Senators’ credibility to be judged alongside Trump’s cabinet picks

In this January 2019 file photo from the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (3rd R) speaks to members of the media as (L-R) Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Sen. John Thune (R-SD), President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) listen. | Alex Wong, Getty Images

There are roughly 1,200 positions in the federal government that require Senate confirmation. The first cabinet official was confirmed in 1789 when the Senate unanimously approved President George Washington’s nomination of Alexander Hamilton to be treasury secretary.

The confirmation or denial process is a matter of 100 Senators making judgement calls to determine whether a nominee is professionally qualified, exhibits leadership skills, ethically fit, morally just, doesn’t carry “baggage” and has the temperament for the job.

The adage “patience is a virtue” will most likely be tested by president-elect Donald Trump, his nominees, Senators and the public as the Center for Presidential Transition notes the entire confirmation process lasts around five months.

As our Senators determine the fate of Trump’s cabinet nominees, the credibility of the Senators is as much on the line as are the candidates and Trump. Here’s the question: Will the Senators judge each candidate based on what is best for America’s 335 million citizens (people-before-their-party) or make the confirmation process obedience to the president and/or politics (party-before-the-people)?

Peggy Noonan, revered columnist for the conservative Wall Street Journal, stated in her Dec. 21-22 column, “… Republican Senators must approach the hearings with gravity because … they are life-and-death appointments.” Furthermore, the Wall Street Journal characterized Trump’s cabinet picks as “unconventional,” “lacking expertise” and “reflects his idiosyncratic ideological impulses” (Dec. 19).

Two recent polls should be an alert to our Senators and cause them to think twice before voting `yes’ on a Trump nominee: 1) a Dec. 5-9 AP-NORC poll found only three in 10 Americans have confidence in Trump’s cabinet picks and 2) a Fox News poll revealed 50 percent disapprove of the president-elect’s cabinet selections (93% of Fox News viewers identify as Republican).

NBC New’s Chuck Todd identified Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health and human services, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence to be a “low-character crowd” (Nov. 27).

Nine other high profile nominees under scrutiny include: Jay Bhattacharya, Pam Bondi, Tom Homan, Howard Lutnick, Linda McMahon, Gov. Kristi Noem, Kash Patel, Rep. Elise Stefanik and Russell Vought.

Let’s face the facts. Nominating and confirming good cabinet members has never been a hallmark of America’s presidents and senators. For starters, Andrew Jackson fired all of his cabinet members except his Postmaster General.

Here’s a sample of other poor cabinet picks:

• John F. Kennedy dismissed Allen Dulles, CIA director, who botched the Bay of Pigs operation;

• Lyndon Johnson de-hired Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara for escalating the Vietnam War;

• Richard Kleindienst, attorney general and three White House associates (H.R. Haldeman, John Erlichman and John Dean) were released from duty by Richard Nixon for their involvement in the Watergate break-in and scandal;

• Gerald Ford terminated several Nixon holdovers, which became known as the Halloween Massacre;

• Jimmy Carter requested the resignation of his entire cabinet (very few resigned);

• Ronald Reagan dismissed Anne Gorsuch, EPA administrator, for mismanaging $1.6 billion in the hazardous waste cleanup program;

• When Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos proposed blocking federal aid designed for minority students attending college, George H.W. Bush quickly ended his employment;

• Bill Clinton discharged William Sessions, FBI director and Mike Espy, secretary of agriculture;

• George W. Bush booted Paul O’Neill, secretary of treasury and Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense;

• Barack Obama ousted CIA Director David Petraeus and Director of Defense Intelligence Agency Michael Flynn;

• Donald Trump also fired Michael Flynn, who has the distinction of being terminated by two different presidents. A 92 percent turnover of Trump’s executive officers occurred during his first presidency (2017-2021);

• Joe Biden’s executive officer turnover rate stands at 71 percent.

Obviously, with multiple cabinet member dismissals and a high percent of turnover, our heretofore presidents and previous Senators have not done us any favors. Turnover is costly and is an obvious sign of poor presidential management and poor cabinet approval judgement. Period.

We can do better. Don’t sit idly by during the current confirmation process without expressing your thoughts to your Senators.

After you’ve done your due diligence of examining the background of the 12 cabinet picks identified above, call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your two Senator’s office. A staff member for each Senator will answer your call, whereupon you can apprise them of your cabinet pick thoughts, which will be relayed to your Senators.

Witnessing how your Senators vote on each nominee will tell you whether their judgement of character matches yours as well as if they are a people-before-their-party or a party-before-the-people oriented Senator.

Don’t fret over Trump’s cabinet nominations; take action now before it’s too late. As noted in the Book of Common Prayer: “speak now or forever hold your peace.”

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