Tracking Trump Administration and Cabinet picks

[MissingInAction 24857]

15 hours ago, Balcones said:

Trump trolling the DEI crowd. He is going with Helen Keller so I’ve heard/seen. 

[SydneyCarton 47932]

12 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Not me. I am just going to laugh and laugh. I never wanted to live in Bartertown but I’ve always thought it was a possibility, and over that time I thought a lot about it, and wrote about it in passing here, and hedged accordingly. 
It feels weird to say, but I have felt mainly elated over the last week. Like I’m freed from worrying about whether the center would hold, freed from the anxiety of the ledge.

This is also exactly how I've felt. It's relief. "Oh, the worst case is happening? Ok, well lets deal with that as it comes." 

I'm sure this will change when the actual pain starts. But for now, I'm relieved the future has been set. 

12 hours ago, safe sex said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/us/lawmakers-demand-ethics-report-gaetz.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aE4.a18P.wtF2TpUjMq7w&smid=url-share

Gift link

I imagine McCarthy still has enough friends that will love the chew on Gaetz. 

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Trump putting wild picks into the AG and HHS is a misdirection as they drastically change other agencies. What's more fun to discuss on MSNBC? New vaccine rules or gutting 1000s of jobs in unknown departments? 

And high probability that Gaetz remains in the House. Trump probably has to throw one to the Senate to let them reject. It removes scrutiny on other nominees. Gaetz would agree to being cannon fodder to get a Trump pardon or two.

Pretty sure Gaetz already resigned. 

[Anastasis 23402]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

Pretty sure Gaetz already resigned. 

Resigned both his current seat and indicated his intention to not take the seat he just won, which sets off a timeline to backfill the position. I think that he is done in the House. 

[DDD Dad 14267]

10 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Resigned both his current seat and indicated his intention to not take the seat he just won, which sets off a timeline to backfill the position. I think that he is done in the House. 

Unless he fails to be confirmed or given a recess appointment.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13418]

17 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

 

Pretty sure Gaetz already resigned. 

he resigned from this congress. But he won his race for the next congress. Besides DeSantis can appoint whomever he wants, and if Trump tells DeSantis to appoint Gaetz back to his seats, DeSantis will. 

The resignation was about preventing the planned release of the ethics report today.  EDIT: His Wednesday resignation stopped the Ethic Committee on voting on the release today of the report to the public. 

The House is making noise that now Gaetz is no longer a member, they may have a duty to destroy their findings on Gaetz and definitely not give it to the Senate or the public. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Nice Guy Eddie

[pyrohornIII 4811]

1 hour ago, Schulz2.0 said:

"We don't need no stinking global influence!"  -most MAGA (likely)

 

[DixonHur 11236]

1 hour ago, Schulz2.0 said:

I'd have to give the ramifications more thought, but TBH, on the surface, I wouldn't opposed to that if it meant we could shrink the military and use those tax dollars for healthcare and education at home.  

Of course, that last part falls under the "things that would never happen under a Trump administration for $1,000, Alex" category.

[Ojo Rojo 1908]

16 hours ago, DixonHur said:

I love that in this timeline they had to point out the satire.

It was between her and Andrea Yates.

[Red Five 40691]

I had a fun thought. Considering this group of sycophants he's assembling, the odds of them invoking the 25th amendment on him are probably less than zero. And impeachment means nothing now, apparently. Not like he'd get convicted in the senate anyway.

[SydneyCarton 47932]

2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

I had a fun thought. Considering this group of sycophants he's assembling, the odds of them invoking the 25th amendment on him are probably less than zero. And impeachment means nothing now, apparently. Not like he'd get convicted in the senate anyway.

Maybe. They're sycophants becuase it serves them, and they get power. But a chunk of them could probably be swayed if it means more power, and less of it tied to the whims of a narcissist rapidly sprinting towards senility. 

[Longhorn94 2443]

25 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

I'd have to give the ramifications more thought, but TBH, on the surface, I wouldn't opposed to that if it meant we could shrink the military and use those tax dollars for healthcare and education at home.  

Of course, that last part falls under the "things that would never happen under a Trump administration for $1,000, Alex" category.

You think turnip is going to shrink the military?

[Anastasis 23402]

1 hour ago, DDD Dad said:

Unless he fails to be confirmed or given a recess appointment.

