# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070 "2016-12-07T00:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1617
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32325 "2019-05-09T15:05:03Z")
Looks like dandruff. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32326 "2019-05-09T16:02:36Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > It’s possible Mitch [“Cocaine”](https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a27409372/mitch-mcconnell-cocaine-mitch-t-shirts/) McConnell could be the worst of the whole bunch. Mr. It’s All Over has broken yet again from precedent by appointing another far-right judge [over objections of both of a nominee’s home-state senators.](https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/mitch-mcconnell-trump-judges-senate-precedent_n_5cd30f57e4b07ce6ef798268) Mitch McConnell is a raging asshole, and the appointment of large numbers of conservative judges to federal circuit courts under Trump is a worrying thing for this progressive. But to be honest, I don’t know why that policy, of requiring approval from both of a nominee’s home-state senators, is even a thing. We’re talking about a federal circuit court here, which has jurisdiction over multiple states within a federal court system, and is not an institution of any particular state. If a Democratic president nominated a good liberal judge from Kentucky to the 6th Circuit, I would not want that judge to be denied Judiciary Committee approval based on the fact that Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul didn’t approve of her. I can see some basis for requiring home-state senators’ approval for a district court judge. District courts operate within single states, so there’s some justification for that. But even then, the federal court system upholds federal law, not state law. Should we start adopting this policy of an effective local veto for other aspects of federal jurisdiction? Having typed all that, I then realized that the linked story was a Huffington Post story. Knowing HuffPo’s tendency to interpret evidence in a rather self-serving way, I decided to go and investigate the issue. And what do you know? This so-called precedent is not anywhere near as strong as the HuffPo writer would have you believe. Check out [this fact-check article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/05/schumers-claim-that-blue-slips-were-longstanding-requirement-judicial-nominees/?utm_term=.5d16128dcfb7) by the Washington Post. The HuffPo says that “Traditionally, the Senate won’t move forward with a judicial nominee unless both blue slips are turned in.” But the WaPo notes that, over the past 100 years, only 2 of the 19 Judiciary Committee chairs had “a strict blue-slip policy.” That policy existed for 32 of the past 100 years. As WaPo also notes, the policy itself was originally introduced by a Mississippi Democrat and was likely rooted in segregationist opposition to school integration and the civil rights movement. It was basically a Southern states-rights thing. And, in accordance with my analysis above, the current policy is still to require two blue slips for district court judges, but not for circuit court judges. To be honest, the most troubling thing about all of this for me, as a progressive, is that Democratic Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy (2001-2003, 2007-2015) gave in to this stupid tradition, and as a result failed to get a whole lot of federal court nominees onto the bench. When Republicans were doing everything possible to obstruct Democratic federal court noms under Obama, I kept wishing that the Dems would grow some balls and exercise their options to push the nominees through. Is it possible that they’ll learn this time? Maybe, but by then there might not be many seats left to fill. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32327 "2019-05-09T16:02:38Z")
[Pretty trivial but illustrative nonetheless](https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2019/05/09/red-sox-white-house-visit-live-updates). The official White House web site sez: > [@](#): > > President Trump welcomes the 2018 World Series Champions The Boston Red Socks to the White House ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32328 "2019-05-09T16:11:01Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Pretty trivial but illustrative nonetheless](https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2019/05/09/red-sox-white-house-visit-live-updates). The official White House web site sez: Not all of them have decided to attend either. I’ve heard the attending players described as the White sox. Which is unfair to the invited players, but striking, as well. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32329 "2019-05-09T16:19:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Pretty trivial but illustrative nonetheless](https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2019/05/09/red-sox-white-house-visit-live-updates). The official White House web site sez: Well, he wasn’t going to win Massachusetts anyway, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32330 "2019-05-09T16:32:28Z")
