# 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:** 39
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/761 "2017-01-02T05:56:49Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Do you have a sense of impending doom in all of its totality? No? [Then read this](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/claiming-mandate-gop-congress-lays-plans-to-propel-sweeping-conservative-agenda/2017/01/01/9840338a-ceee-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html?utm_term=.4bc1140f21a2). The picture at the top of the article looks like Paul Ryan has his finger of Trump’s rectum. Now that I’ve said it, tell me that’s not what you see. Stranger ---
**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:** [January 2, 2017, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/762 "2017-01-02T08:38:04Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The picture at the top of the article looks like Paul Ryan has his finger of Trump’s rectum. > > Now that I’ve said it, tell me that’s not what you see. > > Stranger No, I think Paul Ryan is looking on approvingly as Trump yanks his own crank. Anyone else? ---
**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:** [January 3, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/763 "2017-01-03T05:00:31Z")
In other news, [With No Warning, House Republicans Vote to Gut Independent Ethics Office](http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/politics/with-no-warning-house-republicans-vote-to-hobble-independent-ethics-office.html). But of course! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/764 "2017-01-03T13:52:15Z")
"You have put this entire office into a salad spinner of fuck.’ – Amy Brookheimer, _VEEP_ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/765 "2017-01-04T13:43:38Z")
_The Atlantic_ has [a long article](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-transition-cabinet-behind-schedule/511928/) on the Trump regime’s difficulties: > [@](#): > > President-elect Donald Trump will take the reins of the federal government on January 20. How many people he will have by his side on that date is very much in question. > > The Trump transition is substantially behind the pace set eight years ago by Barack Obama’s team, and a late start to vetting Cabinet nominees for security clearances and financial conflicts of interest threatens to leave many senior posts vacant when Trump assumes the presidency in just two-and-a-half weeks. The delays, which were described by people familiar with the transition as well as several congressional aides, could hamper the new president’s ability to deliver the swift change he has promised in Washington. > > In the weeks after the election, Trump made a show of naming members of his Cabinet in rapid succession, giving the impression that his transition was proceeding speedily, faster even than many people expected after such a shocking result on November 8. But the slew of nominations obscured an important detail: Trump’s team had done little or no vetting of those appointees before or immediately after the election, as the Obama transition had done. Potential picks were rarely asked to submit information for a standard FBI background check or financial documents needed for disclosure requirements and an ethics agreement. That meant that a process that takes weeks or even months did not begin until late November or December in some cases. Not only will the lack of vetting slow the process for the 1,100 posts requiring Senate approval–but it takes time to fill a total of 4,000 jobs. Trump & his transition team are far behind. Lots more in the article… ---
**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:** [January 4, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/766 "2017-01-04T16:00:50Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > _The Atlantic_ has [a long article](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-transition-cabinet-behind-schedule/511928/) on the Trump regime’s difficulties: > > Not only will the lack of vetting slow the process for the 1,100 posts requiring Senate approval–but it takes time to fill a total of 4,000 jobs. Trump & his transition team are far behind. > > Lots more in the article… I read it, too. Lots of good stuff in The Atlantic these days. Maybe this will keep Trump’s thumbs busy so he doesn’t go pissing off countries that have nukes. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/767 "2017-01-05T02:11:37Z")
> [@](#): > > President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday chose a Wall Street attorney with experience in corporate mergers and public stock launches as his nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/trump-names-wall-street-lawyer-clayton-as-sec-chairman/2017/01/04/5db1f6d6-d2e0-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/trump-names-wall-street-lawyer-clayton-as-sec-chairman/2017/01/04/5db1f6d6-d2e0-11e6-9651-54a0154cf5b3_story.html) How many Wall Street appointees is this now? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/768 "2017-01-05T02:24:28Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > How many Wall Street appointees is this now? I think all of them that will apply. Voters seem to have misheard Trump say something to the effect of “Drain the swamp,” when what he really said was, “Backfill the swamp with more raw sewage until it has achieved as much corruption as the underlying substrate can support.” It’s easy to see how the two statements could be confused phonetically, _n’est pas_? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/769 "2017-01-05T11:43:51Z")
Donald Trump names Chris Christie aide fired over Bridgegate as White House political director > [@](#): > > According to the New York Times, Stepien’s hiring was pushed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is friends with long-time Stepien ally David Wildstein, the admitted Bridgegate lead conspirator. > **[Donald Trump names Chris Christie aide fired over Bridgegate as White House...](https://www.salon.com/2017/01/05/donald-trump-names-chris-christie-aide-fired-over-bridgegate-as-white-house-political-director/#comments)** > > Former Christie flunky Bill Stepien, fired after Bridgegate, will be Trump's White House political director ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/770 "2017-01-05T12:38:35Z")
I am considering taking up religion…just so I can believe in a hell for all those who said variations of “Don’t worry-He doesn’t know enough about government to do any real damage!” ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/771 "2017-01-05T17:35:54Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Donald Trump names Chris Christie aide fired over Bridgegate as White House political directorhttp://www.salon.com/2017/01/05/donald-trump-names-chris-christie-aide-fired-over-bridgegate-as-white-house-political-director/#comments Well this makes a lot of sense actually. Trump wants to punish his enemies. This is what he does. Who better to get to help him with this? This is right in Stepien’s wheelhouse; > [@](#): > > Stepien, who joined the Trump campaign in August as national field director, was fired by Christie in January 2014 amid the Bridgegate scandal in which aides to New Jersey’s Republican governor directed the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge as \*\*political retribution \*\*against a local Democratic mayor. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/772 "2017-01-05T17:42:10Z")
I still don’t think it was about punishing the mayor. I think it was because that development project failed to hire the right lobbyist/legal firm. Wolff and Samson. Who are euphemistically described as being “politically connected”. I will spare you my own descriptions. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/773 "2017-01-05T18:42:59Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > _n’est pas_? _\_ ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/774 "2017-01-05T18:48:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Well this makes a lot of sense actually. Trump wants to punish his enemies. This is what he does. Who better to get to help him with this? This is right in Stepien’s wheelhouse; He wants to drive his enemies before him and feel the pussies of their women. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/775 "2017-01-05T19:11:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > He wants to drive his enemies before him and feel the pussies of their women. Trumpan the Boybarian? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/776 "2017-01-05T19:14:35Z")
Trump the Vulgarian ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/777 "2017-01-05T19:15:38Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > _\_ “Pretentious? _Moi_?” - Miss Piggy ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/778 "2017-01-05T20:15:09Z")
[Florida Attorney General Bondi Said to Have Job Under Trump](https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-05/florida-attorney-general-bondi-said-to-have-job-under-trump). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/779 "2017-01-05T20:24:55Z")
Could be phrased a little better, I think… ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/780 "2017-01-05T20:33:15Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Could be phrased a little better, I think… Too soon to tell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=38) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=40)