Sorry no take backs. The rules are the rules. 

[DigglerontheHoof 21076]

23 minutes ago, Red Five said:

I had a fun thought. Considering this group of sycophants he's assembling, the odds of them invoking the 25th amendment on him are probably less than zero. And impeachment means nothing now, apparently. Not like he'd get convicted in the senate anyway.

I think Vance and his owners wouldn't hesitate to invoke the 25th.  They needed him to take power, they don't need him to keep it. 

[Anastasis 23402]

11 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

You think turnip is going to shrink the military?

Miriam Adelson's hand picked state dept and defense secretaries along with NSA will ensure that any reductions are just redirected to Israel. 

[bad_teammate 13139]

3 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Lol, Tara Reade moved to Moscow and asked for Russian citizenship and went on Russian-intelligence controlled media with a convicted Russian intelligence operative who she said was a great friend.  A little more there than “Q-Anon.” 

What are some of the criteria that sexual predators use to pick their targets?

She's no perfect victim, that's for sure!!!!

A major problem with Trump and his followers is how they will ignore the massive, massive problems within their own ranks due to an overwhelming and crippling desire to either not give the opponent any ground or to simply own the opponent. No self-reflection allowed. No reason allowed. No common sense allowed, generally. Truth doesn't matter and values don't matter, only how each individual thought impacts relative position to the hated enemy.

Forget the right-wingers and look at the reality of the last 6 decades of Democratic male figureheads. Look at it dispassionately and objectively and try seriously to dismiss in your own (as) fair (as it can be) mind the laundry list of sexual abuse at their hands as a Russian Psy-Op. If that is how it shakes out in your head, then you're just the opposite side of the Qoin.

If dealing with the question of women sexually abused by powerful men in the Democratic Party creates discomfort, it's possible to just shut the fuck up. We can do that. You can do that. Juanita Broaddrick, etc... We can just NOT have a comment if we don't know how to square the circle of our alleged support for sexual abuse victims and how that can sometimes bite us in the ass politically because men of all political persuasions sometimes/often assault and rape women.

Tara Reade is a perfect test case for this. She told people of it at the time, and we know of that. Her mother called in to a national show to get advice about it. She has acted strangely and in an adversarial way towards the man she says assaulted her and the party that protects him. If you do not know, with perfect knowledge, that this is a lie she cooked up from the beginning with her KGB handler (who picked her for... uh... reasons?), what is the move?

She's a powerless woman with no impact on anything who might very well have been sexually assaulted by a powerful man whose party and its media apparatus has systematically torn apart (like Juanita Broaddrick and unnamed/untold dozens of others over the years). If we have within us a desire to keep kicking her, we should figure out where that desire comes from because it looks pretty fucking dark.

[CooterBrown 17940]

[956 Worldwide 34480]

16 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

What are some of the criteria that sexual predators use to pick their targets?

She's no perfect victim, that's for sure!!!!

A major problem with Trump and his followers is how they will ignore the massive, massive problems within their own ranks due to an overwhelming and crippling desire to either not give the opponent any ground or to simply own the opponent. No self-reflection allowed. No reason allowed. No common sense allowed, generally. Truth doesn't matter and values don't matter, only how each individual thought impacts relative position to the hated enemy.

Forget the right-wingers and look at the reality of the last 6 decades of Democratic male figureheads. Look at it dispassionately and objectively and try seriously to dismiss in your own (as) fair (as it can be) mind the laundry list of sexual abuse at their hands as a Russian Psy-Op. If that is how it shakes out in your head, then you're just the opposite side of the Qoin.

If dealing with the question of women sexually abused by powerful men in the Democratic Party creates discomfort, it's possible to just shut the fuck up. We can do that. You can do that. Juanita Broaddrick, etc... We can just NOT have a comment if we don't know how to square the circle of our alleged support for sexual abuse victims and how that can sometimes bite us in the ass politically because men of all political persuasions sometimes/often assault and rape women.

Tara Reade is a perfect test case for this. She told people of it at the time, and we know of that. Her mother called in to a national show to get advice about it. She has acted strangely and in an adversarial way towards the man she says assaulted her and the party that protects him. If you do not know, with perfect knowledge, that this is a lie she cooked up from the beginning with her KGB handler (who picked her for... uh... reasons?), what is the move?

