Transition Team/Cabinet Thread

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

How would Trump and Republicans justify Petraeus after spending the entire election season going after Clinton for mishandling classified information when in fact Petraeus was actually charged and convicted for mishandling classified materials while smuggling them to Broadwell - arguably worse actions than what they were accusing Clinton of.

This would be the ultimate form of hypocrisy! Especially if he was nominated/confirmed for Secretary of State. I mean how can one top this. It's ridiculous.

God damn it. Please stop. Trump ran as the candidate of ignorance and appeals to emotion.  Expecting his supporters to use their brains for anything more than keeping their skulls from imploding is a waste.

THESE PEOPLE DON'T USE LOGIC. THEY DON'T HAVE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. And they're certainly not going to change who they support based off of hypocrisy or detailed argument.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Morden, there is a civil war brewing between the Trump-loyalist camp and the GOP-loyal camp.  you have Kellyanne and Rudy and Gingrich in Camp 1 and Pence and Paul Ryan and Romney in Camp 2.  Kushner and Ivanka and Eric and Donald Jr are wild-cards. This is a power struggle, for The Donald's mind.

I never thought I would say this, but I hope he picks Giuliani.  

1 - The discord it would create b/w Trump and the GOP, including Pence
2 - Keep Rudy as far away from domestic law enforcement as possible.  At least at State, he would have to spend his time wrecking other countries.

Romney should be too proud a Latter-Day Saint to eat dirt in exchange for SoS like Trump wants him to.

It's not just a Trump-loyalist versus non-loyalist divide. It's also a social conservative versus big business/moneyed elite. Some Trump loyalists, even those who are pretty conservative on things like security and law-enforcement, like Giuliani, are seen by the religious wingnuts as too easygoing on abortion and gays. And there are some big-business and banking figures, like Mnuchin, who are firmly in the loyalist camp.


And I don't actually think many of the "Trump-loyalist" religious conservatives are actually loyal to Trump at all. They just see him as a useful idiot to use to push their agenda. Much of the fight is going to be over his puppet strings, like we're seeing with Romney.

And for that matter, I think many of the non-religious loyalists are fair-weather looters, out for their own advantage.

Trump himself doesn't give a damn about loyalty, just personal advantage. And Romney makes a perfect pick, *for Trump*. It lets him gratify his own ego, gives his administration credibility, gives him a great scapegoat for his inevitable first foreign policy disaster, and lets him have someone else competent do a lot of the work (which he isn't competent to do to begin with, and is having trouble getting someone competent to do).

But the loyalists want their payoffs. And the right wingnuts don't want anyone not on board with their crazy theocratic dreams on the Cabinet. (They'll have to settle for a few, I'd bet, but as few and as weak as possible.)

I don't know if it will tell us a lot about how the whole administration will go, but it will certainly tell us who is holding the reins right now. (I predict a dark horse who is acceptable to the right wingnuts, and who would back Pence in a Pence versus Trump showdown.)

[ApatheticAustrian]

is this all stagecraft....or a game to influence trump....or just a way to humiliate romney?

[Mr. Morden]

The NYT dives into the behind the scenes of the “Giuliani or Romney?” question for Secretary of State:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/us/politics/donald-trump-mitt-romney-rudy-giuliani-state.html

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Followup on the General Kelly thing:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/27/john-kelly-trump-cabinet-mention-a-border-security/

Looks like he's not just in the running for Secretary of State, but maybe also in the running for Secretary of Homeland Security?

[The Other Castro]

Trump schedule for today:


On Conway/Romney:

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  3h3 hours ago
PEOTUS Trump "furious" with Kellyanne Conway for her TV "attack" comments Sunday "driving her own agenda" on his cabinet choices, per MSNBC.

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  3h3 hours ago
Steve Bannon & Reince Priebus also angry with Kellyanne Conway for driving her own agenda, not being team player, per MSNBC.

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  3h3 hours ago
Real reason Kellyanne Conway openly lashing at Trump, being disruptive, is "because she wasn't offered the job she wanted," per MSNBC.

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  3h3 hours ago
Joe Scarborough, citing "sources at top of Trump org" for his Conway comments, slipped once and said "I got this directly from Donald Trump"

HOWEVER:
John Harwood ‏@JohnJHarwood  2h2 hours ago
my reporting indicates that @KellyannePolls was not defying Trump in her comments on Romney

[The Other Castro]

Also:

Jake Sherman ‏@JakeSherman  2h2 hours ago
TRUMP meeting w DAVID PETRAEUS this afternoon.

Jesse Rodriguez ‏@JesseRodriguez  53m53 minutes ago
NBC News: Fmr Gov Mitt Romney & Sen Bob Corker to meet with Trump tomorrow

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I truly think that Trump offering Romney Secretary of State may only be to discredit Romney.

