# Trump's first cabinet meeting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 13, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834 "2017-06-13T03:39:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![candide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@candide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candide)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/21 "2017-06-14T06:38:45Z")
My brother suggested this is presidential political bukkake… Now I never thought the object of bukkake ever really enjoyed it. Perhaps that’s the difference: in political bukkake you revel in the spew that sycophants release… Sexual bukkake is just degrading. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/22 "2017-06-14T08:33:16Z")
At a local protest not long ago someone was holding a sign reading “Even Ikea has better cabinets.” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/23 "2017-06-14T13:34:35Z")
Apparently man-baby is upset that he’s getting mocked over this. Pence had to rock him to sleep last night. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/24 "2017-06-14T14:17:36Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Apparently man-baby is upset that he’s getting mocked over this. Pence had to rock him to sleep last night. Its been more than a day. I wonder if all the smoke blown up Donald The Worst’s ass has leaked out yet? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/25 "2017-06-14T14:28:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **UDS** : > > Because SFAIK the Cabinet has no constitutional function in the US system. There is nothing which, either by law or by convention, has to be decided upon or agreed upon by the Cabinet, and while the heads of executive department have the constitutional function of advising the President “upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices”, there’s no provision under which the Cabinet provides collective advice, or acts collectively in any way at all. [There is one function](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Section_4:_Vice_Presidential.E2.80.93Cabinet_declaration). We should be so lucky. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/26 "2017-06-14T15:05:36Z")
**Trump’s first cabinet meeting:** A Confederacy of Dunces. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/27 "2017-06-14T15:08:48Z")
If you haven’t seen [Chuck Schumer’s parody](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/337448-schumer-mocks-trump-having-cabinet-members-praise-him)of the cabinet meeting, watch it right now. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/28 "2017-06-14T15:51:48Z")
People might laugh but this is actually a very sobering turn of events if you can look past the goofy spectacle. Consider the fact that he has succeeded in taking people who have loads more experience in the federal government and essentially compelled them to kiss his ass on national television. Think about Trump’s behavior and how he berates and humiliates his staff, and yet they’re still there with pathetically sycophantic support for someone whom every knows is hugely in over his head. Do they like or respect him? Probably not, but waking up everyday knowing you’re at the center of power must be intoxicating no matter whom you’re serving. And whether they like it or not, he is the gate keeper. He is still the Donald, and they are his apprentices. But Trump’s handling of the Russia investigation has produced a more ominous set of circumstances. All along, there have been people close to the president who have, despite pressure from the top, more or less shown a respect for our political institutions. Preet Bharara and Sally Yates tried to establish their independence matters of law. Judges in various courts have taken a similar approach. Comey said that he’d give Trump his honesty. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. The only one of those mentioned under Trump’s employ still in existence is Sessions, and if the reports are true, yesterday was his last, best chance to keep his job. When Trump came into power, I think the understanding was that he would need time to adapt to the complexity of the Oval Office. He would need advisors to help him do that. These advisors, it was believed, would be called upon to help him navigate the institutional labyrinth – people like Jeff Sessions, Reince Preibus, and the like. After all, these were people who could interject and say “Well, Mr President, I’m afraid this won’t work, and here’s why.” Or “Actually, you can’t do it, and here’s why.” “You can’t just fire Comey - that won’t work.” “You can’t just ban Muslim immigrants.” Trump doesn’t want to hear “That won’t work”. He wants results, and he wants people to get those results any way possible, legal or not, constitutional or not. He doesn’t want to adapt to the system; he wants the system to adapt to him, and if people around him tell him it can’t be done, he will replace them with people who will tell him it can. And over time, these people who once valued the institutional norms of the presidency, its relationship with congress, its relations with the press and public…pretty soon, they abandon those values, because embracing those values will mean their political extinction, which is a frightening prospect for them. He is capable of transforming the role of the presidency into something else. And even if he falls short, his efforts could mean a lot of chaos. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/29 "2017-06-14T16:29:07Z")
To get back to my OP (as I said, this isn’t about Trump bashing) I’ve did some quick research and the consensus seems to be that there’s been a significant shift in how the executive branch works. It used to be based around the various departments and the cabinet officials who headed those departments had real power. But in the last few decades, executive branch power has become centralized in the White House. White House staff are now doing the kinds of things cabinet officials and departmental staff used to do. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/30 "2017-06-14T21:02:41Z")
He’s cucked the entire Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/31 "2017-06-14T22:26:18Z")
They should create a new White House position for Praise Singer, like Shaka Zulu had. When the President is about to enter a room, the Praise Singer goes first, to loudly inform witnesses of the blessing about to befall them, and set the right tone of adulation and humble adoration. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/32 "2017-06-14T22:58:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > **Trump’s first cabinet meeting:** A Confederacy of Dunces. I’d have thought the SDMB might have gone more for ‘basket of deplorables’. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/33 "2017-06-14T23:10:33Z")
It was a bit weird to see a bunch of guys who are for the most part strong and independent come off as obedient yes men. Not really a bad meeting but weird. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/34 "2017-06-15T13:43:01Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Because SFAIK the Cabinet has no constitutional function in the US system. There is nothing which, either by law or by convention, has to be decided upon or agreed upon by the Cabinet, and while the heads of executive department have the constitutional function of advising the President “upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices”, there’s no provision under which the Cabinet provides collective advice, or acts collectively in any way at all. > > Hence, not much call for Cabinet meetings, unless a particular president chooses to adopt a practice of seeking collective advice from the Cabinet. Fair points. I was thinking too much of the Westminster system, where Cabinet ministers are political heavyweights in their own right, with collective decision-making (pre-Blair). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834/35 "2017-06-15T15:24:06Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > **Trump’s first cabinet meeting:** A Confederacy of Dunces. “A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy” or nothing! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-first-cabinet-meeting/788834.md?page=1)