# 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:** 17
**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 18, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/321 "2024-11-18T19:19:26Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > So, it is not INCONCEIVABLE that one day I’d find my computer access cut off, and my paychecks might cease. We’d see what the union could do in such situations, and how successful litigation might be. And of course, any such litigation will take time. Everyone who wasn’t targeted in the first wave will be watching people they know lose their homes while waiting for the courts to do the right thing. How many of those people will stick their necks out, knowing that doing so makes them the next on the chopping block? ---
**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 18, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/322 "2024-11-18T19:22:26Z")
Please don’t start discussing unions because we will have to start talking about how public sector unions (except for police of course) will be made illegal. ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/323 "2024-11-18T19:45:14Z")
If an act of congress creates a department, does it demand that is funded? Can you just fire all and keep paying the utilities of an empty site for 4 years? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2024, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/324 "2024-11-18T19:56:08Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I’ve got a somewhat high-level government position. In various circumstances, it can be not entirely clear who my “boss” is. I’m sort of the same. But Trump can’t touch me. I’m not in Federal GOV. Got cops in the building now. But I work from home. Security has tightened up considerably since Trump created his mob and let them lose. My boss? Well… I’ve a few I guess. Didn’t want the job myself. I trained my ‘boss’ she has to go to all the meetings. 🤣 > [@Dinsdale](#): > > I seriously doubt I will get fired - SOMEONE has to do the category of work I do. Yup. I’m helping a replacement for me along. She’s very sharp, thank god. And I like the people that I work with. I do not want to leave them hanging. I’ve made it quite clear that I’m not taking on any other big projects. They can take years to do. They understand. 32 years with this company. Half my life. Been doing this kind of work for 38 years. I’m, frankly, over it. They know I’m retiring in a ~ year. The paycheck is not that important (but nice). Provided that Trump doesn’t jack up Medicare, my wife and I will be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/325 "2024-11-18T23:40:29Z")
An interesting idea is posed in this opinion article: Since Trump is likely to skip background checks on at least some of his appointees, [Biden should do it for him](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/biden-trump-cabinet-picks-fbi-background-checks-rcna180698). Make as much of those checks available to the public as is realistic, so the public knows what Trump wants to keep buried. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/326 "2024-11-19T01:11:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You are once again conflating “not subject to criminal penalty” with “possible”. What does that even mean? Seriously. Neither of those terms appear in Kolak\_of\_Twilo’s post. Are you saying that because its illegal, its not possible? I’ll allow that a court might issue an immediate injunction. What judge/court would have jurisdiction? The 11th? If that happened, what would prevent the USSC from taking an emergency appeal of some sort and then ruling that Trump’s appointments are, in fact, legal? “Preposterous!” you say? Wake up and smell not only is under your nose but also in front of your eyes. Ah, but Trump has already told his followers not believe what they see and they (happily) obliged. This is supposed to be a systems of checks and balances, right? I think what we may be looking at is unchecked and unbalanced (in more ways than one) power. ---
**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 19, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/327 "2024-11-19T01:26:34Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > What does that even mean? Seriously. Neither of those terms appear in Kolak\_of\_Twilo’s post. Are you saying that because its illegal, its not possible? It means what it says. “Trump can’t be sent to jail for doing X” does not equal “it is within Trump’s power to do X”. > [@MikeF](#): > > If that happened, what would prevent the USSC from taking an emergency appeal of some sort and then ruling that Trump’s appointments are, in fact, legal? The Constitution. The Supreme Court is not going to rule that Trump can unilaterally bypass the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/328 "2024-11-19T02:04:31Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What if it is Kristi Noem? It would be puppies. > [@Smapti](#): > > The Constitution. The Supreme Court is not going to rule that Trump can unilaterally bypass the Senate. You sure have a lot of confidence in this corrupt, twisted, agenda-driven, Trump-appointed, bootlicking, precedent-defying, interpretation-twisting Supreme Court. ---
**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 19, 2024, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/329 "2024-11-19T02:06:02Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > You sure have a lot of confidence in this corrupt, twisted, agenda-driven, Trump-appointed, bootlicking, precedent-defying, interpretation-twisting Supreme Court. If this Supreme Court was the feckless rubber stamp that some people around here claim it is, Trump’s second term would be winding down right now and we’d be talking about President-Elect Newsom’s Cabinet picks. