# Trump's new cabinet **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 6, 2024, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799 "2024-11-06T16:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**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:** [November 14, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/181 "2024-11-14T18:24:20Z")
One thing I don’t know- what are the requirements to hold a pro forma session to avoid a recess and thus recess appointments? Can Democrats decide on their own to have such a session? Does the recess motion require 2/3 or a majority? I hope there are enough GOP Senators that want to and have the courage to block Gaetz. But I suspect Collins will merely furrow her brow and knuckle under. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/182 "2024-11-14T18:33:50Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Can’t make Gaetz an Acting anything since he hasn’t held a government position requiring approval by the Senate. Maybe. But I found this: [Vacancies Act FAQ](https://presidentialtransition.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/11/Partnership_Vacancies_Act_FAQ.pdf) > [@](#): > > The president may designate as the acting official an agency employee who is paid at the GS-15 rate or above and who has been an employee of the agency for at least 90 of the past 365 days preceding the vacancy So does Trump just have to wait until late April to have his enemies locked up? Or is this all too legalistic when the President is now allowed to violate the law when engaging in official activity? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/183 "2024-11-14T18:40:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > One thing I don’t know- what are the requirements to hold a pro forma session to avoid a recess and thus recess appointments? One thing is that they have to allow to conduct business. So theoretically, if the Dems want to play hard ball they could all show up and make a Quorum Call and have the unexcused Republicans arrested and brought to the chamber. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/184 "2024-11-14T18:48:01Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > [The Bulwark: Donald Trump Is Dead Serious About Getting Matt Gaetz to DOJ](https://www.the-bulwark.com/p/donald-trump-is-dead-serious-about) > > > [@](#): > > > > “Everyone else looked at AG as if they were applying for a judicial appointment. They talked about their vaunted legal theories and constitutional bullshit. Gaetz was the only one who said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go over there and start cuttin’ fuckin’ heads.’” “Just call me ‘Bernie’ Gaetz!” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/185 "2024-11-14T18:53:30Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Yes, with qualification that a recess appointment is almost as good. (Almost, because it is just for two years.) As with everything Trump, once he’s violated that norm, it becomes the new norm. Allow him the recess appointments, and, true bully style, every appointment thereafter will be “Meet me outside at recess.” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/186 "2024-11-14T19:01:36Z")
I’ve posted this elsewhere , but there was a Xweet from _The Daily Show_, reacting to the Gaetz nomination with: Does anyone know if the Department of Justice is within 1500 feet of a school? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/187 "2024-11-14T19:04:47Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > One thing I don’t know- what are the requirements to hold a pro forma session to avoid a recess and thus recess appointments? Can Democrats decide on their own to have such a session? Does the recess motion require 2/3 or a majority? The motion to adjourn in the Senate only requires a majority and is nondebatable (i.e. cannot be filibustered). The motion will typically state when the Senate will reconvene – this is amendable, but the amendments are nondebatable. So – if they wanted to – Senate Republicans shouldn’t have any problem passing an adjournment of more than ten days (which is the standard the courts have recognized for the Senate being in a recess applicable to the recess appointment power). ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/188 "2024-11-14T19:21:25Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > This is like a parody cabinet, something the Onion would put together as a joke. Child rapist and trafficker? Make him attorney general. Russian asset? Director of national intelligence. > > It’s almost unbelievable. If it were fiction, I would lose my willful suspension of disbelief. Forgive me if this point has already been made, but I’m just skimming this thread… I see Czarcasm has made a hint: > [@Czarcasm](#): > > As l mentioned elsewhere, I think Trump has two lists-The ridiculous one that is supposed to be vetoed, and the real one that only looks good compared to the first. I also believe Trump has two lists. But, this list isn’t just supposed to be vetoed, but also identify those who will stand in his way. IMO, the best thing to do is for those Repub Senators who are willing to fight Trump is to keep their heads down and go with the flow. The idiots Trump has nominated are not going to be able to lead a fly to shit, so let them try. It’s better than having Trump find some half-way capable traitors to fill in for round two. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/189 "2024-11-14T19:21:46Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I’ve posted this elsewhere , but there was a Xweet from _The Daily Show_, reacting to the Gaetz nomination with: > > Does anyone know if the Department of Justice is within 1500 feet of a school? Templeton Academy is about 1000 feet away from the DOJ building on Pennsylvania Avenue. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/190 "2024-11-14T19:23:54Z")
From Threads: This isn’t a cabinet, it’s a junk drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/191 "2024-11-14T19:41:57Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > The idiots Trump has nominated are not going to be able to lead a fly to shit, so let them try. They aren’t meant to lead, they’re meant to destroy. It’s similar to your theory about outing recalcitrant Senators, except it goes the other way down the Org Chart. These guys will order their staff to do something stupid, destructive and/or illegal, and every staffer who pushes back will be put on a list. They’ll fire whoever they can immediately, and re-assign anyone they can’t shitcan to a shit detail. Eventually resistance to the stupidity will disappear. A lot of people being put on shit details will quit instead, which is all good as far as Trump is concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/192 "2024-11-14T19:43:32Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Is “Department of Government Efficiency” a real thing, or is he just giving Musk & Ramaswamay something to keep them busy and out from underfoot? I’m guessing the intent is to have them act as Trump’s version of Joe McCarthy. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/193 "2024-11-14T21:28:31Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > The idiots Trump has nominated are not going to be able to lead a fly to shit, so let them try. If it were just Gaetz, Gabbard, etc. that Trump was appointing to these agencies, I’d be more inclined to this viewpoint. These people are absolute clowns who have no idea how to push their agenda through a bureaucracy. But it’s the next level down — the Deputy and Undersecretaries who more directly oversee operations — where Republicans will plant their apparatchiks who DO know what they’re doing to weaponize the instruments of government to serve Trump’s interests. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/194 "2024-11-14T21:30:32Z")
And RFK Junior is to be nominated as HHS secretary. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/195 "2024-11-14T21:35:28Z")
If late-era Stalin is any example, they won’t have time to run their departments: Trump will keep them up all night at Mar-a-Lago, dancing on the tables while he throws wadded up bread at them. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2024, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/196 "2024-11-14T21:36:11Z")
I wonder how many Republican senators take donations from Pfizer. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/197 "2024-11-14T21:49:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And RFK Junior is to be nominated as HHS secretary. Just about spit out my coffee when I read that. I recall he’s an anti-science nutter. Yea, just what we need for HHS. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/198 "2024-11-14T22:30:49Z")
Without a doubt, every single Senate Democrat will vote unanimously against someone like Gaetz. The only thing then is that a few Republican Senators must defect as well. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/199 "2024-11-14T23:27:18Z")
It’s a test to see if all the Republican senators rubber-stamp Trump’s obviously unqualified Cabinet candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/200 "2024-11-14T23:37:09Z")
So far Murkowski is sounding like a no as well as Susan Collins (yeah, I know). Today Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called for the House Ethics Committee report to be made available to the Senate before any hearing on Gaetz. He said he would be in favor of issuing a subpoena to get the report if needed. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said “I think all but Gaetz are very doable — maybe not lovable, but doable.” That’s probably an indication this may be a red line for enough Senators to sink Gaetz as AG. We will see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799.md?page=11)