Guest Columnist
With barely a year in office, President Trump is shuffling his cabinet and other key officeholders. Given that he hosted a prime-time reality show on NBC for nine years highlighted by the tag line “you’re fired,” we shouldn’t be too surprised. Is it unusual for a new president to change out key advisers in short order?
History tells us this is not that unusual. For example, the 18th president Ulysses S. Grant changed them out on a regular basis over his two terms. Without question, when a new president takes office, he (we haven’t had a she yet) is inexperienced in the job and the learning curve ramps up. When the new chief executive finds out what works and what doesn’t, it makes sense to shuffle the deck. Still, it does introduce instability which can be a problem.
Many of the new appointees will require Senate confirmation, such as the new Secretary of State, which will permit the president’s opponents an opportunity to “dust them up” in an effort to weaken the president. Where does this requirement come from?
Article II of the Constitution covers the duties and responsibilities of the chief executive or president. Section 2 includes these duties: (the president) “shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States.”
Based on this requirement, the president nominates individuals for posts such as cabinet secretaries, and the Senate hears the arguments for and against the nominee before voting whether or not to confirm the appointment. This always includes testimony from the nominee before the applicable Senate committee. It is a long-established practice and tradition.
Mike Pompeo has been nominated to replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Pompeo was previously confirmed as CIA director but will need to undergo a second confirmation hearing for his new post. His replacement nominee at CIA Gena Haspel, will also require confirmation by the Senate. Admiral Ronny Jackson is the nominee to head the Veterans Administration which also will require confirmation. But the new appointment for national security advisor, John Bolton will not, since his position is considered White House staff and excluded from the Article II, Section 2 provisions.
Pompeo will probably go through without too much of a fight. He is a really smart fellow, having graduated first in his class from West Point in 1984, no small feat. He has military, business, and congressional experience before moving to CIA last year and has the confidence of the president.
Haspel’s confirmation will be an interesting one to watch. She is a career spy with a thorough understanding of the agency based on more than a quarter century of personal experience, having been elevated through the ranks based on merit. She is currently the number two person at CIA and would make history as the first woman to head up the agency. But her opponents will point to rumors that she played a supervisory role in what they consider to be “torture” of terror suspects during the Bush administration and will attempt to ‘tar and feather’ her over this accusation. The long-knives are out for her, and I hope they are unsuccessful.
Admiral Jackson replaces David Shulkin at the Veterans Administration (VA.) Shulkin was appointed by President Obama and held over initially by the new president last year. Reportedly, they differed over the issue of privatization, so Mr. Trump has found a new man who agrees with his position. Privatization is the referral to a doctor outside the VA if wait times or travel distance delay treatment.
The VA is a very entrenched bureaucracy and a ‘tough nut to crack.’ Many politicians are against the concept of privatization and will oppose Admiral Jackson or get some admission from him that he will not pursue care outside the VA. There are a lot of lobbyists who will use their methods to weigh-in on this matter. It is too bad, in my opinion, when politics get in the way of making sound appointments.
Today, Wednesday, April 4, is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tn. It shocked me even more than the Robert Kennedy assassination two months later. I can still recall the circumstances when I learned of this tragic event. Dr. King accomplished much in just 13 years of public life and continued to achieve great things a half-century after his martyrdom. As Saint Matthew (25:21) records Jesus’ parable of the talents, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”