Why Trump can't fill the gaping holes in his government

Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN

Updated 8:31 AM ET, Sun June 23, 2019

(CNN) - You're fired! You're hired! That's it.

It was so seamless on The Apprentice. But that was TV. In the real world, as President, things are much more difficult for Donald Trump, which is how the US comes to be facing the possibility of military action against Iran without a confirmed Secretary of Defense.

It's also how the US is facing what Trump calls a national emergency at the border with Mexico without a permanent Secretary of Homeland Security.

And on the flip side, it's why Trump is stuck with the Federal Reserve Board Chairman he nominated in 2017 but has since soured on and routinely vilifies for not cutting interest rates.

Since taking office, Trump has blown through West Wing staffers and Cabinet secretaries at a rate unprecedented in modern US politics.

He's a mercurial boss -- high on an aide or Cabinet secretary one day and ready to fire them the next, which means he's been through multiple principals and understudies and still can't find the right fit for key cast members.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/23/politics/trump-cabinet-vacancies-apprentice/index.html

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10 replies	Author	Time	Post
Why Trump can't fill the gaping holes in his government (Original post)	DonViejo	Jun 2019	OP
And .............	secondwind	Jun 2019	#1
Hey, it's really simple.	DinahMoeHum	Jun 2019	#2
Trump hires the BEST people?	ProudMNDemocrat	Jun 2019	#3
"Acting gives you much greater flexibility. A lot easier to do things. So that's the way it is," Tru	riversedge	Jun 2019	#4
The positions are vacant by design	dalton99a	Jun 2019	#5
And he is an incompetent boob	SallyHemmings	Jun 2019	#6
Can "acting" cabinet members take part in a possible 25th Amendment action or not ?	dameatball	Jun 2019	#7
'I'm The Only One That Matters,' Trump Says Of State Dept. Job Vacancies	keithbvadu2	Jun 2019	#8
Runs the exec branch like his shitty reality tv show and businesses.	Mc Mike	Jun 2019	#9
The writer apparently doesn't know that DT	LiberalFighter	Jun 2019	#10

Response to DonViejo (Original post)

Sun Jun 23, 2019, 08:04 AM

secondwind (8,231 posts)

1. And .............

He never will.

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Response to DonViejo (Original post)

Sun Jun 23, 2019, 08:08 AM

DinahMoeHum (18,473 posts)

2. Hey, it's really simple.

No self-respecting would-be government employee wants this black spot on their resume.

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Response to DonViejo (Original post)

Sun Jun 23, 2019, 08:09 AM

ProudMNDemocrat (5,540 posts)

3. Trump hires the BEST people?

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Response to DonViejo (Original post)

Sun Jun 23, 2019, 08:13 AM

riversedge (52,690 posts)

4. "Acting gives you much greater flexibility. A lot easier to do things. So that's the way it is," Tru

I very idea the trump would get re-elected is beyond the pale.

A difficult boss

Many see Trump's embrace of temporary staffers in top Cabinet roles as an effort to subvert the Senate's Constitutional role of "advice and consent" in who runs government agencies. And there's probably something to that; he's loathe to let his secretaries testify before Congress.

But Trump has also embraced it for roles that don't require Senate confirmation. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has been acting in that role since December of 2018.

"Acting gives you much greater flexibility. A lot easier to do things. So that's the way it is," Trump said when asked about the situation.
Part of it may be the same reason Trump no longer has a communications director or that his press secretary (still Sarah Sanders, who is resigning at the end of the month) hasn't given a press briefing in more than 100 days. And why he hasn't made any move to replace former Fox News executive Bill Shine as communications director, a role most infamously held by financier Anthony Scaramucci for just ten days.
Trump sees himself as defense secretary, homeland security secretary, press secretary and communications director. For a man who made his living putting his own name on buildings, there is only room for his own opinion.

And that's probably why he's so galled by Jerome Powell, the Fed chairman who has yet to cut interest rates as Trump has demanded.
But there's little Trump can do. The law makes clear that the Fed chairman serves in that role for four years. Powell assumed the role in early 2018.........................................

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Response to DonViejo (Original post)

Sun Jun 23, 2019, 08:19 AM

dalton99a (42,745 posts)