Corporate headhunters are looking for what they call KSAs—knowledge, skills and abilities—particular to the job being filled. In Part I of this series, we saw that the Trump Transition team has a list of persons that must be employed in the Trump administration without regard to KSAs. This is not peculiar to Trump, but it is aggravated by his lack of experience in government when he insists on filling key positions with persons close to him—family, friends and political supporters.
RELATED: A Guide to Washington’s Game of Musical Chairs, Part I
The list of people lined up for Cabinet level positions has become just as important as the positions, if not more so. Further complicating Trump’s task is that the large numbers of slots needing to be filled between now and January mean he will have to delegate some of that authority. No POTUS is likely to delegate Cabinet level choices, and so the lists he makes are critical to the functioning of the government.
In Part I, we saw that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie remains on the list of must hires even after his replacement by Vice President-Elect Mike Pence at the head of the transition.
Another sure thing, assuming he is willing to take the pay cut to work for government, is Trump campaign finance chairman Steve Mnuchin, an investment banker and Goldman, Sachs alum.
The race for White House Chief of Staff, a post of breathtaking power because that person can normally control access to the POTUS, was between another Goldman, Sachs alum, Trump campaign CEO Stephen Bannon and Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus. Bannon’s last stop before the Trump train was Breitbart News, so the Chief of Staff appointment was handicapped as a contest between the alt-right forces that saw Trump get endorsed by the KKK and other white supremacists and Priebus, representing the GOP establishment and particularly Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, since Priebus and Ryan share home turf in Wisconsin.
The tenor of the Bannon-Priebus decision was caught nicely in a story on Breitbart November 13: “Michael Savage Warns Donald Trump: ‘Rinse’ Reince; He’s ‘Everything the Voters Rejected.’” Savage is a fixture in the alt-right media as a radio personality and most recently the author of Scorched Earth: Restoring the Country After Obama. In the run up to the election, Savage was accusing President Obama of intending to cancel it.
Later that same day, Trump announced his decision: Priebus. Trump’s choice of an establishment gatekeeper might be the first major clue of what kind of POTUS we have. However, that clue is attenuated by Trump’s simultaneous elevation of Bannon to “chief strategist and chief counselor.” Other clues are in the people believed to be high enough on his must-hire list to be considered for Cabinet level posts, presented here in alphabetical order.
—Dr. Ben Carson, coming off a first career as a talented neurosurgeon, was ridiculed by Trump over stories of his rowdy and mean childhood. After Carson’s candidacy faltered, he quickly made peace with Trump, attracted by the fact that they both have no education or experience in government.
Carson was mentioned for Secretary of Education or Secretary of Health and Human Services, but through spokesman Armstrong Williams he declined a cabinet role because, “Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency.” The irony that Carson had put himself forward to run the whole shebang went unstated. Carson remains an obvious choice for Surgeon General if he wants the position.
—Former Gen. Mike Flynn has been described by Politico as “America’s angriest general.” He’s angry at being forced out as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency over his aggressive management style. He’s angry that one of the few terrorist fighters he considers his peer, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was forced out as commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan after giving an interview to Rolling Stone that ripped U.S. civilian leadership in nonprofessional terms.
Despising the Obama administration, Flynn signed on with the Trump campaign and endorsed some of Trump’s outrageous statements about military affairs. Because of his loyalty, Flynn is being mentioned for Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Director of National Intelligence (CIA), or National Security Advisor.
—Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich left office in disgrace after it came out that he was leading the charge to impeach Bill Clinton over an affair while he was having one of his own. Since then, Gingrich has kept such a high profile that no one remembers the disgrace and he ran for POTUS in 2012 with casino magnate Sheldon Adelson paying the bills.
Gingrich was a contender for Vice President and he is now being mentioned for Secretary of State or Secretary of Health and Human Services
—Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani did not just endorse Trump—he was a major attack dog, snarling out any talking point of the day, no matter how improbable. Giuliani has been coy about what he would like in return for surrendering his self-respect, but he has been mentioned for Secretary of State, Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security.
—Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump. At the Republican National Convention, Sessions gave Trump’s nominating speech. Trump has many reasons to be grateful to Sessions, and that gratitude may extend to an appointment as Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security or Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
There are too many names being floated outside of must-hires to mention them all, but a few are too colorful to ignore.
—Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, like Sarah Palin, did not get the memo that modesty is the proper response when asked about a Cabinet post. Bolton has been actively campaigning for Secretary of State. The Wall Street Journal reported on November 14 that Trump is likely to appoint Bolton or Giuliani to that spot. The conservative opinion leading National Review supports Bolton.
Bolton, while the Iran negotiations were going on, was asked if the U.S. should bomb Iran. He said yes, but we should have done it five years ago.
