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It’s hard to overstate the recklessness of the selections made by Donald Trump to “lead” his administration. One after another, his nominations don’t represent a genuine desire to govern, but a plan to dismantle the institutions and the agencies of government that have built America’s modern democratic system and way of life. They look like the result of an angry child’s desire to break things at all cost, no matter the extent or the nature of the damage to a country of nearly 350 million people. Or, maybe worse, they represent the potential for destruction from inside that even Russian president Vladimir Putin couldn’t expect was possible. Talk about “the enemy within”—it’s always projection with Trump. Soon we’ll see whether there are enough U.S. Senators who still believe in their constitutional obligation to provide advice and consent and will reject some of the most egregious cases quickly and carelessly thrust upon us.
In some respects, though, these choices don’t appear mindlessly chosen. It’s hard to miss the awful message that sexual misconduct—be it sex trafficking of minors, assaulting women or otherwise exploiting children—is not only not a reason for disqualification. Rather, given the number of nominees with accusations of abuse in their backgrounds, such allegations seem more like a desired attribute for the man found liable of sexual abuse and defamation, indeed rape. We can see with these picks that Trump, a longtime friend of Jeffrey Epstein and who self-confessed to assaulting women in the Access Hollywood recording, prefers to surround himself with people accused of sexual violence and to tell the country that this toxicity is acceptable.
These include: Matt Gaetz, who thankfully withdrew his nomination for Attorney General on Thursday; Pete Hegseth, Defense nominee, accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his hotel room in 2017 which was detailed in a released police report; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Health and Human Services nominee, accused of groping his teenaged babysitter; Linda McMahon, Education nominee, sued recently for knowingly enabling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the 1980s; as well as Elon Musk, who has been sued by former employees who were fired after complaining of sexual harassment and is charged by Trump to oversee a new entity focused on “government efficiency.”
Of course, the disqualifying issues range far wider. Let’s briefly consider just some of these selections that would endanger national security, undermine the reliable operations of needed bureaucracies and put the nation’s health at risk.
Pete Hegseth, the extremist Fox News host with zero experience managing a large organization, has said that he wants to remove women from combat and start firing some generals. Just this week, he appeared on a right-wing podcast asserting his desire for an “educational insurgency” to “build your army underground” and advance a Christian nationalist agenda. Not exactly the kind of careful talk one would expect from someone who wants to lead the Pentagon and serve a diverse military population of millions and their families.
Tulsi Gabbard, who has no experience serving in intelligence but Trump nominated her as Director of National Intelligence. What she does have is a track record of pushing pro-Russia propaganda, earning her the accolade of “our girlfriend” on Russian state television. While a congresswoman in 2017, Gabbard went to Syria, met with its authoritarian president, Bashar al-Assad, and later accused the U.S. of supporting terrorists there. The day after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, she blamed the U.S. and NATO for provoking the war—precisely the murderous Russian president’s talking points. Her ascendancy would put the life of every U.S. intelligence operative in danger and ensure that America’s democratic allies will resist sharing intelligence with America.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a notorious ani-vaxxer (dressed up as “skepticism”) and a conspiracy theorist who lacks any scientific or medical training, but Trump nominated him to be the Director of Health and Human Services (HHS). His skepticism toward vaccines and vaccination, his stated plan to cut fluoride in drinking water, his desire to shift away from the study of infectious diseases, his promise to cut funding and purge HHS staff—these are just some of the actions that will endanger the health and lives of millions of Americans.
There are many others to consider, including Trump sycophant and election denier Pam Biondi, who was quickly announced to replace Matt Gaetz for Attorney General; South Dakota governor and dog killer Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary; Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV personality who has pushed misinformation about Covid treatments and weight-loss supplements, to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has a budget of over $1 trillion; and Russell Vought, a principal author of Project 2025 who is bent on dismantling “the woke and weaponized bureaucracy,” to direct the Office of Management and Budget.
Will there be sufficient outcry that some of these dangerous choices will either withdraw or be rejected by a small number of Republican senators who recognize their duty? That effort would be aided by the Biden-Harris administration if it does the work that Trump and his enablers won’t do: perform FBI background checks and properly vet these selections to inform the public.
What do you think? Which Trump cabinet pick alarms you the most? What dangers that lie ahead concern you the most? Do you have any optimism that there will be enough Republican senators who do the right thing? (Several have derided the failure to do FBI background checks.) And have you reached out to your own state’s senators?
As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity of this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.
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