[The players’ decisions, ftr.](https://www.wcvb.com/article/these-red-sox-players-are-skipping-the-teams-visit-to-donald-trumps-white-house/27417474) All the whites and the Cuban-American guy are going. All the blacks and the other Hispanics, and the guy from Curacao, are skipping it. Cora insists there’s no divide in the clubhouse. > [@](#): > > And players on previous teams in all major sports have skipped White House visits under previous administrations. Basketball legend Larry Bird, famously, missed the Boston Celtics’ White House visit in 1984 by saying of Ronald Reagan, “If the president wants to see me, he knows where to find me.” ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32331 "2019-05-09T16:55:26Z")
Trump calls for John Kerry to be [prosecuted](https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/1126528199846920192) under the Logan Act for collusion with the Iranian government. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32332 "2019-05-09T17:42:20Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Trump calls for John Kerry to be [prosecuted](https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/1126528199846920192) under the Logan Act for collusion with the Iranian government. Collusion isn’t a crime. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32333 "2019-05-09T19:14:20Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Trump calls for John Kerry to be [prosecuted](https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/1126528199846920192) under the Logan Act for collusion with the Iranian government. He negotiated without authorization? (The Logan Act isn’t about collusion.) ---
**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:** [May 9, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32334 "2019-05-09T20:11:26Z")
Mick Mulvaney is a tad put out that the Senate Intelligence Committee didn’t give him a heads up that Donald Trump Jr., a private citizen, was being subpoenaed. > **[‘Bad form’ and ‘wrong’: Republicans slam Don Jr. subpoena from GOP senator](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/09/mick-mulvaney-donald-trump-jr-subpoena-1313364)** > > Kevin McCarthy, Mick Mulvaney and others slammed the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee for issuing the subpoena. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32335 "2019-05-09T20:49:55Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Pretty trivial but illustrative nonetheless](https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2019/05/09/red-sox-white-house-visit-live-updates). The official White House web site sez: Everyone laughs at the “Socks” bit, but the use of two articles to refer to the same noun really adds a nice second layer to the comedy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32336 "2019-05-09T20:51:32Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Trump calls for John Kerry to be [prosecuted](https://twitter.com/matthewamiller/status/1126528199846920192) under the Logan Act for collusion with the Iranian government. If the price of sending away John Kerry is that all similar laws are enforced and Donny Two Scoops ends up in the adjacent cell, that seems like a pretty good deal. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32337 "2019-05-09T22:03:14Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Trump has effectively restricted media access by revoking White House credentials en masse: > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-white-house-has-revoked-my-press-pass-its-not-just-me--its-curtailing-access-for-all-journalists/2019/05/08/bb9794b4-71c0-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c\_story.html?utm\_term=.519beaea32b4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-white-house-has-revoked-my-press-pass-its-not-just-me--its-curtailing-access-for-all-journalists/2019/05/08/bb9794b4-71c0-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html?utm_term=.519beaea32b4) > > Their access is granted on a case-by-case basis as “exceptions”. Obvious attempt to goad the House into that impeachment vote is obvious. It’s actually a fairly smart attempt to provoke that vote, given that the media are certain to give it major coverage. Nasty, nasty people. If I didn’t know how well a quick vote and then referral to the Senate would work out for Trump, strengthening him immensely, I’d be calling for a vote, too. But a quick vote means the end of House oversight and it means the end of real elections and it means we have Trump until his fatal heart attack. And that could be many years. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32338 "2019-05-09T22:23:57Z")
The White House has sent out a transcript of the president’s appearance with the “World Cup Series Champions” Red Sox. [https://t.co/G3BVlHvzmA](https://t.co/G3BVlHvzmA) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32339 "2019-05-09T22:37:05Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The White House has sent out a transcript of the president’s appearance with the “World Cup Series Champions” Red Sox. > > [https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1126609511576477697/photo/1](https://t.co/G3BVlHvzmA) Remember those old war time movies where a soldier would quiz a suspected spy by asking them a really easy question every American should know? (Like: who’s Marilyn Monroe?) Trump, would fail that question. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32340 "2019-05-09T23:06:19Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The White House has sent out a transcript of the president’s appearance with the “World Cup Series Champions” Red Sox. > > [https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1126609511576477697/photo/1](https://t.co/G3BVlHvzmA) When the Red Socks won the World Series, well, that was expected. And now we learn they also won the vaunted World Cup Series as well! The Super World Cup Series is next… can they do it, and make it all the way to the Super World Cup Series Finals? Madness! ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32341 "2019-05-09T23:10:18Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Remember those old war time movies where a soldier would quiz a suspected spy by asking them a really easy question every American should know? (Like: who’s Marilyn Monroe?) > > Trump, would fail that question. Well, those questions are intended to identify people working for foreign governments, after all. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32342 "2019-05-10T02:34:27Z")
