Tale of two Cabinets

49 shopping days left until the inauguration

President Trump wasted no time in picking his Cabinet for his next term. His consultations with the Republican Establishment were few. That encourages many supporters but haste makes waste, does it not? Then again, RINOs handcuffed him last time.

Let us compare his Cabinet picks.

First off is vice president. In 2016, he selected a DC veteran with gubernatorial experience and conservative credentials, the latter being very important because at the time, Trump’s detractors were able to make the case questioning the sincerity of his opposition to abortion and the like.

Pence was a trustworthy if boring vice president. However, he was in on the coverup of the Election Night steal and refused to declare the election void on January 6, as the law allowed at the time.

Vance is a true Trumper now after opposing him 8 years ago. He’s young with a backstory worthy of a Hollywood movie. By gum, they made a Hollywood movie out of his childhood, didn’t they?

At 40, his youth protects Trump from being treated like a lame duck because it is Vance 2028 now.

Sorry, but Ron DeSantis is the Scott Walker of his time. Both were good governors who could have been swell presidents, however, Trump prevented them from being nominated. Maybe in 2032 but if a Democrat wins in 2028, it is over anyway.

Next is Treasury secretary. Steven Mnuchin did a bang up job in the first term by helping get the tax cuts passed, including the slashing of the corporate tax rate from 35% down to 21%. This stemmed the tide of corporations moving their headquarters overseas.

This time, Trump chose Scott Bessent. He has as many red flags as a CCP convention. NYT reported, “Three decades before he was tapped to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent was asked to help break another country’s financial system.

“Then 29 years old, Mr. Bessent, working for the financier George Soros, helped break the Bank of England with crushing trades against the British pound. He was on a small team at Mr. Soros’s investment firm that, in 1992, amassed a $10 billion bet that the pound was overvalued.”

The jury is still picking its foreman on his appointment.

Next is secretary of state. Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson was an outsider Trump brought in. Their egos were too big and Tillerson left in a huff. Enter Mike Pompeo, the congressman that Trump had appointed as CIA director. He was in on the Zelensky phone call, which served as the excuse for the first impeachment.

This time, Trump is going with Marco Rubio who has gone from being a ridiculed opponent to a loyalist. His support of Israel in Hamas’s FAFO war is absolute. We need commitments like that again.

Next is the Department Of Defense Officer — or DODO, if you prefer. The press was alarmed when Trump chose General Mattis as his first DODO, arguing that the military should be run by civilians.

Now the pundits are alarmed that Pete Hegseth is not a retired general, unlike Lloyd Austin who achieved four stars.

The DODOs may change but the Pentagon still is the Chris Christie of government — big, fat and slow. Good luck, Hegseth.

Next is attorney general. Jeff Sessions fooled Trump into thinking he had Trump’s back. Sessions proved to be a coward who enabled Democrats to launch the Mueller witch hunt.

Bill Barr, who eventually replaced Sessions, was just a DC lifer who quit on Trump when he needed him most. But he drank water impressively.

This time, Pam Bondi gets the call. Her handling of the George Zimmerman case raised eyebrows because it clearly was a case of self-defense but she blocked DOJ from prosecuting. Not only was Zimmerman not guilty, the trial proved him to be innocent.

Bondi proved her loyalty by representing Trump at one of the impeachment trials. She has experience in running an AG office.

Plus at 59, she is hot.

Next is commerce. Last time, Trump selected the man who saved his empire from liquidation during his first bankruptcy proceeding. Wilbur Ross realized he was better off with Trump than without him. They took a few assets and refinanced Trump’s loans.

At 87, Ross is completely out of the game. His successor is Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a hero of 9/11.

658 of Cantor's 960 employees died that day. He took care of their families. He’ll take care of us, too.

Next is Health and Human Services secretary. Trump picked Congressman Dr. Tom Price who lasted a mere 231 days after questions arose about all his jet travel and who paid for it. His successor, Dr. Alex Azar, proved useless in the pandemic panic.

This time, Trump is going with RFK Jr., who would not be in my Top 10 of choices if I had a Top 10. But I defer to Trump on all these picks because he’s met them and vetted them. I haven’t.

RFK Jr. has had a rough life that belies his status as being to the manor born. We know he isn’t a RINO plant. HHS deserves a swift kick in the ass. Several. May RFK Jr. prove to be the Lou the Toe Groza of Washington.

Next is transportation secretary. Trump picked former congressman Sean Duffy, who will become the first DOT secretary in 8 years who is not married to a man. He won’t be a first Asian American woman or first gay DOT secretary. Maybe — just maybe — he will be competent.

Next is secretary of education. Betsy DeVos was a great pick last time. WWE executive Linda McMahon has tall high heels to fill but she seems up to the job, which is to demolish the agency.

