The Conversation -- November 23, 2024
All the Best People
Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: “The day after former congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration to lead the Justice Department, Trump pushed ahead with a burst of fresh announcements for planned appointments and nominations, including some controversial picks.... Trump ... nam[ed] hedge fund executive Scott Bessent as his choice for treasury secretary following days of hand-wringing over the position that is fifth in the line of succession and of keen interest to global investors. He also said he’d bring back his first-term budget director, Russell Vought, a key author of the Project 2025 policy blueprint who has advocated for unilaterally rejecting spending that Congress authorized, firing federal workers and taking control of independent regulators.
“Trump also announced plans to bring back controversial foreign policy aide Sebastian Gorka.... Alex Wong, a former representative for North Korea and a State Department adviser, was named to return as the principal deputy to the national security adviser....Trump’s choice for labor secretary, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon), flipped the usual Republican pattern because organized labor lobbied for her while business leaders objected. He named Janette Nesheiwat, a medical contributor on Fox News, as his pick for surgeon general; former congressman Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Johns Hopkins surgeon and public health expert Marty Makary as Food and Drug Administration commissioner; and retired football player and former Texas state representative Scott Turner for secretary of housing and urban development.” The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sneaking in Sebastian Gorka, the (alleged!) Hungarian Nazi, was deft.
Alan Rappeport & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump picked Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury secretary on Friday, tapping a billionaire hedge fund manager to lead an economic agenda that is expected to be built around raising tariffs and cutting taxes. Mr. Bessent, the founder of the investment firm Key Square Capital Management, has emerged as a central economic adviser to Mr. Trump over the past year. He has called for rolling back government subsidies, deregulating the economy and raising domestic energy production. Unlike many on Wall Street, Mr. Bessent, 62, has also defended the use of tariffs, which are Mr. Trump’s favorite economic tool.” See also AlterNet story, linked below, re: Walmart's honest admission that that its customers would pay the costs of tariffs.
To the Victor Go the Spoils. Ana Swanson of the New York Times: “As Mr. Trump dangles new and potentially more expensive tariffs [than he imposed in his first term], many companies are already angling to obtain relief. Lawyers and lobbyists in Washington say they are receiving an influx of requests from companies that want to hire their services.... While Mr. Trump has often promised to 'drain the swamp' in Washington, some have argued that these trade rules did the opposite. Tracking by OpenSecrets ... showed that the number of clients lobbying Congress on trade issues ticked up noticeably once Mr. Trump took office.... One recent economic study also found evidence that Trump officials had used the exemption process to reward their supporters and punish opponents. The study, which looked at nearly 7,000 company applications, found that an increase in past contributions to Republicans raised the likelihood of a company’s receiving an exemption. A history of past contributions to Democrats, meanwhile, decreased a company’s chances of winning a lucrative exemption.”
Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump on Friday picked a key figure in Project 2025 to lead the Office of Management and Budget, elevating a longtime ally who has spent the last four years making plans to rework the American government to enhance presidential power. The would-be nominee, Russell T. Vought, would oversee the White House budget and help determine whether federal agencies comport with the president’s policies. The role requires Senate confirmation unless Mr. Trump is able to make recess appointments. The choice of Mr. Vought would bring in a strongly ideological figure who played a pivotal role in Mr. Trump’s first term, when he also served as budget chief. Among other things, Mr. Vought helped come up with the idea of having Mr. Trump use emergency power to circumvent Congress’s decision about how much to spend on a border wall.... In an interview with The New York Times in 2023, Mr. Vought laid out an agenda of eliminating the independence of certain regulatory agencies that operate outside the direct control of the White House, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.” Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Project 2025 may not what have been what the marginal Trump supporter was voting for, but it’s sure what they’re going to get."
Lauren Gurley of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump selected Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon) to lead the Labor Department, following some heavy lobbying from the Teamsters union.... Teamsters President Sean O’Brien thanked Trump in a post on the social media platform X on Friday.... Chavez-DeRemer’s selection was a surprise in Washington and marked an unusual nod toward the labor movement, whose rank-and-file members often embraced Trump during the election. DeRemer, 56, is a moderate Republican who has served on bipartisan congressional caucuses and supported pro-union legislation. She lost her reelection bid this month. Her nomination was fiercely opposed by many business leaders.”
