# Trump's Cabinet of Curiosities **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367 "2016-11-10T16:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/361 "2016-12-08T00:07:44Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Do you have a cite for the contention that vouchers will get us closer to a decent education for all? > > Because my admittedly quick-and-dirty review shows the jury is still out – the organizations that are pushing private schools find voucher programs very effective while the organizations that support public schools find vouchers in some cases show worse results than public education. > > [This cite](http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2016/02/louisiana_voucher_fall_behind.html) from earlier this year indicates that the voucher program in Louisiana may have done more harm than good: I agree that the current state of the debate is “the jury is still out”. It’s a contentious topic with both sides citing evidence and studies to support their view. I’m not really trying to convince people of the correctness of my side here in this thread, just sharing my thoughts. If you wanted to start a separate thread to discuss the matter in more detail, I’d probably jump in and I’m sure I’d learn a thing or two. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/362 "2016-12-08T00:08:38Z")
Not a cabinet position, but the new Small Business Administration Chief is the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Linda McMahon. Now what, cage matches for grants? > **[Trump picks wrestling magnate Linda McMahon to lead Small Business...](https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/07/trump-picks-wrestling-magnate-linda-mcmahon-to-lead-small-business-administration.html)** > > The 68-year-old Linda McMahon was a major Trump backer during his campaign and unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in the past. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/363 "2016-12-08T00:10:21Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Sounds delightful. Why of course, selling out to opportunists that want to do more hostile takeovers of land is what many Republicans aspire to. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/364 "2016-12-08T04:07:02Z")
I had heard it was between Exxon and Citigroup. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/365 "2016-12-08T16:15:58Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Not a cabinet position, but the new Small Business Administration Chief is the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Linda McMahon. > > Now what, cage matches for grants? > > [http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/07/trump-picks-wrestling-magnate-linda-mcmahon-to-lead-small-business-administration.html](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/07/trump-picks-wrestling-magnate-linda-mcmahon-to-lead-small-business-administration.html) She is very well known here in Connecticut. She spent pretty close to $100 million on failed bids for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2012, much of it reportedly being her own money. She spent more than **five times more** than what her opponents spent on their campaigns in her losing bids, disproving the idea that money can buy an election. (By the end of her last campaign, it seemed like everyone in our small state was thoroughly sick of her barrage of ads, which is what $100 million buys you, I guess. I remember watching TV one evening in which it seemed that _every single TV ad_ was a Linda McMahon spot, one after the other.) That said, I don’t really have anything against her. She is a fairly [moderate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_McMahon_U.S._Senate_campaign,_2010#Political_positions) Republican, and seems quite competent and well-qualified. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/366 "2016-12-08T16:27:47Z")
And I’m sure her $5 million contribution to the [del]Bulwinkle J. Moose[/del]Donald J. Trump [del]Slush Fund[/del]Foundation had absolutely nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/367 "2016-12-08T17:13:12Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Knowing how willing to sabotage the very agency that the EPA appointee will oversee, I expect that for the Department of the Interior one of the Bundys is a contender. 🙂 [James Watt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_G._Watt) is dead, right? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/368 "2016-12-08T17:23:47Z")
So who do you think is going to get the ATF-Wayne La Pierre, or Ted Nugent? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/369 "2016-12-08T17:29:25Z")
**Fast-food CEO, Andy Puzder, who says machines are the answer to rising wages is expected to be named Trump’s next labor secretary** > **[Fast-food CEO who says machines are the answer to rising wages is expected to...](https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-puzder-to-be-named-labor-secretary-2016-12)** > > Andrew Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, is reportedly in the running to serve as secretary of labor in President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet. Why do I have the feeling the AFL-CIO is going to object to him? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/370 "2016-12-08T18:17:27Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Why do I have the feeling the AFL-CIO is going to object to him? Probably because they were going to object to whoever Trump picked for Labor. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/371 "2016-12-08T18:19:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So who do you think is going to get the ATF-Wayne La Pierre, or Ted Nugent? I’m hoping for Wayne, but I’d also settle for Alan Gottlieb or Gura. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/372 "2016-12-08T21:22:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And I’m sure her $5 million contribution to the [del]Bulwinkle J. Moose[/del]Donald J. Trump [del]Slush Fund[/del]Foundation had absolutely nothing to do with it. Not to worry. I’m sure that if Hillary had nominated one of her major funders for a similar post, the Republicans would have had no problem with that whatsoever, and it would not be a major, blaring headline on Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/373 "2016-12-08T21:26:50Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > **Fast-food CEO, Andy Puzder, who says machines are the answer to rising wages is expected to be named Trump’s next labor secretary** > [Andrew Puzder to Be Named Trump's Labor Secretary: Wall Street Journal - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-puzder-to-be-named-labor-secretary-2016-12) > > Why do I have the feeling the AFL-CIO is going to object to him? I think he’ll make an excellent addition to the McCabinet. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/374 "2016-12-08T21:27:17Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > **Fast-food CEO, Andy Puzder, who says machines are the answer to rising wages is expected to be named Trump’s next labor secretary** > [Andrew Puzder to Be Named Trump's Labor Secretary: Wall Street Journal - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-puzder-to-be-named-labor-secretary-2016-12) > > Why do I have the feeling the AFL-CIO is going to object to him? [“I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American,”](https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246487). Jezus Christ! You couldn’t [make this shit up](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/us/politics/andrew-puzder-labor-secretary-trump.html)! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/375 "2016-12-08T21:27:42Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Probably because they were going to object to whoever Trump picked for Labor. Those sore losers. Why, I know Republicans would be perfectly respectful had Obama nominated Jane Fonda as Secretary of Defense! ---
**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:** [December 8, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/376 "2016-12-08T22:28:15Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Those sore losers. Why, I know Republicans would be perfectly respectful had Obama nominated Jane Fonda as Secretary of Defense! And the Republicans would have no problem with an Obama nomination for the head of the EPA being the leader of the Earth First movement. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/377 "2016-12-08T23:01:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Those sore losers. Why, I know Republicans would be perfectly respectful had Obama nominated Jane Fonda as Secretary of Defense! > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And the Republicans would have no problem with an Obama nomination for the head of the EPA being the leader of the Earth First movement. I never claimed they’d be happy / respectful / have no problem with whoever Obama nominated. The Democrats don’t have to be happy about who Trump nominates either. Since they’re in the minority, the Democrats feelings on the subject are largely irrelevant. If / when the Dems retake the Senate and the Presidency, then the Republicans feelings will be largely irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/378 "2016-12-08T23:03:54Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I never claimed they’d be happy / respectful / have no problem with whoever Obama nominated. The Democrats don’t have to be happy about who Trump nominates either. Since they’re in the minority, the Democrats feelings on the subject are largely irrelevant. If / when the Dems retake the Senate and the Presidency, then the Republicans feelings will be largely irrelevant. The difference is Clinton wouldn’t have made picks that would have made _The Onion_ redundant. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/379 "2016-12-08T23:06:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The difference is Clinton wouldn’t have made picks that would have made _The Onion_ redundant. I bet many Republicans would have felt differently, but we’re each entitled to our own opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/380 "2016-12-09T00:27:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The difference is Clinton wouldn’t have made picks that would have made _The Onion_ redundant. [New EPA Chief nominee Scott Pruitt, proposes 30% cut in all carbon-based organisms](http://www.theonion.com/article/new-epa-chief-proposes-30-cut-all-carbon-based-org-54844). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=20)