Next is interior secretary. Trump’s first one, Montana congressman Ryan Zinke, rode a horse to the office on his first day on the job. He was a Navy SEAL.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum gets the nod this time. Look for an oil drilling surge regardless of whether Exxon participates. The hills are alive with the sound of money — oil money.

Next is labor secretary. Last time, Trump picked Alexander Acosta, who had climbed the Republican ladder of appointments under Dubya. His main claim to fame was giving Jeff Epstein a sweetheart non-prosecutorial agreement in 2008.

How can Trump’s new appointee, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, be any worse?

Answer: Randi Weingarten endorsed her.

Next is agriculture secretary. In the first term, Sonny Perdue moved many agency offices to Kansas City, resulting in people quitting. We need more self-deportation by the bureaucrats.

This time, Brooke Rollins gets the nod. She served as Trump’s domestic policy chief during his first term. Chuck Grassley’s corn is safe from the end of ethanol mixed with gasoline.

Next is HUD secretary, which always seems to go to a black man under Republicans. Dr. Ben Carson was the man in the first term. Scott Turner gets the nod this time.

In the 59 years of HUD’s existence, cities have deteriorated. Am I missing something?

Next is energy secretary, which is another agency we could live without by transferring its atomic energy oversight to the Pentagon. Rick Perry did fine in the first Trump administration.

This time, Trump picked Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy. He supports fracking. That is all I need to know.

Next is homeland security, the mother of all useless agencies. When 9/11 hit, the deep state instantly received a brand-spanking-new Cabinet-level bureaucracy. No one was fired for incompetence. No independent review was made of the many, many intelligence failings made that day. Instead we took shampoo away from airline passengers.

RINOs saddled Trump with John Kelly, the four-star liar who later served as a mole inside the Oval Office as chief of staff. Trump’s second homeland secretary was Kirstjen Nielsen, who opposed building the wall.

This time, he’s tapped Kristi Noem. Let me rephrase that. He’s appointing South Dakota’s governor. Her star has dimmed over time but her loyalty to Make America Great Again is undeniable.

Next is VA secretary. Trump’s first one was David Shulkin, an Obama appointee to undersecretary. His second one was Robert Wilkie, who had climbed the Republican ladder under Dubya. Wilkie also served in the reserves.

This time, Trump chose Doug Collins, an Iraq veteran who vigorously defended him during the stupid Mueller witch hunt. Collins fought for the country and fought for the president. I am pretty sure Collins will fight for the veterans.

Next is EPA administrator. Scott Pruitt did a good job in Trump’s first presidency by battling the rules and the bureaucracy. Lawfare funded by the left slowed him down.

This time, Trump selected former congressman Lee Zeldin, who opposes the climate change junk science. He seems like a fighter.

Next is Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Trump’s OMB guy when he left was Russell Vought. His new one is Russell Vought. The difference this time is the media is screeching about him.

I cannot imagine a better recommendation.

Next is Director of National Intelligence. Trump’s first one was former Senator Dan Coats, who lied in 2018 and said Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Trump dumped him for former congressman John Ratcliff. Trump now wants him as his CIA director.

Tulsi Gabbard gets the DNI nod this time. Some people question her conservatism. She passes the Surber Conservatism Test for Women: Is she hot?

The FBI director is not a Cabinet member but I would be an idiot if I did not cheer the appointment of Kash Patel. The raid on Mar-a-Lago was third-rate fascism. Let the investigation and prosecution of those involved begin.

Trump’s picks are a mixture. They ain’t perfect but neither are you. In evaluating his Cabinet choices, ask yourself is Pam Bondi better than Merrick Garland? Is Pete Hegseth better than Lloyd Austin? Is Marco Rubio better than Antony Blinken?

That’s the real comparison. That’s the real tale of two Cabinets and it isn’t even close.

* * *

Surely Biden pardoning Hunter Biden, his bagman and son, failed to surprise a single reader. The media excuses about him taking care of his kid are hilarious. Biden covered for his son all Hunter’s life, which is why despite a Yale education, Hunter is a bum and a leech.

Exactly 4 years ago today CNN reported:

Beg your pardon?

It’s something you ask of somebody else for something you’ve already done. And that, more or less, is how it’s been viewed in the Constitution.

But each day brings new reporting about how President Donald Trump might creatively stretch and bend his expansive pardon power not just to protect himself but also to shield his children and his closest associates from future legal problems — all moves that would test the spirit of the power and legal precedent.

The story included gossip about the FBI investigating his three oldest kids — all of which was hogwash.

* * *

The title of today’s newsletter reminds me of a tale Groucho Marx told:

I did a bond tour during the Second World War. We were raising money, and we played Boston and Philadelphia and most of the big cities. And we got to Minneapolis. There wasn’t any big theater to play there, so we did our show in a railroad station. Then I told the audience that I knew a girl in Minneapolis. She was also known in St. Paul. She used to come over to visit me. She was known as The Tail Of Two Cities.