Dan Diamond & Rachel Roubein of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Friday night named three doctors to oversee the nation’s vaccine supply, disease response and other responsibilities central to America’s public health, plucking physicians who bring a mix of conservative credentials and Fox News appearances. Trump picked Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon, to lead the Food and Drug Administration, a roughly $7 billion agency.... Makary emerged as a prominent critic of the FDA and other public health agencies during the coronavirus pandemic, contending that officials pursued overly harsh vaccination mandates and did not countenance alternative strategies, such as the protections conferred by infections, also known as 'natural immunity.'...
The president-elect defied some predictions by picking Dave Weldon, an internal medicine physician and former GOP congressman, to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.... Weldon, as a congressman in the 2000s, sought to remove vaccine safety oversight from CDC and transfer it to an independent agency, arguing that the CDC suffered from conflicts of interest.... Weldon and Makary were recommended by [Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.]’s advisers.... Trump surprised many in his own party by announcing Janette Nesheiwat, a family and emergency medicine physician, to be the next U.S. surgeon general.... Nesheiwat, who has a limited national profile, is [a Fox 'News' contributor and] the sister-in-law of Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida), whom Trump has chosen as his national security adviser. Her sister, Julia Nesheiwat, served as homeland security adviser in the first Trump administration.”
Christina Jewett of the New York Times on Dr. Martin Makery [rhymes with "quackery"???], whom Trump has chosen to run the F.D.A. "In recent months, Dr. Makary has publicly sought to align his views with the current pronouncements of" RFK, Jr., who would be his boss. MB: Still, Makery sounds lessy goofy than Bobby Junior and -- unlike Bobby -- Makery is well-credentialed.
Carl Gibson of AlterNet: Sebastian Gorka, “a former aide to ... Donald Trump in his first administration has just received a high-profile appointment to the White House National Security Council (NSC) — despite being a member of a far-right group with ties to Nazi Germany.... In 2017, NBC News reported that Gorka was photographed wearing a medal associated with the Hungarian organization Vitezi Rend (which translates to 'valiant order'), and that he occasionally signs his name with a lowercase 'v' which order members use as an identifier. NBC also cited Jewish newspaper the Forward's report that three Vitezi Rend leaders confirmed that Gorka was a lifelong member. The Forward reported in early 2017 that the State Department described Vitezi Rend as having been 'under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany.' During World War II, members of the group helped deliver hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews into the hands of the Hitler regime, which massacred nearly all of them.”
Diana Falzone of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump was misled by cabinet nominees Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth about the extent of the misconduct allegations against them, according to several sources who spoke with Mediaite. One source [said the contents of the House Ethics report on Gaetz] were far more damning than Gaetz had led the president-elect to believe.... Another source, who served on the Trump campaign, told Mediaite that when Gaetz was confronted about the allegations of sexual misconduct against him he 'denied, denied, denied.'... A source said Hegseth — who has been married three times and has pursued multiple extra-marital affairs — was asked if there were any scandals from his past and even if he had ever signed a non-disclosure agreement. 'He told the campaign there’s no issues,' said the source. 'There’s no assault issues. There’s no NDA. Compounding lies.'...
“Underlying all of this: each time the media reports on the alleged sexual misconduct of Hegseth and Gaetz — as well as Trump’s pick for education secretary Linda McMahon and her alleged role in concealing sex abuse during her tenure as a WWE executive — Trump’s own sexual misconduct is mentioned.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: So Trump is angry because his nominees got caught (allegedly!) committing serious sex crimes, and what so perturbs Trump is that those crimes evoke Trump's own sex-related crimes and (alleged! and adjudicated) sex crimes. But the fact that his Defense Secretary nominee has advocated in writing for using the military to violently attack liberal Americans does not seem to bother Trump at all. ~~~
~~~ Pete Is One Scary-Crazy Dude. Jason Wilson of the Guardian: “Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, has written in a book that he could imagine a scenario in which the US armed forces would be used violently in American domestic politics.... He wrote that in the event of a Democratic election victory in the US there would be a 'national divorce' in which 'The military and police … will be forced to make a choice' and 'Yes, there will be some form of civil war.' Hegseth’s 2020 book exhorts conservatives to undertake 'an AMERICAN CRUSADE', to 'mock, humiliate, intimidate, and crush our leftist opponents', to 'attack first' in response to a left he identifies with 'sedition', and he writes that the book 'lays out the strategy we must employ in order to defeat America’s internal enemies'.” See also Jonathan Chait's Atlantic piece, gift-linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Katie Lillis, et al., of CNN: “Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections triggered a government algorithm earlier this year, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Gabbard was quickly removed from the list ... after going public with claims she had been added to a 'secret terror watchlist.' A federal official familiar with the program told CNN there are specified criteria for removing or adding individuals and that no one is removed from the list because of public statements they make. Gabbard has claimed she was put on the list because she had criticized then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris in an interview with Fox News — something two of the sources flatly denied had anything to do with it.”
