# 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:** 549
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10964 "2017-09-06T17:05:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > What do the Democrats have to do with funding the wall? Loser Donnie said the Mexicans will pay for it. 😕 Well, everyone who voted for Hillary is an illegal immigrant. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10965 "2017-09-06T17:11:44Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m fairly certain those departments are now being run by career civil servants. Do you honestly think they will be improved by whatever idiotic appointment the President would make? That’s probably true. Like nature, bureaucracies abhor a vacuum. \*Somebody \*is doing all of those jobs, if only by default. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10966 "2017-09-06T17:26:37Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > [Absolutely, and Republicans haaaaated it](https://www.law360.com/aerospace/articles/816733/house-bill-would-keep-daca-recipients-out-of-the-military). Did you notice the name of that bill gives the acronym “MAPA”. Instead of “Make America Great Again”, they’re “Making America Phucked Alright”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10967 "2017-09-06T18:17:45Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m fairly certain those departments are now being run by career civil servants. Do you honestly think they will be improved by whatever idiotic appointment the President would make? The State Department has been decimated, with many of its top officials resigning. (And some “political appointments” are, in practice, often filled by career diplomats. Only idiots automatically fire all the undersecretaries appointed by opposite-party Presidents and, anyway UIAM, many of the top diplomats who have left were appointed by (R)s.) _Mid-level staff is very demoralised._ Trump has failed to propose replacements, whether idiotic or not: he’s too busy Making America Great Again. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10968 "2017-09-06T18:26:52Z")
OK, granted, as [this article from the _Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/03/six-months-into-his-presidency-trump-continues-to-be-exceptionally-slow-at-appointing-officials-heres-why-that-matters/) points out, yes, there are career civil service professionals in place in an acting capacity, and to some extent, “[p]rograms and agencies run by career executives earned higher management scores than those run by political appointees”. Also, Trump is very likely sabotaging his own ability to enact his policies, which is certainly fine by me. However, there are some real issues. “Acting” status is apparently term-limited by federal law; all those acting assistant secretaries are going to start running up against that fairly soon (mid-October, according to that article). I have no idea what happens then. Musical chairs at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs? Also, “acting” people are limited in their ability to put policies in place (as opposed to just keeping things bumping along in whatever direction they were going in before). Not really what you want when you need to respond to a crisis. As that article points out, mere “acting” people have a credibility gap in persuading other government officials to help make things happen. I would imagine that’s an especially acute problem in dealing with _foreign_ government officials, who undoubtedly consider U.S. foreign and military policy to be a complete farce right now. So, yeah, on the one hand, I don’t really want _Trump_ appointing these people (“Hey, Jared, you busy?”); but on the other hand, given what’s going on right now in that part of the world, we really do need an actual permanent assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and an assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10969 "2017-09-06T18:33:59Z")
Thanks for linking to that article, it’s pretty good. I’m going to submit myself for appointment for every open position. Maybe I’ll get picked just because! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10970 "2017-09-06T20:16:23Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > From Fred Kaplan at [Slate.com](http://Slate.com), [“Don’t Panic About North Korea”](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/09/why_nuclear_deterrence_will_still_work_on_north_korea.html): > > :smack: :smack: :smack: > > Jesus Fucking Christ. > > The Internet does not contain enough “smackies” to express the magnitude of the Great Trump Clusterfuck. Considering who he named to HUD, ED, and EPA I’m not sure it’s a bad thing to have nobody there… ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10971 "2017-09-06T20:32:09Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > Considering who he named to HUD, ED, and EPA I’m not sure it’s a bad thing to have nobody there… I agree with you there. Like they say, a fox for every hen house. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10972 "2017-09-06T20:53:08Z")
Devin Nunes threatens to hold Jefferson Beauregard and the FBI in contempt if they don’t turn over information about the Russia dossier. > **[Nunes vents anger at Sessions over subpoena, threatens to hold AG, FBI chief...](https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/politics/house-intelligence-committee-subpoena-fbi-justice/index.html)** > > House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week in a letter where he threatened Sessions with a public grilling if he doesn't produce documents about the Russia dossier to the House intelligence... ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10973 "2017-09-06T23:47:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > [Here’s a summary of Trump’s attack on DACA.](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/eight-hundred-thousand-people-with-dreams-deported-by-one-with-delusions) (I realize it’s satire,\*\* but is it true that some of the “dreamers” served in the military?\*\*) Yes it is true. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10974 "2017-09-06T23:48:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Devin Nunes threatens to hold Jefferson Beauregard and the FBI in contempt if they don’t turn over information about the Russia dossier. > [http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/politics/house-intelligence-committee-subpoena-fbi-justice/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/politics/house-intelligence-committee-subpoena-fbi-justice/index.html) Is there any way Meuller could arrest HIM for interfering with an ongoing investigation? Please tell me the answer is “Yes”. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10975 "2017-09-07T01:00:35Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Is there any way Meuller could arrest HIM for interfering with an ongoing investigation? > > Please tell me the answer is “Yes”. You gotta love our resident left-wing “democrats”. Wishing for an arrest of a Senator for doing his duty. Maduro-wanna-bes. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10976 "2017-09-07T01:05:47Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > You gotta love our resident left-wing “democrats”. Wishing for an arrest of a Senator for doing his duty. Maduro-wanna-bes. So trying to derail an FBI investigation for partisan purposes is “doing his duty”. Gotcha. I suppose Rush Limbaugh is just “doing his duty” for reporting that Floridians should not worry about hurricane Irma, because it’s all just a liberal plot to sell more water and supplies and to show global warming is real. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10977 "2017-09-07T01:10:37Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > So trying to derail an FBI investigation for partisan purposes is “doing his duty”. I am sure Maduro and other dictators also had some “reasoning” for arresting legislators. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10978 "2017-09-07T01:16:17Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > You gotta love our resident left-wing “democrats”. Wishing for an arrest of a Senator for doing his duty. Maduro-wanna-bes. Gotta love our President who threatened his opponent with arrest, a kangaroo court and jail just for daring to oppose him. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10979 "2017-09-07T01:22:54Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > You gotta love our resident left-wing “democrats”. Wishing for an arrest of a Senator for doing his duty. Maduro-wanna-bes. Gotta love our Attorney General, who had a woman arrested and prosecuted for laughing at him. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10980 "2017-09-07T01:41:40Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Devin Nunes threatens to hold Jefferson Beauregard and the FBI in contempt if they don’t turn over information about the Russia dossier. > … From link: “Nunes, who despite stepping aside from directing the House Russia investigation has been leading his own separate investigation…” What does that mean? His own investigation? ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10981 "2017-09-07T01:49:01Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > You gotta love our resident left-wing “democrats”. Wishing for an arrest of a Senator for doing his duty. Maduro-wanna-bes. Okra, I love you man. You never fail to crack me up at the end of the day. I really hope you’re real and not paid for posting thus stuff. It would be so disappointing if this was just a job for you. Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk ---
**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:** [September 7, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10982 "2017-09-07T01:57:54Z")
Wonder how Nunes feels about Trump-bro punting on DACA and siding with Democrats on the debt ceiling timeline. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/10983 "2017-09-07T02:18:29Z")
I think back eight years, struggling to call up any memory of Obama and the Democrats trying to tear each other apart like this. There was some back and forth in the ACA debate, but mostly those guys had figured out how to work together. This cannibalism is both troubling and, at the same time, delightful. Or at least satisfying. I never knew cannibalism could be so satisfying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=548) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070.md?page=550)