Uh…yeah. This should really help a lot. :dubious: “Giuliani Plans Ukraine Trip to Push for Inquiries That Could Help Trump” > **[Rudy Giuliani Plans Ukraine Trip to Push for Inquiries That Could Help Trump...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/us/politics/giuliani-ukraine-trump.html)** > > The president’s personal lawyer is stepping up efforts to urge the Ukrainian government to wade into United States politics by pursuing investigations that touch on Joe Biden and Paul Manafort. > [@](#): > > Mr. Giuliani said he plans to travel to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, in the coming days and wants to meet with the nation’s president-elect to urge him to pursue inquiries that allies of the White House contend could yield new information about two matters of intense interest to Mr. Trump. > > One is the origin of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The other is theinvolvement of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s sonin a gas company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch. > > Mr. Giuliani’s plans create the remarkable scene of a lawyer for the president of the United States pressing a foreign government to pursue investigations that Mr. Trump’s allies hope could help him in his re-election campaign. And it comes after Mr. Trump spent more than half of his term facing questions about whether his 2016 campaign conspired with a foreign power. > > … ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32343 "2019-05-10T11:23:16Z")
Lets’s see. A flack for a Russian puppet wants help for the same puppet from a country currently under attack/illegally partitioned by Russia. Yeah, that’s some serious hope there. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/32344 "2019-05-10T11:50:54Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Obvious attempt to goad the House into that impeachment vote is obvious. > > It’s actually a fairly smart attempt to provoke that vote, given that the media are certain to give it major coverage. > > Nasty, nasty people. If I didn’t know how well a quick vote and then referral to the Senate would work out for Trump, strengthening him immensely, I’d be calling for a vote, too. But a quick vote means the end of House oversight and it means the end of real elections and it means we have Trump until his fatal heart attack. > > And that could be many years. The corruption in the Senate is just as much of a story as the rot that is occurring in the White House. It was obvious when the Congressional Republicans dragged their feet throughout the Russia investigation that this was much bigger than just partisan fighting; they clearly had some skin in the game, too. And Ruth May, a Dallas-based researcher with a focus on the Ukrainian and Russian economies, confirmed my suspicions with some really good reporting a while back. She has a really good piece in the Dallas Morning News, and she can be found elsewhere on the Internet. This has probably been posted here before, but in case it hasn’t: > **[How Putin's oligarchs funneled millions into GOP campaigns](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/)** > > As special counsel Robert Mueller's team probes deeper into potential collusion between Trump officials and representatives of the Russian... > [@](#): > > In 2015-16, everything changed. Blavatnik’s political contributions soared and made a hard right turn as he pumped $6.35 million into GOP political action committees, with millions of dollars going to top Republican leaders including Sens. Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham. > > In 2017, donations continued, with $41,000 going to both Republican and Democrat candidates, **along with $1 million to McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund.** She even had her own Reddit thread a while back, and while I’m not one to really praise Reddit, I found the discussion (at least some of it) interesting: [https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/a5uyp0/i\_am\_ruth\_may\_a\_scholar\_on\_russian\_economics\_who/](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/a5uyp0/i_am_ruth_may_a_scholar_on_russian_economics_who/) > [@](#): > > I find the American public is dangerously uninformed and naive of how deliberate Vladimir Putin’s strategy is to disrupt democracy and create chaos in the West. This has been his goal since he took the presidency. In the past, Americans were used to seeing Russian grandeur in the form of tanks on parade and tough talk about nuclear supremacy but those tanks could never reach us. The Kremlin has reached into many U.S. households now via the internet. And we are more vulnerable to Russian influence than we think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1616) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=1618)