I wrote yesterday about the possibility that Rex Tillerson might resign as Secretary of State. He has a list of things he’s angry about, but one item is that he doesn’t like how Attorney General Jeff Sessions is being treated. If Erick Erickson can be believed, Tillerson isn’t the only cabinet member who is displeased with the president’s attacks on Sessions.
“If he can get treated that way, what about the rest of us?” one of the President’s Cabinet secretaries asked me with both shock and anger in his voice. I am told reports about Rex Tillerson (not who I talked to) are legitimate. He is quite perturbed with the President’s treatment of his Attorney General and is ready to quit. Secretary Mattis (also not who I talked to) is also bothered by it. They and other Cabinet members are already frustrated by the slow pace of appointments for their staffs, the vetoes over qualified people for not being sufficiently pro-Trump, and the Senate confirmation pace.
In fact, the Cabinet secretary I talked to raised the issue of the White House staff vetoes over loyalty, blasting the White House staff for blocking qualified people of like mind because they were not pro-Trump and now the President is ready to fire the most loyal of all the Cabinet members. “It’s more of a clusterf**k than you even know,” the Cabinet secretary tells me about dealing with the White House on policy. It is not just Tillerson ready to bail.
This is all cast as largely about staffing and independence, and then secondarily about basic respect. But it has to be about the whole package represented by Trump, including his lack of ethics, discipline, focus, knowledge and common sense. And, of course, there’s the lack of effectiveness and the fact that Trump often makes their jobs harder, especially if they have to interact with foreign countries or are responsible for our security.
Trump doesn’t treat his cabinet well and can’t even show loyalty to his most loyal supporter, and he makes their jobs unpleasant and needlessly difficult and thankless.
This is easy to see even from the outside, but now we’re getting dispatches from the inside. I expect that the edifice of this administration is made of straw. It is not built to weather a storm.
What a wonderful idea!!!
A total cabinet walkout.
The entire cabinet lines up (with photo-op people galore) as close as they can manage to get to the
Awful…err, ahhhh, I mean Oval…Office, all holding letters of resignation that they want to give to the Preznit.Meanwhile there he is inside the office, gorging himself on overcooked chemburgers and rancid, greasy fries while he frantically Twitters away at this latest betrayal.
He spits out tweet after tweet, asking anybody who thinks they can do the job(s) to “Please, please, PLEASE!!!” contact him for an interview.
There’s a whole movie there…or at least a Saturday Night Live skit.
Later…
AG
P.S. I wonder how they disinfect his keyboard…lye might do the trick.
Do not forget the donald has the power to make recess appointments. That would be the ultimate right wing do over.
The GOP Senate would have to own any recess appointments as they have already demonstrated that they know how to prevent such appointments.
More movie.
He goes out on the playground with all the other D.C revolving door boys and girls and no one wants to play with him anymore.
“He’s too wuff!!! says one little boy.
Another says “He doesn’t play fair. He cheats!!!
A little girl says “He keeps grabbing my pussy cat!!!
And so on.
Eventually, a dejected Trump wanders off all alone and sits down next to the schoolyard fence. Right there on Pennsylvania Ave. Suddenly a little fat boy from the Orthodox Russian school down the block comes over and says through the fence “Pssst. Donald!!! Like I’ve been saying…we’ll play with you. Come on over to our school. Alla your friends are gonna end up either here or in detention, anyway. Slip away the next time Ground Force One comes to pick you up. The driver’s one of ours. And…we got plenty of pussy cats, too!!!”
Fade to a Cheshire Trump’s smile…
AG
AG
I am not surprised that numerous current cabinet members are thinking of bailing. But, never fear! I am confident that the dark and murky swamp that Trump chooses his bottom feeder GOP cabinet members from has plenty more that will willing to come. Not for benefit of the Federal Government but for nothing more then a chance to further enrich themselves.
Instead of bailing they should get together and vote him out (25th amendment).
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
As angry as Sessions seems to be with Trump, and with Tillerson’s sudden decision to take some “time off,” I’m beginnning to think that might really be their endgame. If Pence is willing to keep Bannon and Sessions… this bears watching.
Trump demands loyalty, but he cannot earn it. To earn loyalty, one must be honest and prove one’s leadership abilities. Trump knows nothing about etiher of those.
The people who have signed on with Trump apparently believed they would be able to manage their departments and run things as they saw fit, mostly demolishing the government from the inside and making a profit as they went. But Trump couldn’t be bothered to provide them any support in hiring department staff and instead spent his time fuming about the leaks and the lying press.
I don’t even say, “Imagine if Obama or Hillary had done this” anymore. It only makes me angrier. The Republicans will continue to line up for him and hope that they can suck up to him long enough to score some profit. Those who have left will either clam up or testify against him. I guess we hope for the latter.
That’s not how it works in GOP-Land. Or for the most part in any institution. ‘Fear’ and ‘greed’ buys a lot of loyalty.
Good news for Chris Christie and Sarah Palin as unlike those those left that slither in the mud below the bottom feeders, they have a chance of being confirmed. Palin would only last long enough for her to restore her fan base and get the bucks rolling in again and before she would have to do any actual work which she’s allergic to. (The ‘job’ she longed for was given to Ivanka.)
Christie has had more experience at being Trump’s whipping boy than the other appointees; so, he could last longer than other possible candidates. However, he’ll also have to endure all the other public shaming he’ll receive and no kid gloves will be worn by those doing it.
Betsy DeVos ain’t going nowhere. She answers to god who told her to destroy public education; so, like a saint, she can endure any suffering DT imposes on her.
Ben Carson and Rick Perry may still be having trouble locating their offices. Good way to avoid doing anything that would displease der fuhrer.
Mnuchin only needs to avoid looking into any financial ‘crimes’ that involves TrumpInc. Might be tougher than it sounds if the TrumpInc web is as tangled as many suspect.
The Guardian – Betsy DeVos: Trump’s illiberal ally seen as most dangerous education chief ever
And we haven’t yet experienced a major foreign or domestic crisis except for the rolling, self-induced Constitutional Crisis, i.e. the Trump Tornado. When the inevitable crisis does occur, I fear we may really see serious damage to the nation. Maybe that will wake up the GOP Congress though I doubt it.
Naw, they’ll blame it on Obama and Clinton (either one, take your pick) and the Dems for weakening our power and failing to prevent the disaster (whatever it is) from happening somehow.