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/330 "2024-11-19T02:16:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If this Supreme Court was the feckless rubber stamp that some people around here claim it is, Trump’s second term would be winding down right now and we’d be talking about President-Elect Newsom’s Cabinet picks. It’s true this Court didn’t rubber stamp every Trump issue. But it has displayed an incredible lack of consistency in interpretation. I mean, the Founding Fathers were pretty clear they didn’t want a Head of State that was above the law - thus, a president, not a king. And some folks here were certain the SC wouldn’t grant Trump immunity, and we see how that turned out. Not blanket immunity, but worse - subjective immunity. It feels like unfounded confidence to think this Court will side with the Constitution. ---
**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 19, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/331 "2024-11-19T02:20:33Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > It feels like unfounded confidence to think this Court will side with the Constitution One thing you can always count on petty tyrants to do is to preserve their own power. For men like Thomas and Alito, that means checking the authority of the president. They’re not going to give him the power to take away their own authority. If anything, the immunity ruling was a power grab on their part since it makes them the arbiters of what constitutes an “official act”. This is the same reason the Senate isn’t going to play along with Trump’s demands to abolish the filibuster and let him do recess appointments. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/332 "2024-11-19T02:24:42Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This is the same reason the Senate isn’t going to play along with Trump’s demands to abolish the filibuster and let him do recess appointments. I have even less confidence in that. ---
**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 19, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/333 "2024-11-19T02:29:37Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I have even less confidence in that Then you haven’t been paying attention to the Senate for the last week. The Senate specifically rejected Trump’s pick for Majority Leader in favor of a man who has repeatedly said that the filibuster is off the table, and McConnell has made it clear in leadership conferences that there will be no recess appointments in the coming session. > **[Republicans promise to protect the Senate filibuster, even if it hinders...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-promise-protect-senate-filibuster-even-hinders-trumps-agen-rcna179893)** > > Many Republican senators, including incoming Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, say they will preserve the 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation while they're in power. > **[On Trump's Cabinet Picks, McConnell Issues a Warning](https://time.com/7177280/donald-trump-cabinet-mitch-mcconnell/)** > > As Trump's base claims he can appoint his cabinet through recess appointments, McConnell defends the Senate's role, suggests it's the only option McConnell is retiring after 2026. Thune isn’t up for reelection until 2028 and hasn’t decided whether he plans to run again. Neither of them fear Trump, and they value their own power over making him happy. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/334 "2024-11-19T13:11:57Z")
Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation. Trump is literally naming his entire cabinet based on faces he recognizes from Fox News. ---
**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 19, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/335 "2024-11-19T13:44:43Z")
Not counting acting secretaries, Duffy would be the first Secretary of Transportation in 31 years who is not a woman, a racial minority, or gay. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/336 "2024-11-19T13:53:22Z")
I’m seiously asking, since I haven’t paid attention to all of them. Have any of Trump’s nominees been racial minorities or gay? ---
**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 19, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/337 "2024-11-19T13:55:22Z")
Gabbard is part Samoan. ---
**Author:** ![Ash\_trav511](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@Ash\_trav511](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ash_trav511)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/338 "2024-11-19T13:57:27Z")
Not a cabinet post, but Vivek Ramaswamy is of Indian origin ---
**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 19, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/339 "2024-11-19T14:02:01Z")
And Musk is African-American 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/340 "2024-11-19T16:24:02Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Have any of Trump’s nominees been racial minorities Does Rubio count? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799.md?page=18)