And also there may be a third person who comes down the middle and sweeps the job from both Romney and Giuliani, perhaps Corker.

I think it is an elaborate trap as well. Trump has a sense of drama.

How would Trump and Republicans justify Petraeus after spending the entire election season going after Clinton for mishandling classified information when in fact Petraeus was actually charged and convicted for mishandling classified materials while smuggling them to Broadwell - arguably worse actions than what they were accusing Clinton of.

This would be the ultimate form of hypocrisy! Especially if he was nominated/confirmed for Secretary of State. I mean how can one top this. It's ridiculous.

God damn it. Please stop. Trump ran as the candidate of ignorance and appeals to emotion.  Expecting his supporters to use their brains for anything more than keeping their skulls from imploding is a waste.

THESE PEOPLE DON'T USE LOGIC. THEY DON'T HAVE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. And they're certainly not going to change who they support based off of hypocrisy or detailed argument.

I disliked Petraeus before it turned out he was sending classified info to his mistress, but nice try.

[KingSweden]

The NYT dives into the behind the scenes of the “Giuliani or Romney?” question for Secretary of State:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/us/politics/donald-trump-mitt-romney-rudy-giuliani-state.html

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Followup on the General Kelly thing:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/27/john-kelly-trump-cabinet-mention-a-border-security/

Looks like he's not just in the running for Secretary of State, but maybe also in the running for Secretary of Homeland Security?

Would be a million times better than Kobach.

[Maxwell]

Locking in my bet for Corker heading the state department. Patreaus is rising in the ranks to fourth and Romney is at a distant third behind Giuliani.

[Crumpets]

I would be quite happy with Petraeus as SoS, as far as Republican options go. The obvious irony of Trump appointing someone who admits to sharing classified information as SoS notwithstanding.

[The Other Castro]

Locking in my bet for Corker heading the state department. Patreaus is rising in the ranks to fourth and Romney is at a distant third behind Giuliani.

Corker is my guess as well. It seems like Giuliani is moving closer in placement towards the DNI side of things, while Romney seems like more of an alternative but not THE alternative. I'm not going to pay much attention to Petraeus until more signals come forth, which leaves Corker as the remaining viable option.

[Maxwell]

Corker is certainly the easiest confirmation of the four - only far righties are complaining about him.

[rob in cal]

    Would love to see Trump appoint Tulsi Gabbard to SOS, to indicate his seriousness in moving the US toward a more non-interventionist foreign policy, and as a bridge to anti-war Democrats.  At least Bolton seems to be out of the running.

[President Johnson]

    Would love to see Trump appoint Tulsi Gabbard to SOS, to indicate his seriousness in moving the US toward a more non-interventionist foreign policy, and as a bridge to anti-war Democrats.  At least Bolton seems to be out of the running.

I just can't imagine that this is happening. As much as I'd like it.

[KingSweden]

Corker is certainly the easiest confirmation of the four - only far righties are complaining about him.

I could see Corker getting a unanimous vote, IMO

[President Johnson]

Corker is certainly the easiest confirmation of the four - only far righties are complaining about him.

I could see Corker getting a unanimous vote, IMO

Well, Mitt would also come close to that.

[The Other Castro]

Petraeus on his meeting with Trump today:

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I like Petraeus but why have another choice that's going to be tough to get through.......giving classified information to your hoochy mamma is a big deal.

[The Other Castro]

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  2m2 minutes ago
Just met with General Petraeus--was very impressed!


And just like that, his shares rise by 20 cents on PredictIt's SoS market.

Also, from Rand Paul's top advisor:
Doug Stafford
‏@dougstafford Doug Stafford Retweeted Donald J. Trump
Hillary does it -- "lock her up."  Gen Petraeus does it -- CABINET POST!  No.

[rpryor03]

Corker is certainly the easiest confirmation of the four - only far righties are complaining about him.

I could see Corker getting a unanimous vote, IMO

Well yes, that's Senetorial tradition.

[The Other Castro]

Jennifer Epstein ‏@jeneps  3m3 minutes ago
Leaving Trump Tower, VP-elect Pence says "there will be a number of very important announcements tomorrow."


Probably too early for an announcement on State, though maybe something about HUD, Defense, or Commerce.

[ApatheticAustrian]

was SOS always the biggest thingie?

[The Other Castro]

Sources: Tom Price for HHS

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://politics.blog.myajc.com/2016/11/28/sources-tom-price-close-to-being-named-top-health-official-in-donald-trumps-cabinet/

[Mr. Morden]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-transportation-idUSKBN13O01P?il=0

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Maxwell]

Rand is also standing against Patreaus, according to sources.