She's a powerless woman with no impact on anything who might very well have been sexually assaulted by a powerful man whose party and its media apparatus has systematically torn apart (like Juanita Broaddrick and unnamed/untold dozens of others over the years). If we have within us a desire to keep kicking her, we should figure out where that desire comes from because it looks pretty fucking dark.

That’s a wall of text.  I think Tara Reade is acting on behalf of the Russians because she flew to Russia and started doing media interviews on Russian state media with an admitted Russian intelligence operative who is now a member of the Russian State Duma as a representative of Vladimir Putin’s personal rubber stamp political party. I don’t really give a shit what her motive is, and anyone who wants to beat the rap of “Russian asset” always has the option of not moving to Russia to work with Russian intelligence. 

[Brisketexan 104720]

1 minute ago, CooterBrown said:

I mean, no background check for the incoming Director of National Intelligence, that's just good thinking there.  Everyone knows that the motto of good intelligence services is "trust, and don't even make an effort to verify, it's all cool."  Duh.  8D chess, fellas!

[Red Five 40691]

I mean, no background check for the incoming Director of National Intelligence, that's just good thinking there.  Everyone knows that the motto of good intelligence services is "trust, and don't even make an effort to verify, it's all cool."  Duh.  8D chess, fellas!

A known Russian asset.

[Anastasis 23402]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I mean, no background check for the incoming Director of National Intelligence, that's just good thinking there.  Everyone knows that the motto of good intelligence services is "trust, and don't even make an effort to verify, it's all cool."  Duh.  8D chess, fellas!

How many background checks has she previously undergone as part of her military service and how recently were those performed. She was promoted to Lt. Col. in mid 2021. Rather than just parroting people like John Bolton uncritically maybe we consider the fact that disagreeing with neocons about foreign policy is not disqualifying. 

[CooterBrown 17940]

3 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

How many background checks has she previously undergone as part of her military service and how recently were those performed. She was promoted to Lt. Col. in mid 2021. Rather than just parroting people like John Bolton uncritically maybe we consider the fact that disagreeing with neocons about foreign policy is not disqualifying. 

Nothing could've possibly happened in the past 3 years.

There shouldn't be exceptions for those background checks. It doesn't matter if you had one 6 months ago.  Go through the process.

[956 Worldwide 34480]

Completely surprised that Anastasis really likes the pro-Assad, Putin-curious nominee and has moved on from caring about Arab lives. 

[Foosters 17756]

12 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

 maybe we consider the fact that disagreeing with neocons about foreign policy is not disqualifying. 

I've had you on ignore for years, so I can't say this with any certainty, but this is the dumbest thing you've ever posted on this website

[Anastasis 23402]

2 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Nothing could've possibly happened in the past 3 years.

There shouldn't be exceptions for those background checks. It doesn't matter if you had one 6 months ago.  Go through the process.

I don't know what level of clearance she holds, nor when it was last updated. If it is meaningfully out of date, I agree. That does not excuse the lunatics like John Bolton that 986 always aligns with.  

[Incredulity 11564]

Just now, Anastasis said:

that 986 always aligns with.  

220, 221... whatever it takes.

[Anastasis 23402]

1 minute ago, Foosters said:

I've had you on ignore for years, so I can't say this with any certainty, but this is the dumbest thing you've ever posted on this website

Yes, yes I know. 

[Sawbonz 27445]

4 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

And high probability that Gaetz remains in the House

He already resigned. The new congress convenes before Trump can officially nominate him. Will that seat remain open or does DeSantis appoint someone?

[Thatguy 8538]

3 hours ago, immamac said:

Snowden did massive damage to the intelligence community and did so completely illegally. It doesn't matter if you think what he did was right or wrong he's a criminal and fled to gain protection. 

You are on my last nerve. Stop fucking things up in threads and provoking people with nonsense. If you want to talk policy or beliefs/viewpoints go ahead stop coming in off the top rope with conspiracy bullshit and easily disprovable nonsense or hand wavy distraction equivalence. 

 

Mac-he is rolling with the same tired ole tropes most low information MAGAs roll with. They must be handing out a manual. These guys are easily walked back, and all of them will be fork and knife in front a plate full of crow when the clown show rolls to town. Let em keep digging their own hole.