Philip Bump of the Washington Post details how Pam Bondi, Trump's latest pick for attorney general, has flacked for Trump, usually under suspicious circumstances, so Bump has to write sentences like, “an investigation into the interaction determined there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Eric Lipton of the New York Times takes up the matter of Bondi's office deciding not to investigate one of Trump's fakiest scams -- Trump “University” -- after Trump gave Bondi an illegal campaign contribution from his fake “foundation.” One thing I didn't know: “Mr. Trump also donated to Kamala Harris while she was attorney general of California, and after reviewing the matter, her office also did not pursue.”
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: “Donald Trump proclaimed that he would be the protector of women. That seems to involve anointing creeps from whom women need protection.... The future is a president who dragged women back to the past by overturning Roe. Trump, who was himself found liable for sexual abuse, moved to elevate three men accused of sexual misconduct — one with a minor — to fill three crucial cabinet posts.... It is a searing affront to women.... In putting forward three men accused of sexual misconduct, Trump is conveying that men like himself are the perpetual victims of lies, so it should not be disqualifying. He is turning what he told Billy Bush on the 'Access Hollywood' tape into a presidential mantra: 'When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.'” MB: Dowd's description of Trump going the fights with an entourage is sickening.
Reign of Terror -- This Bit Is in the Planning Stages. Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump plans to fire the entire team that worked with special counsel Jack Smith to pursue two federal prosecutions against the former president, including career attorneys typically protected from political retribution, according to two individuals close to Trump’s transition. Trump is also planning to assemble investigative teams within the Justice Department to hunt for evidence in battleground states that fraud tainted the 2020 election, one of the people said.... It’s not clear how quickly or easily Trump could fire career staff... It could take years..., as the untested issue of firing masses of federal workers makes its way through the courts.... Most [of Smith's staff] ... are mid- and upper-level career staffers on detail to the special counsel’s team from divisions within the main Justice Department ... or from U.S. attorneys’ offices throughout the country.” Smith plans to resign before Trump can fire him.
Reign of Terror, Ctd. This Bit Is Playing Out on Xitter. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: “The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that [Elon Musk,] the 'Department of Government Efficiency' co-director, is tweeting out the names and personal details of federal employees, leading to some of his more than 205 million followers to 'launch blistering critiques of ordinary' workers. Ashley Thomas, a little-known director of 'climate diversity' at the U.S. International Development Financial Corp., was targeted by the billionaire, who called her job 'fake.' The tweet received 32 million views and spawned a flood of memes making fun of her and telling her that her job would be over soon, the report stated.... Read the full report here.” (It's firewalled.)
digby, speaking of Elon Musk: “He’s no genius, I’m sorry. He’s a talented entrepreneur, obviously, but there’s no reason to believe he understands anything other than that. When it comes to philosophy, ideology, politics, history — the world — he’s no better than your average right wing troll on Truth Social, operating from a gut that favors bigotry, selfishness and stupidity. He’s clueless about government and he’s going to crash and burn.” As for Musk's relationship with Trump, “It’s not going to work out. Right now Trump may be enjoying the fact that the richest man in the world is his BFF. But before too long he’s going to realize that the richest man in the world is trying to usurp him — the most powerful man in the world — and he’s going to get sick of him. At this point I wouldn’t bet on Musk being around even 3 months from now.”
Michael Schaffer of Politico Magazine: “Trump won less than 50 percent [of the vote].... The numbers might seem a wee bit jarring to anyone who has been listening to Washington’s triumphal Republicans and self-flagellating Democrats — all of whom seem to have internalized a version of the story that involves a romping, stomping Trump triumph.... Trump’s victory was described as 'resounding' by news organizations ranging from the Associated Press to the The Washington Post to the The New York Times to POLITICO. Others offered 'commanding win,' 'runaway win' and'“dominant victory.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ digby: Despite the Trump campaign's claims that his victory was "massive" and "historic," it was neither. Trump himself has claimed to have won "a powerful mandate." And the whole gang is mighty unhappy outlets like the New York Times & Politico Magazine are reporting the facts about his narrow win.(Also linked yesterday.)
