# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making Part Deux (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083 "2020-06-22T03:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 350
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7001 "2020-11-26T17:39:25Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > yearly travel expenses up to $1,000,000 Can those be converted into cash if he is confined to one location for, er, some reason? Asking for a friend… ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7002 "2020-11-26T17:40:31Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > “How many fucks would Melania give…” Fucks? She doesn’t even let him hold her hand! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7003 "2020-11-26T17:47:30Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Trump pardons Flynn. That could bite him in the butt if Flynn is called to testify against Wussolini: “I respectfully invoke my rights under the Fifth–” “Oh no you don’t!” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7004 "2020-11-26T17:57:21Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > No dog ever adored his master more. Wow. That’s **exactly** the way my dog looks at me… ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7005 "2020-11-26T19:42:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > No dog ever adored his master more. > [https://digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PENCE-GAZE-1024x698.jpg](https://digbysblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PENCE-GAZE-1024x698.jpg) Here ya go: [![](https://i.ibb.co/9w6XqcX/His-Master-s-Voice.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/9w6XqcX/His-Master-s-Voice.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7006 "2020-11-26T22:24:43Z")
Scorched earth… > **[Tracking the Trump Administration’s “Midnight Regulations”](https://projects.propublica.org/trump-midnight-regulations/#1015150)** > > The administration rushed to implement dozens of policy changes in its final days. We followed some of the most consequential and controversial. These 12 have been finalized. (This pasted as a wall o’ text. I have added some formatting to make it easier to read.) > **Rule Finalized12** > > **Criminal Justice** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Allowing Federal Death Row Inmates to Be Executed by Means Other Than Lethal Injection** > This rule would broaden the acceptable forms of federal capital punishment to include methods that are or may soon be legal in various states, such as firing squads and electrocution. The Trump administration has restarted federal executions, which President-elect Joe Biden has said he would not allow. > > Department of Justice • Read more: [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/document/DOJ-OAG-2020-0002-0001) > > **Environment** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Allowing the Forest Service to Bypass Some Environmental Reviews** > By allowing the Forest Service to skip environmental reviews, the Trump administration says it’s making it easier to maintain roads, trails and campgrounds. But opponents say the rule clears the way for officials to allow logging and new roads without studying the environmental harm and seeking public input. > > Department of Agriculture, Forest Service • Read more: [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/document/FS-2019-0010-43438) > > **Finance** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Excluding Environmental and Social Impact in Choosing Pension Plan Investments** > Finalized shortly after Election Day, this rule makes it more difficult for pension managers to choose investments based on anything other than financial factors — such as a company’s climate change impact or workforce benefits. > > Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration • Read more: [dol.gov](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-rule-on-financial-factors-in-selecting-plan-investments), [federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/13/2020-24515/financial-factors-in-selecting-plan-investments) > > **Health Care** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Ending Medicare Drug Rebates** > This rule would end drug company payments to middlemen in Medicare. Health plans oppose it because they would get stuck covering higher drug costs. The Trump administration says this proposal will lower drug prices, but it has backed off before over concerns that it could lead to higher premiums. > > Health and Human Services • Read more: [reginfo.gov](https://www.reginfo.gov/public/Forward?SearchTarget=RegReview&textfield=0936-aa08&Image61.x=0&Image61.y=0) > > **Health Care** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Pegging Drug Prices to an International Index** > Medicare will cut prescription drug prices by linking costs to what’s paid overseas. The administration skipped the typical process of publishing a proposal and collecting public input. Drugmakers oppose the new policy and are all but certain to sue. > > Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services • Read more: [innovation.cms.gov](https://innovation.cms.gov/innovation-models/most-favored-nation-model) > > **Immigration** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Restricting High-Skilled Immigrant Work Visas by Raising Wage Minimums for Visa Holders** > This regulation went into effect immediately when issued on Oct. 8, although a public comment period remained open through Nov. 9. It overhauls the rubrics that set how much employers must pay an immigrant to sponsor them on a temporary H-1B “high skilled” worker visa. New wage standards are substantially higher, making many would-be immigrants suddenly ineligible. > > Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration • Read more: [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/docket/ETA-2020-0006) > > **Immigration** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Lowering Wages for Immigrant Farmworkers** > This regulation changes the scale used to determine how much employers must pay immigrant farmworkers on temporary H-2A work visas, freezing it for two years. Farmworker groups oppose the change, saying that it will lower pay for both U.S.