permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/10/trump-transitions-power-cabinet-horrors-takes-shape

Published on
Thursday, November 10, 2016
by
Common Dreams <http://www.commondreams.org>
As Trump Transitions to Power, 'Cabinet of Horrors' Takes Shape

Climate skeptics, oil tycoons, campaign loyalists, war hawks, and law
enforcement enthusiasts top the list of potential appointees
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
<http://www.commondreams.org/author/lauren-mccauley-staff-writer>
60 Comments
<http://commons.commondreams.org/t/as-trump-transitions-to-power-cabinet-of-horrors-takes-shape/32714>

Yup, her too. (Photo: Gage Skidmore
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/8571336506>/cc/flickr)

As President-elect Donald Trump
<http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/09/wtf-usa-shock-and-horror-donald-trump-wins-presidency>
began his transition to power on Thursday, early reporting has opened a
window into what the nation can expect as his "cabinet of horrors," as
*AFP* put
it
<http://www.france24.com/en/20161110-usa-trump-cabinet-horrors-democrats-giuliani-christie-carson>,
takes shape.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, Ben Carson, Newt Gingrich,
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, and former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin are among the
more high-profile individuals named on a shortlist of potential appointees
leaked
<http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-election-day/gingrich-giuliani-priebus-eyed-top-jobs-trump-white-house-sources-n678881>
to several
<https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/secretary-of-education-ben-carson-heres-a-list-potential-tru?utm_term=.tgeMGbjG7#.oa5bV1aVQ>
news outlets.

On Wednesday, *BuzzFeed News* published
<https://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/secretary-of-education-ben-carson-heres-a-list-potential-tru?utm_term=.tgeMGbjG7#.oa5bV1aVQ>a
list of 41 names suggested for 13 positions, including attorney general,
secretary of state, White House chief of staff, and White House counsel.

And while some, like Christie, were unsurprising, as *Salon*'s Brendan
Gauthier wrote
<http://www.salon.com/2016/11/09/in-donald-trumps-cabinet-from-hell-corporatism-and-cronyism-run-rampant-and-sarah-palin-may-be-there-too/>,
"The people whose names you don't recognize are as bad or worse as those
whose names you're sick of hearing."

For example, Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who is being considered to
head the Department of Defense, "was fired from his post as head of the
Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, which he attributed to his
hawkishness," Gauthier reports.

Oil executive Forrest Lucas is favored to take over the Department of the
Interior, multiple outlets have reported
<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/forrest-lucas-trump-interior-secretary-228364>.
"That's a position that oversees land management, national parks and
wildlife reserves, and Lucas at the helm would represent a nightmare
scenario for environmentalists," *AFP* reported.

Also being considered for that position is Palin, the former vice
presidential candidate made famous for her love of hunting
<https://www.thedodo.com/sarah-palin-animal-villain-999374582.html> and
frequent chants of "drill, baby, drill."

It has previously been revealed
<https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-picks-top-climate-skeptic-to-lead-epa-transition/>that
top climate skeptic Myron Ebell, who serves as director of the Center for
Energy and Environment at the conservative Competitive Enterprise
Institute, is spearheading transition plans for the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)—a department Trump repeatedly vowed
<http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/09/regulation-buster-trump-takes-aim-at-the-epa.html>to
dismantle during his run-up to the election.

"In some cases," *BuzzFeed* reports, "it appears the transition team is
looking to find a home for a particularly loyal ally—Ben Carson, for
instance, is listed as a potential candidate to be the secretary of
education and secretary of health and human services, while Sen. Jeff
Sessions is listed as a possible attorney general, head of the Office of
Management and Budget, or secretary of defense."

As for the heavy-hitters, former Republican House speaker Gingrich is being
floated for the position of secretary of state, which *AFP* notes, "would
have major implications for U.S. foreign policy and Washington’s role in
the international community."

