Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

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WaynetheDrain said:
My guess is Trump has another AG in mind, and is using Gaetz to gauge how in lock-step Republicans in the Senate are going to be with him. Gaetz probably won't have enough votes to get confirmed, and Trump realizes that, so he's got his true #1 option waiting to be recess appointed after Gaetz is shot down. Maybe Aileen Cannon? Or maybe he saves her for the Supreme Court. I dunno. But this acting AG will have two missions: Dismantle the federal investigations against Trump and punish Trump's enemies.
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Seems likely And by denying Gaetz-he thinks-maybe correctly-that he will be granted the next choice. But it will be fun to see him fight with his own party
 


MAGA lining up to use the Gaetz nomination as a litmus test for elected officials. But threatening to primary of a Senator with a statewide election and 6-year term is not as effective a tactic as it is in the House.

Which doesn’t mean that Thune and the GOP won’t fall in line anyway. Many of the GOP Senators are eager to demonstrate their Trump fealty.

As an aside, that’s not a target-rich environment for Dems hoping to flip seats in ‘26 (to have a shot at retaking a majority in ‘28).
 
gtyellowjacket said:
Having relatively Junior military service or no military service at all for Secretary of defense isn't really that unusual. Obama had two or three that capped out at Lts or no military service. I think Trump had one or two the first time with no military service.

It is a civilian office meant as one check to ensure civilian control of the military.

I'd be much more concerned with his relative lack of running a large organization or his denial of being allowed to provide security for Obama's inaugural due to alleged right wing links than his lack of high rank.
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That's all fair, and when writing my post I was mainly thinking of responding to those who have cited Hegseth's military service as proof of his qualifications. You are right that the bigger issue is that he has never been responsible for overseeing anything close to the type of organization he's now being put in charge of.
 
Callatoroy said:
It takes more than that to be a tyrant. However, if he does try to get them all through recess appointments I will condemn that. I believe in the senate confirmation process. I can tell you right now that I have zero support for gaetz and i hope he isn't confirmed. I'm not all thrilled about gabbard in that role either. Only from an experience and knowledge pov. Otherwise I have no issues with her.

And if he doesn't resort to recess appointments for his picks will you admit he isn't a tyrant?
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Well to be clear Trump has already publicly demanded that his nominated officials be installed via recess appointments - the question now is whether Congress will acquiesce (or whether Trump will try to force them in some other way). So just like with J6, Trump failing to get them in as recess appointments won't be because he's not an authoritarian at heart, it will just mean he was unable to succeed in his most authoritarian impulses.
 
NCK9 said:
What were the ranks of Panetta, Gates, Rumsfeld, Hagel and others?
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They all had substantial experience as public servants before become SecDef. Perhaps a better question would be what qualifications Hegseth actually has for the position? The whole point of his military rank is that you can't use military service as primary evidence of his qualifications when he never rose past major. It's really hard to understand what his qualifications could be and it's pretty obvious that the only reason he got the job is that Trump agrees with the things he says about the military.
 
mpaer said:
Seems likely And by denying Gaetz-he thinks-maybe correctly-that he will be granted the next choice. But it will be fun to see him fight with his own party
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I'm tired of circuitous logic trying to attribute some sort of strategic cunning to Trump's moves. There is a much simpler explanation. Trump thinks in straight lines. If he nominated Matt Gaetz to be AG, he wants Matt Gaetz to be AG.
 
nycfan said:


MAGA lining up to use the Gaetz nomination as a litmus test for elected officials. But threatening to primary of a Senator with a statewide election and 6-year term is not as effective a tactic as it is in the House.

Which doesn’t mean that Thune and the GOP won’t fall in line anyway. Many of the GOP Senators are eager to demonstrate their Trump fealty.

As an aside, that’s not a target-rich environment for Dems hoping to flip seats in ‘26 (to have a shot at retaking a majority in ‘28).
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The Senate will not ever be a target-rich environment for Dems unless and until Republicans drive the country into a ditch. You basically start off with 40-45 safe Republican seats and have to fight tooth and nail to scramble even a bare majority.
 
nycfan said:


MAGA lining up to use the Gaetz nomination as a litmus test for elected officials. But threatening to primary of a Senator with a statewide election and 6-year term is not as effective a tactic as it is in the House.

Which doesn’t mean that Thune and the GOP won’t fall in line anyway. Many of the GOP Senators are eager to demonstrate their Trump fealty.

As an aside, that’s not a target-rich environment for Dems hoping to flip seats in ‘26 (to have a shot at retaking a majority in ‘28).
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Yes. Please do primary vulnerable Senators in purple states for refusing to confirm Butthead to one of the most important roles in the Executive Branch. If they primary Collins that seat will become permanently blue and Tillis’ seat would be far more in play.

Season 4 Reaction GIF by The Office
 
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TangledUpInBlue06 said:
I'm tired of circuitous logic trying to attribute some sort of strategic cunning to Trump's moves. There is a much simpler explanation. Trump thinks in straight lines. If he nominated Matt Gaetz to be AG, he wants Matt Gaetz to be AG.
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Agree. I think this is Trump's power play. He wants to be sure any wavering Pubs in the House and Senate are brought back in line. Gaetz serves both purposes. He's generally despised in the House, including by his fellow Pubs, but this move moots the pending House report on his conduct, which was almost certain to be brutal. And if the Senate balks, Trump will just get him in through a recess appointment, showing the Murkowskis and Collinses of the world they don't really have any power to stop him. The lesson to everyone is that if you're loyal to Trump, it doesn't matter what terrible things you do. He'll take care of you, even if that means bypassing checks and balances to give you a special favor.

We'll see what happens but I think it's highly likely Gaetz is our attorney general by this coming February, and what a clusterfuck that will be.
 
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