaccine zealot who doesn’t believe in science and has no experience or qualifications for any role managing our nation’s health care. Putting him in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services? Nope. [5]
Here’s a fun one: Trump’s Department of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, “would be the least experienced defense secretary in the history of the republic.” [6] Hegseth has also been under investigation for sexual assault and supports the end of no-fault divorce, making it harder for women to leave marriages. [7,8]
Does anyone else find it troubling that the man in charge of defending our country can't hit a target when throwing an axe, let alone do it without hitting an innocent bystander? [9] And this may not be as relevant, but I have to tell you - the man bragged on national television that he hadn’t washed his hands in ten years. What?! [10]
This isn’t a cabinet; it’s a junk drawer.
Again, Trump can nominate whoever he wants. Honestly, we did not have high expectations for his choices. They are unserious and strain credibility.
But, the U.S. Senate is a serious institution. Cabinet appointments are serious business. Cabinet Secretaries oversee everything from the water we drink to a multitude of health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid to our national security. The average Cabinet Secretary also oversees a budget of trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of employees. They are not platforms to spread propaganda and conspiracy theories, stoke division, pursue vendettas or reward loyalty.
We need to speak out and tell the U.S. Senate to do its duty and investigate every nominee carefully, refuse to confirm all those who are not highly qualified and block every attempt to use recess appointments to put in place nominees who will undermine our federal government and, with it, our health, safety, security, and economy.
We’ve won some of these fights before. In the last Trump administration, we successfully pressured the Senate to force Andy Puzder, Trump’s unqualified pick for Labor Secretary, to drop out. Puzder would have been horrible for working families and had a track record of ignoring claims of sexual harassment in the restaurant chain he owned. [11]
We might not win all of these fights, but we must keep the U.S. Senate from abandoning its responsibilities to the nation.
And take a minute to forward this email to your friends and family so they can take action, too.
Together, we’re a powerful force for women and families.
-Ruth, Donna, Elyssa, Felicia, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team
PS: Breaking News: Trump has nominated Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education. McMahon is grossly unqualified for this role. Like Betsy DeVos, McMahon has no background in public schools nor understanding of what it takes to help every student thrive. The Senate must stand up for our students and reject Donald Trump’s unqualified nominee, Linda McMahon. Our students and our nation deserve so much better than Betsy DeVos 2.0.
References:
[1] USA Today: Sex trafficking allegations follow Matt Gaetz after attorney general selection: What to know
[2] CNN: Woman told House Ethics Committee she saw Gaetz have sex with a minor, lawyer says
[3] Time Magazine: ‘We Are Reeling’: Trump’s Pick of Tulsi Gabbard Alarms Intelligence Community
[4] The Guardian: Robert F Kennedy Jr brushes off sexual assault allegation: ‘I am who I am’
[5] NPR: What happens when a vaccine skeptic leads health policy? Ask Florida
[6] NPR: What's behind defense secretary pick Hegseth's war on 'woke'
[7] Washington Post: Trump team weighs Pentagon pick after sexual assault allegation surfaces
[8] The Daily Show
[9] The Economic Times: Trump's Defense pick Pete Hegseth once hit a man with an axe on live TV
[10] The BBC: Fox host says he 'hasn't washed hands in 10 years'
[11] The Guardian: Andrew Puzder, Trump's labor secretary pick, withdraws from consideration
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