Trump Staff Picks, Co-Conspirators and the Revolving Door of Departures

[rareboy]

I guess compared to the current pick...Trump figures Ratcliffe will look good?

 

[KaraBulut]

Aspiring poet Ken Cuccinelli's appointment was not lawful according to the Federal Court's ruling.

Cuccinelli had multiple problems, aside from his lack of experience in homeland security, but he also had a powerful enemy in the Senate. Cuccinelli had vowed to unseat McConnell from the Senate and had referred to McConnell as "backstabber, liar, and 'the head alligator.'" Cuccinelli was unlikely to be confirmed by McConnell's Senate.

Judge rules Cuccinelli unlawfully appointed to run immigration agency [The Hill]

A federal judge ruled that Ken Cuccinelli, who previously headed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was unlawfully appointed to run the agency.

Washington, D.C., District Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama appointee, decided the Trump administration violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) when Cuccinelli, the current deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was appointed to lead USCIS in June 2019.

He also ruled that Cuccinelli’s policy that accelerated screenings for immigrants seeking asylum should be eliminated, according to the ruling obtained by The Hill.

 

[gsdx]

Aspiring poet Ken Cuccinelli's appointment was not lawful according to the Federal Court's ruling.

This seems to be a common theme with many of Trump's appointments.

 

[KaraBulut]

This seems to be a common theme with many of Trump's appointments.

Cuccinelli is a piece of work. Anything untoward that happens to him is karma.

 

[KaraBulut]

Lie, cover-up and conceal... and the Trump Administration will create a position for you!

Michael Ellis was a former staffer to Devin Nunes and he helped transfer intelligence documents from Nunes and the White House.

Trump installs loyalist in key White House intelligence post [CNN]

White House lawyer Michael Ellis has been named senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council, three sources familiar with the move confirm to CNN.
By elevating Ellis to this new role, President Donald Trump has installed yet another loyalist to a key intelligence-related leadership position after appointing Richard Grenell, the US Ambassador to Germany, as acting Director of National Intelligence...

Ellis was also involved in the Ukraine controversy that triggered the impeachment inquiry into Trump.

Acting on orders from top NSC lawyer John Eisenberg -- Ellis told officials in the NSC's executive secretariat to move the transcript of Trump's now infamous July 25 call with the Ukrainian president to a more highly classified server, according to testimony from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

 

[rareboy]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump on Friday pushed out Mick Mulvaney, his acting White House chief of staff, and replaced him with Representative Mark Meadows, a stalwart conservative ally, shaking up his team in the middle of one of the biggest crises of his presidency.

Why not turf your Chief of Staff in the middle of a possible health care and economic crisis in the country?

And what the fuck is a special envoy to Northern Ireland anyway?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/politics/trump-mark-meadows-mick-mulvaney.html

 

[KaraBulut]

Why not turf your Chief of Staff in the middle of a possible health care and economic crisis in the country?

And what the fuck is a special envoy to Northern Ireland anyway?

Where one sends someone whose foot always seems to be in their mouth?

The latest person selected to drain the Baron's boils is Mark Meadows, the former head of the House Freedom Caucus.

Trump replaces Mick Mulvaney with Mark Meadows as chief of staff [CNN]

President Donald Trump announced late Friday that he was replacing his acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, with Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a shake-up in the top echelons of the West Wing just as the President confronts a growing public health crisis and girds for reelection.

Meadows, who had previously announced he was leaving Congress, will become Trump's fourth chief of staff in a little more than three years in office. In a tweet, Trump did not denote him "acting," a designation Mulvaney never graduated from in the turbulent 14 months he spent in the job.

 

[TX-Beau]

It was said that Henry VIII never made a man that he didn't then destroy. It's only sad that Meadows won't be around long enough to go down like the rest of them.

 

[KaraBulut]

It was said that Henry VIII never made a man that he didn't then destroy. It's only sad that Meadows won't be around long enough to go down like the rest of them.

You're right.

He's Chief of Staff #4. He's never met a camera he didn't like and he loves to be a drama queen. Trump always wants to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. Let's see how he likes it when Meadows gets the cover of Time.

It's just too bad that Trump doesn't dispose of Chiefs of Staff in the same manner than Henry VIII disposed of wives.

The good news is that he isn't in Congress and he's not the ranking member on Oversight.

