Transition Team/Cabinet Thread

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Trump is aware that Flynn can't be DefSec right? Qualifications aside, there are these things called rules.

My only fear about a Trump Presidency is the cabinet. I'm hoping he'll pick qualified experts with both private and public sector (but not elected political) experience who can administer the executive branch efficiently.

Instead, we might get a Energy Secretary Palin (she can see the oil rigs from her house!), Homeland Security Secretary Allen West, and so forth.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Most of these are poison pills meant to put the fear of God into the Senate. Trump can confirm anyone he wants if the alternate is Ben Carson at HHS. 

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

So now that Bannon panic is over, who is next? Are you going to start freaking out about Voting Rights Czar Kris Kobach or something now or are your imagines shot and you are too tired to come up with something else to be afraid of?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

There is not going to be a White House role for Kellyanne Conway if the media reports are true. She thinks she can be of better use outside the administration. I think she'd be an asset but wherever she chooses to go I know she'll shine, so no real loss.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Bolton couldn't get through the a Senate even if there were 99 Republicans in it.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Bolton couldn't get through the a Senate even if there were 99 Republicans in it.

What's your read? Corker maybe? Khalilzad?

Honestly I'm expecting someone we've barely heard of. Khalizad would fit that bill, but I don't sense it will be him.

Yeah there is no way Bolton could get confirmed. All it would take is 3 Republicans to flip over and I can't see Collins, Flake, Paul, etc confirming Bolton. Corker on the other had would get though easily.

Precisely. I think if he does nominate Bolton, he's using the madman strategy (which I expect he will use to perfection in his Presidency) where he'll use the threat of appeasing his base to get what he wants. It was not lost on any of us who voted for him that "the wall" isn't going to be the Berlin Wall but rather an extensive fence with additional manpower backing it up. But he'll use the threat of the wall (meaning a literal solid concrete wall) to bully Mexico while re-negotiating NAFTA.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I WANT BOLTON SO MUCH.

No you don't. Bolton is cancer. The plague. We want to avoid him and everyone from that administration as much as humanly possible.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

With Paul opposing both Bolton and Giuliani, would be hard to see either get out of the committee.

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Rudy is kind of meh, but I'm definitely with him on Bolton. Ultimately I think Rand wavers and votes to confirm Rudy. He's going to be resolutely opposed to the monster with the mustache.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I'm honestly surprised Rand was allowed on the Foreign Relations Committee. I assume the GOP believed that he would be targeting Democrats allowing them to gain some spurious anti-interventionist cred

I think it also had to do with McConnell being utterly terrified of him. McConnell backed him in 2016 and desperately needed his endorsement in 2014 to survive Bevin.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Why isn't Huntsman being bandied about for State?

He was a fairly tepid supporter. I think he'd be a good pick, but he's too establishment to roll out right away (have to float Bolton longer in order to appease both the base and terrify the Senate) before he can smoothly get Huntsman out there.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Cotton is qualified to be Secretary of Defense despite his uber-hawkishness so long as the Secretary of State is a more realistic type.

Too bad Brent Scowcroft is ancient. He's perfect for the role in my opinion. More or less in tune with the Trump foreign policy. Yet he is #NeverTrump IIRC.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

CNN saying Cotton likely for Defense, sources say Kobach for AG.

Ugh.

I did not see that coming.

Me neither... not promising

What is genuinely concerning to me is that I think this is not a poison pill nomination. The interventionist Breitbart crowd is pushing him. Hopefully this will not be the case.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

They have no idea what they are doing, do they?

Beyond settling petty scores and rewarding toadying, no, they don't. This should surprise absolutely no one with a functioning brain.

The reports of dysfunction are grossly exaggerated. Trump didn't have a cabinet in waiting, mainly because up until last Wednesday pretty much everyone in the GOP aside from the few names floated and Priebus were actively undermining his campaign.

Trump is now in the conundrum of trying to either unify the party of reward the few renegades who bolted the establishment for him. This was to be expected and the pace isn't any noticeably slower than in 2008-2009.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Nikki Haley now also in the mix for Secretary of State?:

http://www.wyff4.com/article/report-gov-nikki-haley-being-considered-for-major-cabinet-position-in-trump-administration/8297700

Giuliani's still the betting favorite for SoS on Predictit, but he's dropped to 50% odds, as Bolton, Corker, and now Haley are all in double digits as well.

This is just getting weird. How is Nikki Haley in anyway remotely qualified? I get the madman strategy is being employed most likely, but it isn't being executed in a particularly competent manner.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I think a lot of these people aren't being considered period. I know that I took some risks with Trump and him randomly appointing people who I know he'd never hire for the Trump Organization was not one of them. I think a lot of these people are outright floating their names themselves in the hope that they can box him like Pence did (remember the disastrous VP rollout?) or to undermine the incoming administration.