Bolton was a public supporter of the second Iraq invasion and remains so—an odd choice for Trump, who falsely claimed during the campaign that he had opposed the invasion. Bolton spurns the label “neocon” because, he says, he was always conservative, but he sings in the neocon chorus for war. To my knowledge, he has never commented on the label “chicken hawk.”
Two law enforcement officers get mentioned as possible heads of Homeland Security, and both are sure to entertain pundits if not taxpayers should they be appointed.
—Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona was just voted out after years of civil rights violations, maltreatment of brown people, and clashes with the federal government over his policies. He is a favorite of the populists behind Trump and he endorsed Trump early.
RELATED: DoJ to Bring Contempt Charge Against Joe Arpaio
—Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin has referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as “black slime” that must be “eradicated.” Did I mention he’s black?
—Myron Ebell’s sole claim to fame is as a professional climate change denier. He is a product of Colorado College (philosophy) and the London School of Economics (political theory) but not a climate scientist. His position that global warming is a hoax jibes with that of the President-Elect, and Trump already has Ebell running the Transition Team’s work on the Environmental Protection Agency. He is a hot contender for EPA Administrator.
Sharp-eyed ICTMN readers will note that there are no female names on that list, although Giuliani once attended a party in drag. The only woman of must hire status in Trump’s campaign–other than Ivanka Trump–is the first woman to ever manage a Republican presidential campaign, Kellyanne Conway, who has taken herself out of consideration. At 27, Press Secretary Hope Hicks is too young and green for a Cabinet post, but she has done well enough to keep the gig she has when operations move to the White House.
Since Trump “cherishes” women, he has come up with some names, although none are in the top tier. Indians probably ought to get an early heads-up on these women because so many of them are being mentioned for Secretary of the Interior, the department where the Bureau of Indian Affairs lives.
Conway was, along with Reince Priebus, Trump’s connection to the mainstream GOP. His general distance from regular Republicans was obvious when he attacked 2008 nominee John McCain for “getting captured” in the Vietnam War Trump did not find time to attend and 2012 nominee Mitt Romney called Trump a “con man” and a “fake” and offered up a bill of particulars on how he would destroy the country if elected.
If Trump patches things up with Mitt Romney, perhaps Gov. Romney will send over his “binders full of women,” but in the meantime Trump is considering:
—New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte just got voted out. She had the bad luck to be asked during a debate whether Trump was a good role model for children. It’s not so much that she answered yes. The bad luck was she gave that answer within a week of the hot mike incident where Trump effectively told little girls that their worth is measured by the men they attract and told little boys that it really isn’t necessary to get consent to sexual contact—or it won’t be when you become a big shot. Ayotte is on the short list for Secretary of Defense.
—Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has not suffered from the scandal surrounding the fact that she determined not to pursue a class action lawsuit for fraud against Trump University about the same time she got a $25,000 political contribution from Trump’s foundation. Bondi has been mentioned for Attorney General on the federal level.
—Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has been mentioned for Secretary of the Interior. There are many tribal governments in Arizona, so I expect Indians from tribal nations situated in Arizona will be weighing in on how she treated Indian interests as governor.
—Carol Comer is Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, a position to which she was appointed by Mike Pence. She is now mentioned as a possible Administrator of the EPA.
—North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers has her name in the hopper for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
—Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has been mentioned for Secretary of the Interior. Like Arizona, Oklahoma has lots of relationships with tribal governments, so there will be Indian opinions of Fallin, as there are of Brewer.
—Victoria Lipnic is a Commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and has been mentioned for Secretary of Labor.
—Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Loomis is one of the wealthiest members of Congress and much of her wealth is in real estate. She endorsed Trump early and is now among the women being considered for Secretary of the Interior.
—Former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey has been mentioned for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
—Linda McMahon is a businesswoman whose primary claim to fame is building World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. into a corporate behemoth.
McMahon got tired of chasing money and upon distancing herself from WWE, she attempted two runs for the U.S. senate, both of which she lost. She is now rumored to be a possible choice to go to Washington as Trump’s Secretary of Commerce.
—The redoubtable half-Gov. of Alaska, Sarah Palin, needs no introduction to the public. She has expressed interest in Interior or Energy—although the latter for the purpose of destroying it—and Trump has expressed interest in having her in his government.
—Kathleen Hartnett White, former Chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, is on the short list for Secretary of Energy. In Texas, a bureaucrat in an environmental agency has a credential assuring he or she understands oil and gas exploration to be more important than the environment.
This has been your early guide to Washington Musical Chairs. At the very top, KSAs are less important than we might wish, but cronyism is unlikely to ever fade away entirely. The best we can hope for in some political jobs are competent cronies.