Members of the House progressive caucus on Thursday railed against President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks. Caucus co-chair Keith Ellison (D-MN), who is also running for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, described the Trump nominees as “representing a very disturbing trend.”
“With only a few exceptions, the individuals that President-elect Trump has appointed is the greatest collection of stooges and cronies and misfits we have ever seen in a presidential administration,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) said at a press conference hosted by a handful of the caucus’ members.
Among the Trump selections so far they took issue with were Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) at Health and Human Services secretary; Steve Mnuchin at Treasury; Betsy DeVos at Education; Ben Carson at Housing and Urban Development Secretary; and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) at the Justice Department.
“The Attorney General nominee may be a nice fellow, but one’s records and deeds [are] evidence of how you will govern,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) said.
As members of the House, the Progressive Caucus members won’t play a direct role in Trump’s nominees’ confirmation process, which goes through the Senate.
“I count on the Senate to object these individuals,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said.
Democrats’ ability to block Trump’s selections is limited due to Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) move in 2013 to change the filibuster rules when his party controlled the Senate so that certain executive branch nominees only required a majority vote.
“We need help from the media, folks. We need the media to stop taking the bait,” Huffman said.
There is one cabinet-related matter House progressives have the chance to weigh in on. Congress must approve of a special waiver for retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, Trump’s pick for Defense secretary, because he was on active duty so recently. A provision expediting the waiver process was slipped into a must-pass spending resolution the House was set to vote on Thursday.
Corrected: This story has been corrected to reflect that Rep. Keith Ellison represents Minnesota, not Michigan.
Remember when a bunch of people were calling Harry Reid a feckless, useless, wimp because he took his time in reforming the filibuster? Folks, this is why he took his time. This is why he was in no hurry to change things too drastically.
A poster yesterday, @khaaannn, I think, said “the hits just keep coming,” and here’s today’s chart-topper: Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. CEO Andy Puzder will be the Secretary of Labor. A fast-food CEO for Secretary of Labor. One after the other, these selections are a calculated affront to everyone who ever worked for a living and relied on the social contract to ensure they were compensated fairly for that work. If people don’t wake the hell up the reinstatement of the Gilded Age will be complete in short order.
It kinda makes sense in a Trump view of the world.
The only jobs that will be available after the Fascists destroy our Liberal Democracy will be fast-food and Walmart-greeter jobs anyway so why not? (and that way Trump gets free Hardees whenever he wants it.)
All manufacturing will move to 3rd world countries or be done solely by robots within 10 years anyway.
What once took 500 people to build will be done by 5 people, who only are there to maintain the robots, and they will be H1B contractors from the robot manufacturer who is based in China.
Agriculture is already swinging away from people to machines (it’s been going that way for 100 years now) so once manufacturing goes, what is left? We can’t all be baristas and burger-slingers (and even THAT JOB is going away to robotics if the head of McDonalds has anything to say about it.)
You are hitting on the second biggest problem that is confronting America and the rest of the world. Do you want to hear the rest of the problem. The 1st world economy is entirely consumer driven. Without consumers there is no need for the robots to work. The consumer economy requires there be consumers with real jingle in their pockets. If robots are going to do all the jobs, how do we get money in the hands of human beings who will purchase what the robots build? You figure that one out and you will win a prize.
The .01% who control the country after Jan 20th DON’T CARE.
They have enough money/power to ride out 3 generations of family (and with Ryan promising to kill the Inheritance Tax, Corporate Tax, and lower the Income Tax for them by 75% they will have even more) and are now pivoting to feeding at the Government Trough which will add enough to last ANOTHER 3 generations at least. Soon they won’t even need consumers any more. They have trillions of dollars of government money to consume from Social Security, Medicare, and Defense Contracts.
We are rapidly sliding into “Banana Republic” territory with the looming possibility of an actual FEUDAL SYSTEM staring us in the face. Expect to see the .01% begin purchasing family titles (Dukedoms, Lordships, etc.) and building their private “security forces” in preparation for it in the coming years.
When the riots begin as the populace can’t take it any more, they will be prepared with their private “Pinkertons” to defend their gated-castles without any help required from the impoverished/corporatised local police forces (think Robo-cop here.) Welcome to the new “Gilded Age” when Robber-Barons and private armies will rule the land and businessmen bid outright for their chance to become the next “President of the Former United States of America” (think the Fall of the Roman Empire when their Generals bid against each other in the Senate for the position.)