Transition Team/Cabinet Thread

[JJC]

Ken Thomas ‏@KThomasDC
Trump/Pence mtgs on Friday: Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.; FL AG Pam Bondi; Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND; Amb John Bolton; Ret. Adm. Jay Cohen.

Hmmmm

Guess she doesn't feel very good about her re-election chances.

Putting her in any position (most likely something energy/agricultural related) would be disastrous for dems. Along with giving Trump bi-partisan cred, it would immediately strip dems of an extra crucial vote in the senate for Trump's cabinet appointees and SCOTUS pick.

The seat would be vacant until a special election within 95 days (so around May). This is a reliably red state where Trump got 64% of the vote. So this would likely be a GOP pick up as well.

If I'm Schumer I'd be panicking.

[JJC]

Heitkamp would be great, but its just one more lost seat in the senate. She's gone in 2 years anyway, but thats still 2 years...

Honestly, I think that Heitkamp is in a decent position for re-election if she doesn't get a position in the Cabinet. She did survive 2012, afterall. (I likewise think the same for Tester.) She's not as doomed as McCaskill or Donnelly. If she gets a Seat, though, kiss her seat goodbye, Dems.

She survived 2012 by 3,000 votes, in a very favorable dem year.

She won't be re-elected.

[JJC]

2016: The year that McCarthyism made a comeback.