[TexEx15 17492]

 

[Anastasis 23402]

1 minute ago, Sawbonz said:

He already resigned. The new congress convenes before Trump can officially nominate him. Will that seat remain open or does DeSantis appoint someone?

HIs resignation letter specifically said that he did not plan to take his seat in the next congress. That sets wheels in motion for DeSantis. Even if he wants to take it back, seems like there is an angle to push him out of that is the play. 

[956 Worldwide 34480]

Anyway, there are some sexual assault allegations that do not involve Gaetz or Biden.  Maybe they shouldn’t do background checks for Hegseth either. After all, he’s an ANG officer.  

[sidis 9761]

26 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

HIs resignation letter specifically said that he did not plan to take his seat in the next congress. That sets wheels in motion for DeSantis. Even if he wants to take it back, seems like there is an angle to push him out of that is the play. 

all of this is moot. if they don't back channel negotiate a confirmation, the recess appointment would last through the congress and then he can just run again for the next term in two years.

[Anastasis 23402]

30 minutes ago, sidis said:

all of this is moot. if they don't back channel negotiate a confirmation, the recess appointment would last through the congress and then he can just run again for the next term in two years.

Running again for a subsequent congress would seem to be a loophole available to return him. 

[Longhorn94 2443]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

How many background checks has she previously undergone as part of her military service and how recently were those performed. She was promoted to Lt. Col. in mid 2021. Rather than just parroting people like John Bolton uncritically maybe we consider the fact that disagreeing with neocons about foreign policy is not disqualifying. 

If she has nothing to hide them why not do the background check? 

 

You are too smart for this shit.

[jimmyjazz 45587]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

How many background checks has she previously undergone as part of her military service and how recently were those performed. She was promoted to Lt. Col. in mid 2021. Rather than just parroting people like John Bolton uncritically maybe we consider the fact that disagreeing with neocons about foreign policy is not disqualifying. 

Are you fucking high?  This is a reach, even for you, comrade.

[Anastasis 23402]

4 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

If she has nothing to hide them why not do the background check? 

 

You are too smart for this shit.

Again, when was her last one? If there is a reasonable need to repeat it, no problem with me. If it is just delay tactics from the likes of John Bolton and other clowns that claim that she is a Russian asset with absolutely zero evidence other than fundamental foreign policy difference, no thanks. 

[jimmyjazz 45587]

7 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

You are too smart for this shit.

Apparently he isn't.

[Pato del Muerto 52356]

Just now, Anastasis said:

Again, when was her last one? If there is a reasonable need to repeat it, no problem with me. If it is just delay tactics from the likes of John Bolton and other clowns that claim that she is a Russian asset with absolutely zero evidence other than fundamental foreign policy difference, no thanks. 

Delay?  Delay what?  From confirmation hearing that won’t be held for months?  And if the plan is the recess appointments, all the more reason to do a thorough background check now.  

[Brisketexan 104720]

7 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

f it is just delay tactics from the likes of John Bolton and other clowns that claim that she is a Russian asset with absolutely zero evidence

Dude.  Fucking dude.

She spouts unfiltered, unaltered Russian bullshit propaganda.  As in, straight from the source.

Shit like this:

Quote

She then said weeks later that it was an "undeniable fact" that there were several U.S.-funded bioweapons labs in Ukraine that could "release and spread deadly pathogens."

Russia.  Had to invade Ukraine....to stop US bioweapons labs.  Fucking hell, dude.

[Anastasis 23402]

5 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Delay?  Delay what?

The ability to move forward with a confirmation hearing of the DNI role. I don't think that assessing when her last background check was completed and what level of national security clearance she currently holds is irrelevant to this discussion. If instead of that, posters just want to screech about her being a Russian asset, I don't think that I am the one being unreasonable. 

[jimmyjazz 45587]

It doesn't even matter.  The idea that one should not need to pass a background check for that level of appointment "because she passed a background check in 2021" is fucking lunacy.  But, annie.

[Longhorn94 2443]

Maybe I picked the wrong day to go to the Holocaust museum but he is following Hitler's playbook - rush to get everyone confirmed because crisis, bypass normal safeguards see crisis, establish a private police force to handle deportation because crisis. 

We are going to need to pull together and stop this. Holy fucking shit.

