Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

[El Guapo]

Rex Tillerson: You Know, Now That I Think About It, Settling Diplomatic Disputes Between Traditionally Hostile Ethnic Groups Is Nothing Like Drilling For Oil.

[Holman]

(Not cabinet-level, I know.)

Take this as you will: Kellyanne Conway is your new Opioid Czar.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced at a press conference Wednesday that Conway will “coordinate and lead the effort from the White House.”

“She is exceedingly talented, she understands messaging,” Sessions said. “We’ve got to change the perception in this country.”

In case you were wondering, Conway has no experience whatsoever in public health or public policy. Her entire pre-2016 career was in polling and spokespunditry.

It really sounds like she'll be in charge of declaring that Drugs Are Bad. Or maybe she'll just go on TV to declare the crisis over?

She's loyal to Trump, though, and that's clearly what matters. Everywhere. Always.

MAGA!

[Smoove_B]

Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ.

[$iljanus]

(Not cabinet-level, I know.)

Take this as you will: Kellyanne Conway is your new Opioid Czar.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced at a press conference Wednesday that Conway will “coordinate and lead the effort from the White House.”

“She is exceedingly talented, she understands messaging,” Sessions said. “We’ve got to change the perception in this country.”

In case you were wondering, Conway has no experience whatsoever in public health or public policy. Her entire pre-2016 career was in polling and spokespunditry.

It really sounds like she'll be in charge of declaring that Drugs Are Bad. Or maybe she'll just go on TV to declare the crisis over?

She's loyal to Trump, though, and that's clearly what matters. Everywhere. Always.

MAGA!

Went on to Wikipedia to read up on the credentials of past "Drug Czars"/folks heading up major anti-drug programs. Kellyanne is a fucking joke.

[Moliere]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

[GreenGoo]

Just read that an official complaint against Conway has been made and she is now under investigation for possibly violating the Hatch Act.

Fingers crossed.

[Carpet_pissr]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

Da. ‘Komrade’ seems much more appropriate with this administration.

Kommissar Conway has a nice ring as well.

[msteelers]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

Or we could elect grown-ups who will take their job seriously and nominate qualified people to positions that can help improve this country.

[Remus West]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

Or we could elect grown-ups who will take their job seriously and nominate qualified people to positions that can help improve this country.

Except the entire "Drug Czar" position was created to run the "war on drugs" iirc. We could happily do away with the war whose only purpose is to excessively jail people as well as the position in charge of it.

[Scoop20906]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

I think they just effectively did.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Remus West]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

I think they just effectively did.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Really? Given the authority granted that position you feel fine in having the Lich installed there?

[Holman]

Since Conway is physically incapable of speaking the truth, I assume her role will be to insist that opioid deaths are caused by urban minorities voting Democratic and that addiction can be cured by eliminating the estate tax.

[Unagi]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

Da. ‘Komrade’ seems much more appropriate with this administration.

Kommissar Conway has a nice ring as well.

and... but... but czar is...

[msteelers]

How about we eliminate the position and stop with this whole czar nonsense?

Or we could elect grown-ups who will take their job seriously and nominate qualified people to positions that can help improve this country.

Except the entire "Drug Czar" position was created to run the "war on drugs" iirc. We could happily do away with the war whose only purpose is to excessively jail people as well as the position in charge of it.

I agree with you on the results of the war on drugs, but I also believe that the right person in that role could come up with policies that make this country better.

Also, the article is calling her the "opioid czar". There's a very clear crisis going on in this country right now, and I think it's appropriate that the Executive Branch has a hand in trying to fix it. The problem is that Trump doesn't take any of this seriously, and he is nominating a loyal advisor to a roll that she is clearly not qualified for.

[Holman]

Is there no one in the entire administration capable of saying "Mr. President, this job needs an expert in XYZ?"

When Trump says, "Let's put Kellyanne in charge of this addiction and public health crisis," does everyone in the room just shuffle nervously before agreeing?

The whole thing is clearly just theater. No one named Trump or their money is touched by the crisis, so Trump doesn't give two shits about it.

[Holman]

NYT: Tillerson Leaving.

The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.

Mr. Pompeo would be replaced at the C.I.A. by Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas who has been a key ally of the president on national security matters, according to the White House plan. Mr. Cotton has signaled that he would accept the job if offered, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations before decisions are announced.