I think Haley has more to gain by weakening Trump and supporting the Rubio primary challenge (it's going to happen, I guarantee it. I haven't heard any rumblings since I've been out of the loop since my internship ended in June-July, but they were surfacing then and I doubt they've been disproven so far) in 2020. She's eyeing the Vice Presidency and the nomination down the line.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

WARNING: CONSPIRACY THEORY BELOW.

What if Mitt Romney is publicizing his upcoming visit with the President-elect to a) trial balloon an actual appointment, or b) simply undermine the vastly more qualified and more honest Jon Huntsman, who Mitt hates.

I bet sources are just leaking random names to confuse the media

I think people are just outright spreading misinformation. How is Haley remotely qualified to be at the State Department? She had a meeting scheduled, and she's outright using it to spread the rumors in the hopes that she'll box Trump like Pence did. Trump clearly learns from his mistakes so I suspect she'll be leaving Trump Tower empty handed.

the next ambass to israel.......mike huckabee?

https://twitter.com/Gil_Hoffman/status/799340779609227264?lang=de

He's acceptable for that position IMO. Pretty good cushy post for Huckabee to retire from in a few years.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

latest on Predictit:

State
Giuliani 38
Romney 24
Corker 12
Haley 11
Bolton 9

Defense
Hadley 22
Cotton 16
Sessions 14
Talent 10
Ayotte 9
Webb 9

Attorney General
Sessions 59
Gowdy 17
Cruz 12
Kobach 10
Giuliani 9

Treasury
Mnuchin 42
Dimon 21
Hensarling 17
Romney 7
Wilbur Ross 4

Homeland Security
McCaul 35
Giuliani 22
Clarke 11
Arpaio 7
Sessions 5

HHS
Tom Price 36
Betsy McCaughey 25
Bobby Jindal 15

Commerce
Wilbur Ross 65
Dan DiMicco 14
Mike Huckabee 5
Linda McMahon 4

Interior
Sarah Palin 24
Forrest Lucas 20
Robert Grady 17
Jan Brewer 8

Labor
Victoria Lipnic 56
Scott Walker 6

Agriculture
Sid Miller 17
Rick Perry 14
Bruce Rastetter 9
Sonny Perdue 7

Veterans Affairs
Jeff Miller 66
Sloan Gibson 8

Energy
Rick Perry 16
Harold Hamm 16
Sarah Palin 9
Robert Grady 5

Education
Michelle Rhee 29
Williamson Evers 25
Betsy DeVos 14

So far, I'll give my soon to be dramatically wrong (it's still 2016, anything can happen) predictions.

State: NOTA (Huntsman is my hope but who knows).
Treasury: Hensarling, possibly Romney but I doubt it.
Defense: Sessions.
Attorney General: Rudy.

I really don't think he's completely fleshed out the lesser posts (Education, HHS, Commerce, Interior, etc) but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I think we are going to see a lot of unknowns in these departments (Lipnic at Labor, Chuck Connors at Agriculture) when they turn to fill these rolls.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Gingrich out. https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/799366545038311424

He is eyeing the RNC I suspect.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Rand Paul: I oppose both Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton for secretary of state

Credit where it's due.

It is nice to see that Rand Paul is starting to act like Rand Paul again. Another great consequence of the Trumpening!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Cruz interested in AG.

Watching all these losers come kiss The Donald's ring is amazing. Does Cruz have any dignity at all?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Rand Paul: I oppose both Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton for secretary of state

Credit where it's due.

It is nice to see that Rand Paul is starting to act like Rand Paul again. Another great consequence of the Trumpening!

Good for Rand. If only he was like this during the campaign, I'd much prefer him to what we're currently stuck with.

Eh, the two are totally different animals, but yes, I'd accept either situation. I think I'd prefer an imperfect Trump to an imperfect Paul if only because the bar is lower.

this flynn pic could become more important.

What is so wrong with sitting down with Putin? I think we need Putin more than ever right now. I want good relations with the world's other major nuclear superpower. I don't see how that is so controversial.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Rohrabacher is perfect, and I think Trump would be very wise to appoint him; he won't, of course, because he never does exactly what I'd really want him to do. Trump is going to Trump, after all. But still, Rohrabacher would be excellent.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Bolling also is sensing that a Trump cabinet talk is a pretty good, quick gravy train to get on.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

according to "page six" (gag) judge jeanine is considered for a white house job.

http://pagesix.com/2016/11/20/jeanine-pirro-may-be-trump-administration-contender/?_ga=1.133547726.1562420173.1464554012&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=P6Twitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow

"page six"

All of these bizarre rumors are people leaking misinformation. There is a gravy train here. I ought to get on board!

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I love when Gabbard uses the term neocon the media doesn't declare that to be an anti-semitic buzzword.