Ben Protess of the New York Times: “A New York judge on Friday postponed ... Donald J. Trump’s sentencing in his Manhattan criminal case, confirming that the former and future president would not receive his punishment next week. Mr. Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal and was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, but his election victory made that all but impossible. The judge had already decided to halt the sentencing while Mr. Trump’s lawyers sought to have the whole case thrown out. Prosecutors from the office of Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, declined to drop the case this week, noting that a jury had already convicted Mr. Trump. But they agreed to delay the sentencing and signaled a willingness to freeze the case for four years while Mr. Trump holds office. So far, the judge, Juan M. Merchan, has not ruled on whether to freeze the case or dismiss it.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Carl Gibson of AlterNet: “Walmart — the world's largest retailer — is now issuing a warning to customers that they may be paying more for the same products if ... Donald Trump makes good on his promise to impose new tariffs on imports. Fortune reported Friday that Walmart's finance chief, John David Rainey, has acknowledged that new tariffs would likely be passed on to the people buying goods imported from overseas. Currently, anywhere from 70% to 80% of goods sold at Walmart are made in China, and could be affected by potential new tariffs. In September, PBS reported that Trump proposed tariffs as high as 60% on imports from China, and 20% tariffs on products made elsewhere.... 'We’re going to work with our suppliers as well as our own private brand assortment to continue to try to bring down prices for customers,' [Rainey said]. 'But we’re not immune, and tariffs will be inflationary for customers.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is kinda half an admission. Tariffs on foreign-made goods (and on parts used in domestically-assembled goods) will also raise prices on good made primarily in the U.S. Obviously, if you're a U.S. manufacturer, and the price of your competitor's hammer goes from $10 to $20, you're going to raise the price of your $12 hammer to closer to $20. Why? Because your $19 hammer is still the bargain. Your costs have not increased, but your profits have. Yay!
~~~~~~~~~~
Arizona. Adeel Hassan of the New York Times: Elizabeth Gutfahr, the elected treasurer of Santa Cruze County, Arizona, “siphoned off $38 million [in county funds] to acquire about two dozen vehicles — including Cadillacs and a Mercedes — buy real estate and renovate her family ranch, the Justice Department said this week. Ms. Gutfahr, 62, who held the post from 2013 through early 2024, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tucson on Thursday to one felony count each of embezzlement by a public official, money laundering and tax evasion. She could face up to 35 years in prison when she is sentenced in February.” MB: On the other hand, a photo of a well-appointed room in her family home demonstrates that the renovations she made at county expense were in good taste. So embezzled funds well-spent.
Florida. Kimberly Leonard of Politico: “Florida will conduct a special election on April 1, 2025 [April Fool's Day], to fill the House seat vacated by Matt Gaetz, kicking off a sprint among Florida Republicans to represent the deep-red district.... On Friday morning, Gaetz said he did not plan to return to Congress but hasn’t announced what he’ll do next.... The primaries are set for January 28, but whoever wins the GOP nomination will be the heavy favorite over the Democratic pick.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Florida. Fenit Nirappil & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “The top health official of the nation’s third-largest state called Friday for a halt to adding fluoride to Florida’s water, citing controversial studies that suggest the widely hailed public health practice poses a risk to developing brains. Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo issued a recommendation citing 'the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure, particularly in pregnant women and children,' and noting the availability of alternative sources of fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash.... Ladapo’s announcement comes three weeks after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is ... Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, said the Trump administration plans to issue a similar recommendation nationwide next year. Kennedy’s remarks drew rebukes from public health experts who say that the practice has helped protect Americans’ teeth, particularly in vulnerable communities where children might not regularly brush their teeth.” Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Texas. Troy Closson of the New York Times: “Texas education officials on Friday approved a new elementary school curriculum that draws from the Bible, the final step of a contentious effort to expand religious instruction in the state. The reading and language arts curriculum, which will be optional for schools, could serve as a model for conservative Christian leaders in other states.... The curriculum incorporates into English lessons stories from the Bible such as Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the Prodigal Son and the Old Testament tale of Esther.” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
1 Comment
Reader Comments (1)
Incorporating the Sermon on the Mount into the curriculum? I suspect it is the edited version: Blessed are the meek, as they will inherit the Earth after the narcissists and tech bros have ravaged it, leaving it polluted and infertile.
There is nothing meek or humble about any of the incoming crew. They spit on people who think of the greater good.