 

 

[DigglerontheHoof 21076]

2 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Maybe I picked the wrong day to go to the Holocaust museum but he is following Hitler's playbook - rush to get everyone confirmed because crisis, bypass normal safeguards see crisis, establish a private police force to handle deportation because crisis. 

We are going to need to pull together and stop this. Holy fucking shit.

 

 

There were multiple times he could've been stopped.  They've all passed.  Enjoy the new Authoritarian America. 

[Brisketexan 104720]

2 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Maybe I picked the wrong day to go to the Holocaust museum but he is following Hitler's playbook - rush to get everyone confirmed because crisis, bypass normal safeguards see crisis, establish a private police force to handle deportation because crisis. 

We are going to need to pull together and stop this. Holy fucking shit.

Dude.  It's too late.

Now is the time to figure out what companies are going to be best positioned to profit from building "camps," and invest.  If you can get a patent on a "shower head" designed to distribute poison gas, that would also be a good plan.  Stuff like that.  There were a SHITLOAD of Germans who 1) made a fortune off of the activities of the Nazi regime, and then 2) booked it for Argentina before the allies got to 'em. 

Keep reading those history books.  While they're full of warnings we've completely chosen to ignore, they're also full of ideas on how to get rich in the horror and chaos.

[Anastasis 23402]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

It doesn't even matter.  The idea that one should not need to pass a background check for that level of appointment "because she passed a background check in 2021" is fucking lunacy.  But, annie.

You are being dishonest here jimmy. I told you that I do not know when the last one was completed, what level of clearance she currently holds, and that if it was meaningfully out of date or inadequate, it should be repeated. But I do agree that at a minimum she should have completed one as part of her promotion to Lt. Col. in July 2021. 

[nbmishoid 944]

3 hours ago, Red Five said:

I had a fun thought. Considering this group of sycophants he's assembling, the odds of them invoking the 25th amendment on him are probably less than zero. And impeachment means nothing now, apparently. Not like he'd get convicted in the senate anyway.

The’ll embalm him like Lenin, put him on display, and Vance/Miller will rule in His Name

[jimmyjazz 45587]

Just now, Anastasis said:

You are being dishonest here jimmy. I told you that I do not know when the last one was completed, what level of clearance she currently holds, and that if it was meaningfully out of date or inadequate, it should be repeated. But I do agree that at a minimum she should have completed one as part of her promotion to Lt. Col. in July 2021. 

It should be repeated for this level appointment, full stop.  Have you ever held a security clearance?  I have.  As you move through levels it is repeated, and it's frustrating, but it is what it is.  Stop being an apologist.

[Chad Fuck 17581]

10 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

There is precedent with Dr. Ben Carson, going to Housing and Urban Development, who admitted he wasn’t qualified to run a large bureaucracy (and took the job anyway), but whose experience suggested he should be placed somewhere like HHS. For some inexplicable reason he was placed at HUD. Makes you wonder what the thought process was. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable assumption to make that it was based on something superficial. 

[Surly Bevo 24704]

It's like some of you have not stopped to consider ALL the resources and money the US Taxpayer is being saved by not conducting these background checks

Edited 2 hours ago by Surly Bevo

[Anastasis 23402]

41 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

She then said weeks later that it was an "undeniable fact" that there were several U.S.-funded bioweapons labs in Ukraine that could "release and spread deadly pathogens."

But if she said that "It was an undeniable fact that Russia blew up the nordstream pipeline", you would not muster an eye brow raised.

The portions between the actual quotes in that excerpt are doing a lot of work to spread misinformation. Here is what Tulsi actually said:

 

And here is Victoria Nuland confirming the same and similar concerns. 

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5005520/senator-rubio-questions-undersecretary-nuland-biolabs-ukraine

"UKRAINE HAS BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH FACILITIES, WHICH, IN FACT, WE ARE NOW QUITE CONCERNED RUSSIAN TROOPS, RUSSIAN FORCES MAY BE SEEKING TO GAIN CONTROL OF, SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THE UKRAINIANS ON HOW THEY CAN PREVENT ANY OF THOSE RESEARCH MATERIALS FROM FALLING INTO THE HANDS OF RUSSIAN FORCES SHOULD THEY APPROACH."

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Anastasis