Tom Cotton? Is Devin Nunes not available?

[pr0ner]

Boy, that escalated quickly.

[Sepiche]

I guess now we get to find out if the reports of a suicide pact between Tillerson and Mattis are true.

[Holman]

I guess now we get to find out if the reports of a suicide pact between Tillerson and Mattis are true.

I hope not. I don't think SecDef Nugent will be an improvement.

[El Guapo]

I'm still unclear what the fuck Tillerson is doing besides gutting the State Department staff and making snarky private comments about Trump, so I'm not going to be too sad to see him go.

[Captain Caveman]

I'm still unclear what the fuck Tillerson is doing besides gutting the State Department staff and making snarky private comments about Trump, so I'm not going to be too sad to see him go.

Perhaps he's not gutting it or facilitating Trump's nationalist agenda enough. Which means it could get even worse.

I mean, everything could get even worse. And it looks increasingly like it will.

[El Guapo]

I'm still unclear what the fuck Tillerson is doing besides gutting the State Department staff and making snarky private comments about Trump, so I'm not going to be too sad to see him go.

Perhaps he's not gutting it or facilitating Trump's nationalist agenda enough. Which means it could get even worse.

I mean, everything could get even worse. And it looks increasingly like it will.

He's neither the core problem nor the solution. Could get worse (can always get worse), but regardless I'm not going to gnash my teeth over his (likely) departure.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Tom Cotton as CIA director is the most worrying part of the report. Not only is he overtly political, but he has also expressed doubt about Russian interference in the election. Everything just keeps coming up roses for Putin.

[Holman]

I'm still unclear what the fuck Tillerson is doing besides gutting the State Department staff and making snarky private comments about Trump, so I'm not going to be too sad to see him go.

I seem to recall that Tillerson has expressed annoyance at Jared's freelance family diplomacy. Presumably Trump has reason to believe Pompeo won't get in the way of that gravy train.

[El Guapo]

Tom Cotton as CIA director is the most worrying part of the report. Not only is he overtly political, but he has also expressed doubt about Russian interference in the election. Everything just keeps coming up roses for Putin.

So has Pompeo. For the most part with Trump in charge, the most we can hope for in positions that Trump cares about is some amount of professionalism and competence in whoever is in the cabinet-level role. Which Tillerson has failed to demonstrate.

And presumably we would also get a special Arkansas Senate race out of this. Which the Republicans would be a heavy favorite in, but with the national atmosphere being what it is, the right democratic candidate could have a shot at stealing a win with a couple breaks.

[Captain Caveman]

Tom Cotton as CIA director is the most worrying part of the report. Not only is he overtly political, but he has also expressed doubt about Russian interference in the election. Everything just keeps coming up roses for Putin.

So has Pompeo. For the most part with Trump in charge, the most we can hope for in positions that Trump cares about is some amount of professionalism and competence in whoever is in the cabinet-level role. Which Tillerson has failed to demonstrate.

And presumably we would also get a special Arkansas Senate race out of this. Which the Republicans would be a heavy favorite in, but with the national atmosphere being what it is, the right democratic candidate could have a shot at stealing a win with a couple breaks.

Bill Clinton?

[El Guapo]

Tom Cotton as CIA director is the most worrying part of the report. Not only is he overtly political, but he has also expressed doubt about Russian interference in the election. Everything just keeps coming up roses for Putin.

So has Pompeo. For the most part with Trump in charge, the most we can hope for in positions that Trump cares about is some amount of professionalism and competence in whoever is in the cabinet-level role. Which Tillerson has failed to demonstrate.

And presumably we would also get a special Arkansas Senate race out of this. Which the Republicans would be a heavy favorite in, but with the national atmosphere being what it is, the right democratic candidate could have a shot at stealing a win with a couple breaks.

Bill Clinton?

That would be awesome.

[malchior]

I think this makes us look even more like an insane banana republic . The CIA Director becoming Sec. of State is *horrible* optics - plus the named CIA Director has insane Russia issues as well. There is no upside here. In fact, I wonder if this is a way to align us for war with NK.

[Holman]

I think this makes us look even more like an insane banana republic . The CIA Director becoming Sec. of State is *horrible* optics - plus the named CIA Director has insane Russia issues as well. There is no upside here. In fact, I wonder if this is a way to align us for war with NK.

