Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

[Grifman]

I’m certain Cheney and Fauci feel relieved:

[Grifman]

And Gaetz is gone:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/11/21 ... ticleShare

[LawBeefaroni]

And Gaetz is gone:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/11/21 ... ticleShare

And now whoever the next horrible pick AG is, they'll look better by comparison.

[Skinypupy]

Since Gaetz resigned from Congress before all of this happened, what happens to his seat?

[ImLawBoy]

Since Gaetz resigned from Congress before all of this happened, what happens to his seat?

I think I read it stays empty until a special election, as opposed to an empty Senate seat that would be appointed until a special election.

[LawBeefaroni]

Since Gaetz resigned from Congress before all of this happened, what happens to his seat?

He was resigning either way because of the ethics probe.

Florida will have a special election. I think at least two Florida House Representatives have thrown their hats in the ring. They'll have to resign their seats to run in the special.

EDIT: There will also have to be a special election to fill their seats.

[hepcat]

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Hall of Doom, former leader of the Injustice League, Kevin McCarthy strokes his white cat and works on his plans for the destruction of his next target, MTG.

[Blackhawk]

Gaetz being out - I wish it mattered.

[Unagi]

I'm guessing Steve Bannon for AG is around the bend.

[Smoove_B]

He could just keep Garland in there to continue to do nothing in the wake of threats to American democracy.

[Alefroth]

I'm leaning towards Roger Stone now.

[hepcat]

I can't look at Gaetz without hearing a joke someone made on SNL about his being the child of Frankenstein and Count Dracula....

What is dude broh Gaetz gonna do now? Are we thinking Fox News?

[Blackhawk]

He could just keep Garland in there to continue to do nothing in the wake of threats to American democracy.

He doesn't want someone to do nothing. He wants a gun that he can point at his perceived enemies.

[ImLawBoy]

I can't look at Gaetz without hearing a joke someone made on SNL about his being the child of Frankenstein and Count Dracula....

What is dude broh Gaetz gonna do now? Are we thinking Fox News?

I don't think he's that far up the food chain. Maybe OAN.

[hepcat]

He did get the Trump seal of approval though, don't forget. That's enough for Fox, I would think.

He might get a job running Truth Social's fact checking division.

[El Guapo]

Mike Lee would sail through and do a lot of crazy shit. He's definitely crazy enough for Trump. Not sure whether he is corrupt enough for Trump though.

[Alefroth]

There's a lot of murmuring that Gaetz resigned from the 118th congress, so could still take the seat that he was elected to in the 119th. I don't think that's the way it works, but does anyone have a solid answer?

[Blackhawk]

There's a lot of murmuring that Gaetz resigned from the 118th congress, so could still take the seat that he was elected to in the 119th. I don't think that's the way it works, but does anyone have a solid answer?

I have no basis on which to form predictions for future elections anymore. I have no idea what the country is going to look like in two years.

[Smoove_B]

He could just keep Garland in there to continue to do nothing in the wake of threats to American democracy.

He doesn't want someone to do nothing. He wants a gun that he can point at his perceived enemies.

Very true, but if he somehow has limited ability to force these through, he could just let Garland remain and there would likely be absolutely no change in terms of his ability to unleash awful things on the American public and government sectors.

I have no basis on which to form predictions for future elections anymore. I have no idea what the country is going to look like in two years.

Fully agree. We're headed into uncharted waters. Some people haven't accepted it or don't want to believe it, but I can assure you things are going to get weird.

[Zaxxon]

There's a lot of murmuring that Gaetz resigned from the 118th congress, so could still take the seat that he was elected to in the 119th. I don't think that's the way it works, but does anyone have a solid answer?

I have no basis on which to form predictions for future elections anymore. I have no idea what the country is going to look like in two years.

Just ask yourself whether Trump wants it to work that way, and lo shall the answer appear.

[Alefroth]

There's a lot of murmuring that Gaetz resigned from the 118th congress, so could still take the seat that he was elected to in the 119th. I don't think that's the way it works, but does anyone have a solid answer?

I have no basis on which to form predictions for future elections anymore. I have no idea what the country is going to look like in two years.

Not two years, January.