Gingrich, who has lauded
<http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/08/15/newt-gingrich-hannity-donald-trump-speech-isis-radical-islam-was-historic>Trump's
approach to foreign policy, has had his own international views described
as "unpredictable,
<http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/the-dangerously-unpredictable-foreign-policy-of-newt-gingrich/251734/>"
"hawkish
<http://demerarawaves.com/2016/11/09/guyana-caribbean-told-to-brace-for-aggressive-us-foreign-policy/>,"
and "shameless
<http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/07/why_newt_gingrich_would_be_a_perfect_secretary_of_state_for_trump.html>
."

Meanwhile, Christie and Giuliani—each
<http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/04/two-top-allies-trump-surrogate-chris-christie-found-guilty-role-bridgegate>
with their own questionable
<http://www.businessinsider.com/criticism-for-giulianis-broken-windows-theory-2014-12>
interpretations of the law—are reportedly in competition for the role of
attorney general. This particular appointment, Maurice Chammah wrote
<https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/11/09/what-trump-s-win-means-for-chicago-and-baltimore-s-cops#.pih2ma4W8>
at the criminal justice-focused Marshall Project on Wednesday, is "poised
to upend...[o]ne of the Obama administration's most aggressive civil rights
tactics—the investigation and forced reform of local police departments."

"Under a new attorney general," Chammah wrote, "priorities could shift
practically overnight. New investigations could grind to a halt, and
court-ordered consent decrees could stall as career [Department of Justice]
lawyers are ordered to abandon their efforts"—which would be a serious blow
to the criminal justice reform movement.

The list provided to *BuzzFeed* is included below, but these 41 names only
scratch the surface of a Trump administration. As the recently-launched
transition website Greatagain.gov <https://www.greatagain.gov/> notes, the
incoming administration is responsible for selecting candidates for
"approximately 4,100 presidential appointments."

*List of Potential Trump Cabinet Nominees:*

*Attorney General:*

   - NJ Gov. Chris Christie
   - Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi
   - Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions
   - Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani

*Secretary of Commerce:*

   - NJ Gov. Chris Christie
   - Former Nucor CEO Dan DiMicco
   - Businessman Lew Eisenberg
   - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
   - Georgia Sen. David Purdue
   - Former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent

*Agriculture Secretary:*

   - Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback
   - National Council of Farmer Cooperatives CEO Chuck Conner
   - Former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman
   - Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller
   - Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue

*Secretary of Education:*

   - Ben Carson
   - Hoover Institution fellow William Evers

*Secretary of Energy:*

   - Venture Capitalist Robert Grady
   - Businessman Harold Hamm

*Secretary of Health and Human Services:*

   - Former New Jersey state Sen. Rich Bagger
   - Ben Carson
   - Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich
   - Florida Gov. Rick Scott

*Secretary of Homeland Security:*

   - NJ Gov. Chris Christie
   - Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke

*Secretary of the Interior:*

   - Former Arizaona Gov. Jan Brewer
   - Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin
   - Venture Capitalist Robert Grady
   - Businessman Harold Hamm
   - Oil Executive Forrest Lucas
   - Rep. Cynthia Lummis
   - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

*Secretary of Defense:*

   - Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn
   - Former Bush National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley
   - Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr.
   - Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions
   - Former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent

*Secretary of State:*

   - Former UN Ambassador John Bolton
   - Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker
   - Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich

*Treasury Secretary:*

   - US Rep. Jeb Hensarling
   - Businessman Carl Icahn
   - Former Goldman Sachs Banker Steven Mnuchin

*Chief of Staff:*

   - Reince Priebus

*Director of Office of Management and Budget:*

   - Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions

*Secretary of Labor:*

   - EEOC Commissioner Victoria Lipnic

*Veterans Affairs:*

   - Florida US Rep. Jeff Miller

*White House Counsel:*

   - Former Chair of Federal Elections Commission Donald McGahn

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License