Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

Trump Appointments Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 14, 2016 29 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke as his Secretary of the Interior. The former U.S. Navy SEAL commander has often found himself at odds with environmentalists, which means he could possibly "reverse environmental policies the Obama administration has pursued over the past eight years." The Washington Post reported:
Zinke recently criticized an Interior Department rule aimed at curbing inadvertent releases of methane from oil and gas operations on federal land as “duplicative and unnecessary.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 13, 2016 22 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry as his Secretary of Energy. Perry served as agriculture commissioner in Texas before he became governor in 2000. His term ended in 2015. He ran for president in 2012 and 2016.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 13, 2016 31 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state. Trump said:
“His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States. Rex knows how to manage a global enterprise, which is crucial to running a successful State Department, and his relationships with leaders all over the world are second to none.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on December 11, 2016 8 Comments
President-elect Trump sat down with Chris Wallace this morning and discussed a range of topics from the latest on Russia's purported hacking or influence in the election to his decisions on making government more efficient to his choices for his cabinet to trade. Fox News reports:
Trump, meanwhile, told Fox News he wants to make government more efficient, especially when it comes to the EPA.“EPA, you can't get things approved. I mean, people are waiting in line for 15 years before they get rejected, okay? That's why people don't want to invest in this country,” he said. “... So we're going to clean it up. We're going to speed it up and, by the way, if somebody is not doing the right thing we're not going to approve.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 09, 2016 9 Comments
Friday afternoon, former New York City Mayor and Trump supporter, Rudy Giuliana announced he no longer wished to be considered for Secretary of State. "This is not about me; it is about what is best for the country and the new administration. Before I joined the campaign I was very involved and fulfilled by my work with my law firm and consulting firm, and I will continue that work with even more enthusiasm. From the vantage point of the private sector, I look forward to helping the President-elect in any way he deems necessary and appropriate," Giuliana said in a statement. Giuliana will remain Vice-Chairman of Trump's transition team.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 08, 2016 14 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as his Secretary of Labor. His company owns Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. Puzder has long criticized the Affordable Care Act and workplace regulations, which he claims "have stifled growth in the restaurant industry." He also pushed back against raising the minimum wage past $9 an hour.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on December 08, 2016 22 Comments
My, my: such a violent metaphor. Aren't the Dems the peace 'n love party? On MSNBC today, regarding the nomination of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator, Dem Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts threatened "a confirmation hearing that has razor-blade sharp edges." To which guest-host Peter Alexander stunningly responded: "as the Sierra Club told me last night, they said this is sort of like putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires." Note: Alexander wasn't merely reporting the Sierra Club's statement. With his preface—"as the Sierra Club told me"—Alexander seemed to be adopting the slanderous simile as his own.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on December 08, 2016 33 Comments
Donald Trump's nominations have turned out to be a pleasant surprise for some of his biggest conservative critics. That was Joe Scarborough's take on today's Morning Joe. From James Mattis at Defense, to John Kelly at DHS, and now to EPA foe Scott Pruitt . . . at EPA, the President-elect has proposed people with strong records and in a number of cases, strong conservative philosophies. So much so that Scarborough remarked: "How fascinating that the Never Trumpers and the Wall Street Journal editorial page and the Bill Kristols, and all the people who were rightly the most skeptical of Donald Trump during the primary, have to sit back going, wow, I would not have gotten this with Jeb or Marco."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 07, 2016 13 Comments
When Donald Trump makes his final cabinet nomination, it will be hard to pick out which of the bold selections is most golden. Retired Marine General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense was in the running for my top choice. However, it appears that Myron Ebell, the climate change "criminal" who is spear-heading Trump's EPA transition team, was busy identifying a nominee for EPA Chief who just bumped "Mad Dog" Mattis down a notch on my list.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 07, 2016 22 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has picked retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security, who has become well known for his bluntness. Trump has now picked three generals for positions within his administration:
General Kelly, 66, who led the United States Southern Command, had a 40-year career in the Marine Corps, and led troops in intense combat in western Iraq. In 2003, he became the first Marine colonel since 1951 to be promoted to brigadier general while in active combat.

Posted by Mary Chastain on December 07, 2016 22 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as Ambassador to China, who has a strong relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ian Millhiser at Think Progress took a shot at the decision because, you know, no matter what Trump does the liberals will hate it. Millhiser responded to Trump's pick by saying that the governor from a "landlocked state full of white people" does not know enough about China. Let's tell him a bit about Iowa and China's relationship!

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 05, 2016 12 Comments
Former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, has been tapped to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Earlier reports indicated Carson had turned down administrative offers. From the NYT:
Ben Carson, who took Donald J. Trump on a tour of blighted neighborhoods in Detroit during the presidential campaign, including his boyhood home, has been chosen by Mr. Trump to oversee one of the government’s main efforts to lift American cities as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, was an early endorser of Mr. Trump after ending his own presidential bid.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 29, 2016 23 Comments
The New York Times reports Donald Trump will officially announce Steven Mnuchin's appointment to the post of Treasury Secretary as soon as Wednesday. Mnuchin as no government experience (though that's not terribly uncommon for Treasury Secretaries), but served as Trump's Campaign Finance Director.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 29, 2016 26 Comments
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao for Transportation Secretary. Chao served as Labor Secretary under George W. Bush and deputy secretary of transportation under George H. W. Bush. She is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Chao met with Trump last week at Trump Tower where they discussed "labor and transportation issues with a particular focus on America’s long-term infrastructure needs, and reducing or eliminating burdensome regulations."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 29, 2016 16 Comments
A member of Trump's transition team confirmed Monday night that the president-elect has selected Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to serve as the Secretary of Heath and Human Services. Rep. Price has been the Chair of the House Budget Committee these last two years, working closely with Speaker Ryan o deficit reduction. An orthopedic surgeon, Rep. Price has been a vocal opponent of Obamacare for it's high costs and obstruction of quality patient care. Unlike many members of the Outrage Brigade, Rep. Price has solutions to the Obamacare problem. From the New York Times:
Accessibility by WAH