Commentary

Among the latest selections made by President Elect Trump for cabinet and administrative positions was North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum, who campaigned for Trump after his unsuccessful run for the presidency, will serve in two positions – as secretary of the Interior and as chairman of the newly announced U.S. National Energy Council.

At the Council, Trump said, ”he will oversee the path to the U.S. return to energy dominance by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments focusing on innovation over totally unnecessary regulation.”

Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins was named Secretary for Veterans Affairs.  A veteran, Collins served in Iraq, and currently serves as chaplain of the Air Force Reserve Command. He has been seen on Fox News as a stalwart Trump supporter since leaving Congress.

Named to the highly visible position of White House press secretary will be Karoline Leavitt, who was seen regularly during the presidential campaign. She served as assistant press secretary during Trump’s first term.

Those who follow the daily press sessions will see Leavitt as a marked improvement over Biden’s spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre

Cabinet Nominee Opposition

Each president elect has faced opposition with his cabinet nominees, and we are seeing those on the left welcomed on MSNBC and CNN to voice their concerns, where they are not reminded of Biden’s use of DEI with his picks.

Democrat House Minority Leader Hakiem Jefferies, had the audacity to say of Trump’s cabinet selections, “Are these the best individuals available?” 

Consider the Source

Of all individuals to question Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to DNI because of her lack of “common sense” and “judgement,” the statement from former CIA Director John Brennan is the most egregious. 

Brennan lied under oath during a Senate hearing and was one of the 52 former intelligence officials who signed the 2016 letter claiming that Trump’s collusion with the Russian government was “well founded.”

Then there’s Sherrilyn Ifill’s statement about SecDef nominee Pete Hegseth during an appearance on MSNBC.  “This is someone who is known to be a while supremacist, known to be an extremist,” said the former director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, reportedly based on his opposition to current Pentagon brass support of DEI.

With all the outside interest in Health and Human Services, especially by food processors and pharmaceuticals, and its $144 billion discretionary budget and its $1.7 trillion in mandatory budget, is it any wonder that so many are up in arms over the selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as its secretary? Some 83,000 people are employed in HHS.

“Pharma Eyes Ways to Work With RFK Jr.”  – Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2024

While Trump has said he would not have time for retribution and that a successful administration would be his response to the nine years of attacks on him, he said he would shake up establishment Washington, and the reaction to some of them tells me “Old Washington” is concerned.

Incidentally, don’t expect Trump to fold and withdraw those picks that are facing scrutiny even before the hearings, after he dealt with nine years of pressure himself.

A Shadow Cabinet Proposed

After the Washington Post published the op-ed by North Carolina Democrat Rep. Wiley Nickel, outlining his proposal of a Shadow Cabinet, he went to the floor of the House to present his wacky idea.

“We can’t let Donald Trump’s radical agenda go unanswered or unopposed.  We need to dust ourselves off and get ready to fight,” he said.

But he won’t be there to participate, because he elected not to seek reelection.

He seems to have already forgotten that Trump’s agenda was answered and opposed by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and Americans had the last word.

He proposed that Democrat leaders Hakiem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer appoint 26 members of Congress to go one-on-one with each of Trump’s cabinet, and even made some ridiculous recommendations.

For openers, he suggested Rep. Gregory Meeks go against Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Rep. Rosa DeLauro against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Rep. Adam Smith against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

And if Trump intends to eliminate the Department of Education, he said Rep. Johana Hayes, a former teacher of the year, would loudly defend it.

Assuming you cannot contain your laughter, you can continue with this Nickel statement: “It’s time to show – not just say – what we’re for: justice, accountability and democracy.”   Each of which Democrats have shown failure through their actions.

Commonwealth Corruption

 As if the usual campaign dirty tricks weren’t enough, a move by Pennsylvania Democrat commissioners in Bucks County moved to allow undated or misdated ballots to be counted despite a November 1, 2024, state supreme court ruling that they cannot be counted.

Former Hillary Clinton lawyer, Marc Elias, who was behind the Russian hoax Steele Dossier, was behind the effort to count bad ballots.

Oddly enough, it was the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that made last minute voting rules in 2020.  Ah, yes … those Democrats, the same one who oppose showing an ID when voting while preaching voter integrity.

May God continue to bless the United States as we enter the Golden Age.