One political analyst described the flurry of President-elect Donald Trump’s blizzard of Cabinet picks as “MAGA shock & awe.” They could only be described as unorthodox. And it leaves one wondering if this country is about to take a dangerous ride.
The earthquake started with appointing the world’s richest man — his buddy Elon Musk — to head a new department. His job: gut government agencies and departments.
Musk will be joined by another Trump rabble-rouser, Vivek Ramaswamy, at what’s being called the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Yeah, the former GOP presidential candidate who posted on Musk’s “X” (formerly Twitter) “SHUT IT DOWN.”
You can’t “reform” the administrative state. The right answer is to SHUT IT DOWN. pic.twitter.com/zj2hdfs03D
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) July 26, 2024
Not sure that leaves any room for doubt that the two of them have plans to eviscerate the government. Oh, and aren’t there alarms sounding? Conflicts of interest and ethical conflicts? Questions must be asked!
Then there was a major aftershock when even some Republican members of Congress said Trump was “poking that hornet’s nest” by nominating Matt Gaetz to be the nation’s next Attorney General.
The now former Florida Congressman is extremely polarizing, has been accused of serious crimes and called for the Department of Justice to be shut down. Yes, the very department he now wants to lead.
Gaetz even accused the Justice Department of being weaponized under President Joe Biden. Now there are worries he could weaponize the DOJ to go after Trump’s enemies. Is that reason for concern justified?
The Richter scale registered another big one when Trump said he wanted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his health guru. Here is a man who has amplified unfounded claims that vaccines are tied to autism in children, promoted the false idea HIV is not the cause of AIDS and baselessly linked certain antidepressants to a rise in school shootings and the use of a certain herbicide to a rise in young people coming out as transgender.
This cabinet pick may have a major impact on Americans' health and lives. Many doctors say having a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist as Health and Human Services Secretary is nothing short of a “bad choice.”
And Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health said, “he does not plan to lean on evidence and rigorous analysis to make decisions but instead to use his own ideas.”
The Earth beneath the Pentagon started shaking when a Fox News anchor got the nod to be Secretary of Defense. Long-time Trump buddy Pete Hegseth is in line to take the job. He may have served in the military, but if you check, he has no strategic background that qualifies him for the job.
Mr. Trump was a frequent guest on his show. Is that a qualification? The shock among Pentagon officials quickly turned to alarm and worry that he will torch the agency without concern for national security.
Homeland Security will be in the hands of Trump’s official selection South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, if she wins Congressional approval. But check her resume. You won’t find anything that shows she is qualified to keep the country safe. Can you find anything to do with anti-terrorism, cybersecurity or customs and border enforcement?
And the earthquake’s aftershocks keep rumbling and the political ground remains very unsettled.
The person tapped to handle covert operations is John Ratcliffe. Trump wants him to head the CIA. Do your due diligence and some of your own intelligence. He faced accusations of weaponizing intelligence to boost Trump’s political prospects.
Former Arkansas governor and another Fox News Host Mike Huckabee, who was once reported to say, “There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” has been chosen to be the United States Ambassador to Israel. Don’t think that’s going to make reaching a two-state solution any easier.
Yes, this is going to be a very unorthodox administration. But one thing is for sure, Trump’s sweeping election victory is giving him carte blanche. And he’s entitled to name whomever he wants. It’s all in line with his MAGA movement.
But what are the risks? Will Trump’s choices be confirmed by the Senate? There are several factors at play.
Trump’s control of the GOP has never been stronger. Look at the comeback after the election. Sure, many Republican senators don’t have a record of standing up to the president-elect. But some members are set to retire when the midterms roll around. Will they be less loyal to Mr. Trump?
And there are those who are new to the political body. They have different considerations because they won’t be up for reelection until after Trump is out of the White House.
So much to consider. So much to talk about.
That’s what political analyst Daniel Cronrath and I tackled this week on Path to the Polls.
You can also catch the encore presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday on News4JAX+ or watch any time on demand on News4JAX+, News4JAX.com and our YouTube channel.