The number one thing Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters were hoping for when he was elected president was something different. Not even something ideological, specifically, as much as a departure from business as usual in Washington.
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And now that Trump has selected his Cabinet, it’s time to determine whether he’s on track to truly “drain the swamp.” Now, keep in mind this is not exclusively an ideological assessment of these pivotal cabinet picks (and I don’t have the space to assess them all so I prioritized). Nor is this intended to determine whether or not Trump’s cabinet is superior to what the country would’ve received from a Hillary Clinton presidency. Frankly, I don’t think there’s an argument that Trump’s picks aren’t superior, unless you’re just a hardened progressive.
Rather, this is an analysis of whether or not Trump’s personnel picks actually represent a challenge to the corporatist progressive status quo of America’s political class.
Secretary of state
The appointment of Rex Tillerson, the chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, took Trump’s obsession with Vladimir Putin and kicked it up yet another notch. For it can’t be often that an American Cabinet nominee has received Russia’s Order of Friendship. Tillerson’s combination of global corporatism and moral progressivism (he’s a strong advocate of both child killing as well as the Rainbow Jihad) would’ve fit perfectly in the administration of any creature of Washington. Verdict: Status Quo
Secretary of defense
Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis last served as commander of the United States Central Command. He believes the following: the United States has suffered “strategic atrophy” under President Barack Obama’s leadership; that Russia is the top threat to U.S. national security, that Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran was “imperfect” but must be enforced; and that ISIS must be defeated in head-to-head “battles of annihilation.” During his confirmation hearing, Mattis also said he had no plans to roll back the politically-correct social engineering of the military prioritized by Obama. He is known for both his classically informed and sometimes salty quotes. Verdict: Incomplete. Although there’s much to like about Mattis, we have to wait and see if he’s serious about leaving Obama’s social engineering of the military in place. Hard to argue the swamp has truly been drained if that’s going to be the case.
Secretary of treasury
Trump went full “globalist cuck” (a putdown made popular by his nationalist supporters online) in nominating former 17-year Goldman Sachs veteran Steve Mnuchin to the position. In fact, Mnuchin is one of a half-dozen former Goldman Sachs employees serving in the Trump administration. Despite Trump’s frequent panning of the company during the election, especially the fact that former campaign rival Ted Cruz’s, R-Texas (A, 97%) wife used to work there. Mnuchin parlayed his background in the mortgage-backed securities market into a successful, yet controversial, run rescuing one of the largest bank failures in American history, IndyMac.
During his confirmation hearing, Mnuchin said he wanted to raise the debt ceiling “sooner rather than later;” that taxes will be lowered for businesses and workers but not necessarily the wealthy; that trillions of dollars in offshore cash will likely be brought back home for reinvestment; that regulation of small community banks must be curtailed; and that the much maligned Internal Revenue service actually needs to hire more people. Verdict: Status Quo
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Environmental Protection Agency
Scott Pruitt is a rising conservative star. As attorney general of Oklahoma, he has fought for a proper constitutional view of federalism on a host of issues — including EPA’s overreach under Obama. Pound-for-pound, this could very well be the best cabinet appointment Trump made. Verdict: Swamp Drained.
Chief of staff
Reince Priebus is the Wormtongue of GOP party hacks. He is the sort of man that Republican voters were so exasperated by that they turned to the likes of Trump in the first place. How ironic, then, that Priebus has been given one of the most powerful positions in Washington by Trump himself. The chief of staff usually determines who or what gets access to the West Wing, and, thus, the president’s attention. However, it should be noted Priebus’ prominence in this position could be severely limited by the influence Trump’s family clearly wields — which may not necessarily be an upgrade. Verdict: Status Quo.
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Final verdict
It’s simply too early to tell whether Trump’s Cabinet truly represents a draining of the swamp. But at the very least the early returns are mixed at best, and at worst provide some evidence for skepticism. Despite Trump’s “more cowbell” persona, maybe America really just elected “high energy Jeb” when it’s all said and done.
- Discussion
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Did @realDonaldTrump really drain the swamp with his cabinet picks? My latest for @CR https://t.co/ivbh5fFqvV
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) January 23, 2017
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