-born and immigrant workers — even as there’s a worker shortage in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. > > Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration • Read more: [federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/05/2020-24544/adverse-effect-wage-rate-methodology-for-the-temporary-employment-of-h-2a-nonimmigrants-in-non-range) > > **Immigration** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Narrowing Eligibility for High-Skilled Work Visas by Tightening Educational Requirements** > This regulation — published in October 2020 as an “interim final rule” to go into effect in December — boosts the requirements for employers hoping to sponsor immigrants on high-skilled work visas. It demands higher educational attainment for these jobs, and expands the definition of off-site work (which is treated with more scrutiny in visa applications). > > Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services • Read more: [federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/08/2020-22347/strengthening-the-h-1b-nonimmigrant-visa-classification-program) > > **Immigration** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Requiring Some Visitors to the U.S. to Post Bond So They Leave When Their Visas Expire** > This “temporary” final rule, set to go into effect in December, creates a pilot program allowing the Department of State to require some visitors to the U.S. on business or tourist visas to post up to $15,000 as a bond, which will be returned to them once they leave the United States. > > Department of State • Read more: [public-inspection.federalregister.gov](https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-24223.pdf) > > **Labor** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Voiding Washington State’s Meal and Rest Break Rules for Truck Drivers** > In 2019, the trucking industry in Washington state asked federal regulators to obviate — or preempt — a new state law requiring a higher number of meal and rest breaks than mandated under nationwide standards. On Nov. 17, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted that petition. > > Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration • Read more: [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/document/FMCSA-2019-0128-0040) > > **Other** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Reallocating Airwaves From Intelligent Transportation to General Wi-Fi** > The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to reassign airwaves (or “spectrum”) previously reserved for connected transportation to general unlicensed Wi-Fi use. The change was opposed by driverless car companies, highway safety advocacy groups and all 50 state transportation departments, as well as the federal Department of Transportation. > > Federal Communications Commission • Read more: [fcc.gov](https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-modernizes-59-ghz-band-improve-wi-fi-and-automotive-safety) > > **Other** > _This rule has moved ahead since Election Day_ > **Restricting the Use of Agency Guidance** > Several agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Social Security Administration, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Veterans Affairs, are narrowing the use of policy statements known as guidance, which allow regulators to clarify their interpretation of rules. The new rules clarify that guidance is nonbinding and allow for more industry input. This effort began with an executive order in 2019, and agencies are finishing its implementation, making it harder to undo than the executive order alone. > > Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Administration, Department of the Interior, Veterans Affairs • Read more: [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/docket/VA-2020-VACO-0025), [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/document/DOC-2020-0004-0001), [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/document/HUD-2020-0073-0001), [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/docket/DOC-2020-0004), [regulations.gov](https://beta.regulations.gov/document/VA-2020-VACO-0025-0001) > … There are 11 more that the WH is “still reviewing.” 🙄 Right. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7007 "2020-11-26T23:29:28Z")
If needed, these can all be reversed, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7008 "2020-11-26T23:39:03Z")
Hard to reverse an environmental de-regulation once the trees have been cut down. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7009 "2020-11-27T00:01:53Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > If needed, these can all be reversed, correct? I’ve been wondering: How hard must it be for, say, Biden to reverse some of the shitty things the Trump admin does. Recent case in point: Mnuchin clawed back that unused Fed money that was supposed to go to Covid relief purposes. How easy was it for Mnuchin to do that? What it just an order he suddenly signed and that was that? Now the news reports say that the Biden administration will be able to reverse that only with legislation from Congress. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7010 "2020-11-27T00:16:14Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if that motherfucker Donald J. Trump **BURNS DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE** on his way out! > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **Ending Medicare Drug Rebates** > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **Lowering Wages for Immigrant Farmworkers** > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **Requiring Some Visitors to the U.S. to Post Bond So They Leave When Their Visas Expire** > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **Voiding Washington State’s Meal and Rest Break Rules for Truck Drivers** I mean, what in the **FUCK**??? Fuck every voter who elected him in the first place and fuck every one of them who wanted to give him four more years (or more) to completely destroy this country. 🤬 ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7011 "2020-11-27T01:49:33Z")