Iran, more likely. Cotton has a huge hardon for it.

[GreenGoo]

I think this makes us look even more like an insane banana republic . The CIA Director becoming Sec. of State is *horrible* optics - plus the named CIA Director has insane Russia issues as well. There is no upside here. In fact, I wonder if this is a way to align us for war with NK.

Iran, more likely. Cotton has a huge hardon for it.

[Max Peck]

I guess now we get to find out if the reports of a suicide pact between Tillerson and Mattis are true.

I hope not. I don't think SecDef Nugent will be an improvement.

The smart money would be on DeVos. While she doesn't have any pertinent experience, that's apparently a plus in this administration. Besides, she can always rely on her brother for advice.

[malchior]

Trump just being Trump publicly humiliating another employee. What a coward.

[LordMortis]

Over a month since this thread has had the opportunity for Rip to beam with pride over a business man picking the best business minds to run the country like his business.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/gra ... 928e6b277d

The decision to award contracts to Windham Professionals and Performant Financial Corp. — a company DeVos invested in before becoming secretary — arrives a month after a federal judge ordered the department to complete its selection of a loan collector to put an end to a messy court battle. Windham and Performant beat out nearly 40 other bidders for contracts valued at up to $400 million, but their win may be short-lived if the losing companies fight the decision.

Education Department spokesman Nathan Bailey said Thursday that DeVos had “no knowledge, let alone involvement,” in the new debt-collection contract. Richard Zubek, who heads investor relations at Performant, said in an email that the company “has never had any direct or indirect contact with Secretary DeVos or anyone related to Mrs. DeVos.”

“It simply does not make sense that the agency would choose to work with lower-rated [companies] with marginal ratings that do not have an exceptional past performance record,” said Todd Canni, an attorney for Continental Service Group, one of the bidders. “While we continue to await more facts, we are deeply troubled by the optics and appearance issues associated with the agency’s award decisions.”

In awarding the contract Thursday, the Education Department said in court filings that Performant and Windham’s proposals were “the most advantageous to the government.”

[Moliere]

Trump calls John Kelly a nut job.

Donald Trump’s relationship with John Kelly, his chief of staff, fraught from the beginning, may finally have gone past the point of no return. Two prominent Republicans in frequent contact with the White House told me that Trump has discussed choosing Kelly’s successor in recent days, asking a close friend what he thought about David Urban, a veteran Washington lobbyist and political operative who helped engineer Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania. Ivanka is also playing a central role in the search, quietly field-testing ideas with people. “Ivanka is the most worried about it. She’s trying to figure who replaces Kelly,” a person who’s spoken with her said.

Kelly’s departure likely isn’t imminent, sources said. “He wants to stay longer than Reince [Priebus],” an outside adviser said. Trump can also hardly afford another high-level staff departure, which would trigger days of negative news cycles. “This could be like [Jeff] Sessions,” one of the Republicans explained, referring to Trump’s festering frustration about not being able to replace his attorney general.

[El Guapo]

I won't miss Kelly either, when he goes.

[Kraken]

He was supposed to be one of the few adults providing daycare to the TIC, but lately he seems to have lost control over his charge. Toddlers gonna toddle.

Maybe instead of generals and politicians they should be interviewing experienced babysitters.

[Sepiche]

Is Cesar Millan available? He might be a good fit.

[El Guapo]

He was supposed to be one of the few adults providing daycare to the TIC, but lately he seems to have lost control over his charge. Toddlers gonna toddle.

Maybe instead of generals and politicians they should be interviewing experienced babysitters.

Well, more than that, Kelly also has quite a few noxious views of his own, particularly as to immigrants and minorities.

[LordMortis]

Trump calls John Kelly a nut job.

I will hire only the best nut jobs just like running my successful businesses.

[Paingod]

He was supposed to be one of the few adults providing daycare to the TIC, but lately he seems to have lost control over his charge. Toddlers gonna toddle.

Maybe instead of generals and politicians they should be interviewing experienced babysitters.

Well, more than that, Kelly also has quite a few noxious views of his own, particularly as to immigrants and minorities.

And we're hoping that Trump will slide in a more qualified, less biased staffer? I expect him to pick someone that's absolutely against whatever the role is and seeks to rip it apart from the inside-out.