 

[KaraBulut]

Trading a communications professional for a former Br

Trump loses another White House ‘original’ [Politico]

Adam Kennedy, who led the White House’s rapid response efforts on impeachment and other crises, including Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation battle, is leaving the government later this month, according to two White House officials.

...A top research official at the Republican National Committee during 2016, he has worked in the White House since the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Kennedy will be replaced by Julia Hahn, a former Breitbart writer who is currently director of rapid response and surrogate operations for the White House, according to one of the White House officials. Hahn will report to White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.

 

[KaraBulut]

While we're in the middle of a national emergency, the Narcissist in Chief continues his revenge campaign.

Trump fires intelligence community watchdog who told Congress about whistleblower complaint that led to impeachment [CNN]

President Donald Trump on Friday fired Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who had told Congress about the whistleblower complaint that led to Trump's impeachment, the President told Congress in a letter obtained by CNN.

Atkinson will leave his job in 30 days, Trump told the House and Senate Intelligence committees, and he has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately, according to a congressional source.

Trump did not name a permanent successor.

 

[rareboy]

I am surprised that they aren't using this period as an opportunity to purge all departments.

 

[KaraBulut]

Headline says it all...

Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing [CNN]

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is leaving the job without ever having briefed the press. CNN has learned she is returning to the East Wing as first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff as President Donald Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows shakes up the communications team in the West Wing.

Meadows is currently considering several candidates for the press secretary job, including Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany. The new chief of staff is also considering hiring Alyssa Farah, the current spokeswoman for the Defense Department, for a communications role, among others, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

This is what she looked like (if you didn't watch Fox):

 

[KaraBulut]

The Captain of the USS Roosevelt lost the battle but won the war.

Acting secretary of the Navy has submitted his resignation after calling ousted aircraft carrier captain 'stupid' [CNN]

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has submitted his resignation a day after leaked audio revealed he called the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt "stupid" in an address to the ship's crew, according to a US official and a former senior military official...

On Monday, Modly told the crew of the Roosevelt that their former commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, was either "too naive or too stupid" to be in command or that he intentionally leaked a memo to the media, in which Crozier warned about coronavirus spreading aboard the aircraft carrier and urged action to save his sailors, according to remarks obtained by CNN.

 

[KaraBulut]

Hmmm... Trump removed the person in charge of oversight from the $2 Trillion CARES Act relief fund. I wonder why.

Trump removes independent watchdog tasked with overseeing coronavirus emergency funds [CNN]

President Donald Trump has removed the acting inspector general for the Defense Department, Glenn Fine, from his post -- a decision that means Fine will no longer chair the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee tasked with overseeing $2 trillion in emergency coronavirus funding.

Late last month, a group of independent federal watchdogs tapped Fine, a career official, to lead the group tasked with preventing "waste, fraud, and abuse" in the use of coronavirus relief money.

It's the most recent effort by Trump to undermine federal oversight.

 

[rareboy]

Headline says it all...

Grisham out as West Wing press secretary without having held a briefing [CNN]


This is what she looked like (if you didn't watch Fox):

She is the most successful person to hold the position....although now that Trump has realized that he can just control the microphone and the narrative, he probably realizes he never needed a press sec anyway.

 

[TX-Beau]

She is the most successful person to hold the position....although now that Trump has realized that he can just control the microphone and the narrative, he probably realizes he never needed a press sec anyway.

Well, it makes a nice break from watching Fox news all day. most other Presidents, you know, work.

 

[gsdx]

Well, it makes a nice break from watching Fox news all day. most other Presidents, you know, work.

Indeed. His actions are unpresidented.

 

[KaraBulut]

She is the most successful person to hold the position....although now that Trump has realized that he can just control the microphone and the narrative, he probably realizes he never needed a press sec anyway.

Personally, I always suspected that he picked her for her block and tackle skills.

She's back to being Melania's [STRIKE]bodyguard[/STRIKE] press secretary.

 

[KaraBulut]

Meet Trump's new secretary - Kayleigh McEnany. Actually, you've already met her- she was one of the "spokespersons" who was sent out to media interviews when she was with the Trump campaign in 2016. She's a regular on Fox.

Her style is best described as "Ignore the question and start reading all the talking points instead". And if you get asked a question you don't want to answer, find a way to change the subject to "Hillary", "Joe Biden" or "Buhrahk Obaaamaaa".