Trump today - I shall go to Georgia. Maybe twice. Let’s hope it works out as well for the candidates there as it did for Eisenhower in Korea. Hard to tell if it will help or hurt. > **[Trump says he'll travel to Georgia to support Republican Senate candidates in...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/26/politics/trump-thanksgiving-call-georgia-election/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump said Thursday he will travel to Georgia to support the state's Republican Senate candidates ahead of the January 5 runoff election. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7012 "2020-11-27T02:22:50Z")
That was beautiful – thanks so much for posting it! 🙂 I’m definitely going to be a fan of the First Dogs! BTW, in the extremely unlikely event that anyone is even remotely beginning to feel sorry for the orange fuckstick, watch this: > **['I'm the President of the United States!': Trump flips out on reporter | CNN...](https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/11/26/trump-thanksgiving-inauguration-biden-question-vpx.cnn)** > > President Trump condemned a reporter after being asked if he would concede the election if the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7013 "2020-11-27T02:37:16Z")
So a couple of days ago, Donald told us that the Dow hit the ‘sacred’ number of 30,000. Now we learn that a poll watcher is ‘sacred’ in this country. Something that is sacred is connected to God or worthy of spiritual respect, according to the dictionary. I wonder if the evangelicals would agree with Donald here. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7014 "2020-11-27T04:08:19Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Something that is sacred is connected to God or worthy of spiritual respect, according to the dictionary. I wonder if the evangelicals would agree with Donald here. They’ve spent the last five years twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain how a man who personally embodies all of the seven deadly sins is God’s chosen president. Why stop now? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7015 "2020-11-27T05:40:59Z")
My gosh. I’m watching Trump’s Thursday press conference where he is sitting behind a desk. He’s just blathering about fraud, and dead people voting and all that. It’s like watching Bogart play Captain Queeg in the courtroom scene in _The Caine Mutiny_. If he starts talking about strawberries, he will have gone right over the edge. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7016 "2020-11-27T07:00:19Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > he will have gone right over the edge. He jumped over that edge a looonngg time ago. It’s the dragging the rest of us with him that scares me spitless. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7017 "2020-11-27T07:16:52Z")
Hashtag DiaperDon is trending on Twitter, and Individual 1 is having a meltdown. He’s calling their trending false trends, and is threatening to overturn Section 230 for “national security” reasons. > > ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7018 "2020-11-27T13:04:15Z")
For purposes of National Security, Trump’s clearance needs to be revoked. Stat. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7019 "2020-11-27T13:07:40Z")
It infuriates me that my MSN news feed this morning shows the headline that Donnie will vacate the WH if the Electoral College confirms Biden FROM MULTIPLE MAJOR NEWS SOURCES! Dear God, is that what we’ve come to??? Yes, it is. When he says he will do something normal IF something else totally normal happens… that merits front page coverage from AP, UPI, TIME, CNN, USAToday and on and on— Jesus Effing Christ!! Donnie says he will do something normal that’s expected of him _(note: he hasn’t done it yet, and BTW when has he EVER followed through on ANYTHING he said he would do??)_ and that is major, breaking news?? No, that is insanity. But he’ll still never concede. 🙄 He’s still going to keep fighting the fight. What a complete loser, doofus, poor excuse for a human being, piss-poor, MF asshole. And he’s going to make sure he’s in the headlines til the day he dies 🙏🏽 because he’s still holding the country hostage with his threats and executive orders. Scorched earth! Burn the place down, poison the ground and the water. Let nothing live here again if **I** can’t live here. [/rant] Wish I could say I feel better after that rant, but I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/7020 "2020-11-27T14:17:14Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Hashtag DiaperDon is trending on Twitter, and Individual 1 is having a meltdown. He’s calling their trending false trends, and is threatening to overturn Section 230 for “national security” reasons. All right, I’ll bite. What is this terrible Section 230? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=349) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=351)