[Blackhawk]

Things may go 100% modern Russia, or things may barely change at all, depending partially on how the GOP and the rest of the government responds to his demands. Anything seems possible, and any prediction is just guesswork.

We won't know until we know.

[ImLawBoy]

He's still the elected rep, so I don't know that he couldn't take it. If his goal is to avoid the release of the ethics report, though, I don't see why he would.

[Alefroth]

I'm referring to how things normally work. Can someone that is elected to an upcoming congress resign from the current one and still be seated in the one they were elected to?

[Alefroth]

He's still the elected rep, so I don't know that he couldn't take it. If his goal is to avoid the release of the ethics report, though, I don't see why he would.

Yeah, I'm not thinking he will.

[Smoove_B]

We'd need to check historical norms and past precedents for an answer

(pauses for laughter)

Just based on what I know, I would think he resigned from his current appointment and that doesn't impact his pending, future appointment. I'm sure he's counting on Trump to purge anyone that would release that report and have it burned so that Gaetz can return to Congress unencumbered.

[Max Peck]

I'd think that Ken Paxton would be the perfect pick for the AG post if Trump really wants a rabid attack dog.

[LordMortis]

I'd think that Ken Paxton would be the perfect pick for the AG post if Trump really wants a rabid attack dog.

And to make MAGA stiggin it to the Libs happy. It was among the first thoughts I had on that fateful day in early November.

[El Guapo]

I'd think that Ken Paxton would be the perfect pick for the AG post if Trump really wants a rabid attack dog.

And to make MAGA stiggin it to the Libs happy. It was among the first thoughts I had on that fateful day in early November.

Yeah actually Paxton would be perfect (in Trump world). Crazy and corrupt and amoral.

[Grifman]

New AG nominee:



At least she has relevant experience.

[Smoove_B]

At least she has relevant experience.

In taking money from Trump to make things disappear? Yes. Yes she does.

EDIT: I guess I can add a link.

[Zarathud]

It’s a message that if you keep your mouth shut rather than turn Trump in, you can be rewarded.

[hepcat]

He sure has a type when it comes to press secretaries cabinet members.

FTFY

That’s what, 3 Ivanka like women so far? Throw in the fact that his sons married the same type of Ivanka type women and you’ve got one seriously messed up family.

[El Guapo]

He sure has a type when it comes to press secretaries cabinet members.

FTFY

That’s what, 3 Ivanka like women so far? Throw in the fact that his sons married the same type of Ivanka type women and you’ve got one seriously messed up family.

To be fair that's pretty low on the list of ways in which the Trump family is messed up.

[hepcat]

True, there’s the other matter of the pee pee tape…

[msduncan]

[gbasden]

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Hall of Doom, former leader of the Injustice League, Kevin McCarthy strokes his white cat and works on his plans for the destruction of his next target, MTG.

Excellent.

[Punisher]

He sure has a type when it comes to press secretaries cabinet members.

FTFY

That’s what, 3 Ivanka like women so far? Throw in the fact that his sons married the same type of Ivanka type women and you’ve got one seriously messed up family.

At this point I suspect that if he married Ivanka his followers would say nothing other than ataboy.

[GreenGoo]

Gaetz being out - I wish it mattered.

This. I feel nothing (re: gaetz being out).

[El Guapo]

Gaetz being out - I wish it mattered.

This. I feel nothing (re: gaetz being out).

It does matter, in a few ways:

(1) Approving Gaetz would have signaled the Senate's absolute submission to Trump. If they wouldn't deny him Gaetz (who in addition to being unqualified and awful, is intensely disliked by almost everyone) then they wouldn't deny him anything at all;
(2) Trump carrying through his insane recess approval gambit, and getting away with it, would have shattered Senate approval of presidential nominees entirely (at least for Republican presidents);
(3) even after Trump warps DOJ to his will (which I still expect to happen) there will still be bread-and-butter prosecutions for DOJ that will. I suspect that Gaetz's management and ... general Gaetz'ness would mess up a lot of that important work more than Bondi will (I hope).

Now, does it matter *a lot*? No, not really - I don't expect Bondi to stand athwart Trump's efforts to corrupt DOJ and American democracy more generally. But it does matter some.