# 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:** 28
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/541 "2024-12-04T02:52:06Z")
A few updates: NBC News is reporting that ten current and former Fox News employees have expressed concern about Pete Hegseth’s drinking: > [@](#): > > Two of those people said that on more than a dozen occasions during Hegseth’s time as a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” which began in 2017, they smelled alcohol on him before he went on air. Those same two people, plus another, said that during his time there he appeared on television after they’d heard him talk about being hungover as he was getting ready or on set. > > One of the sources said they smelled alcohol on him as recently as last month and heard him complain about being hungover this fall. > **[Pete Hegseth's drinking worried colleagues at Fox News, sources tell NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pete-hegseths-drinking-worried-colleagues-fox-news-sources-tell-nbc-ne-rcna181471)** > > Ten current and former Fox employees say Trump’s pick for defense secretary drank in ways that concerned his co-workers. A Trump transition team spokesperson called the claims "completely unfounded and false." NBC is also reporting that as many as six GOP Senators are uncomfortable supporting Hegseth’s confirmation: > [@](#): > > As many as six Senate Republicans, perhaps more, are currently not comfortable supporting Hegseth’s bid to lead the Pentagon as new revelations about his past continue to be made public, three Republican sources with direct knowledge of his nomination process said. Given Republicans’ slim Senate majority in the next Congress, Hegseth, a former Fox News host, can afford to lose only three GOP votes, assuming all Democrats vote against him. > > Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is on the Armed Services Committee, would not commit to support Hegseth’s nomination and said she planned to grill him about news accounts of allegations of alcohol abuse, mistreatment of woman and financial mismanagement. > > “We’re just going to have a really frank and thorough conversation,” Ernst said. > **[Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is in peril in the Senate](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trumps-pick-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-peril-senate-republicans-rcna182738)** > > As many as six GOP senators aren't currently comfortable supporting Hegseth following allegations about drinking and his treatment of women, sources told NBC News. And, finally, Trump’s pick to head up the DEA, Chad Chronister (a Florida sheriff) has withdrawn his name from consideration. > **[Trump's pick to lead the DEA withdraws from consideration](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pick-dea-administrator-withdraws-consideration-rcna182755)** > > Florida sheriff Chad Chronister took his name out of the running three days after Trump announced he would nominate him to be the next DEA administrator. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/542 "2024-12-04T03:01:18Z")
The Chronister withdrawal is actually unfortunate, if you read the news articles about him. [Per CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/03/politics/chad-chronister-trump-dea-withdraws/index.html): > Trump’s choice of Chronister had received backlash from the MAGA corner of the Republican Party, some of whom took to social media to lambast the sheriff. > > Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky criticized Trump’s selection in a [post on X](https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1863274428672462963) on Sunday, saying the sheriff “should be disqualified” over his enforcement of Covid-19 protocols. [Per The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/03/trump-dea-pick-chad-chronister-withdraws): > Trump’s pick of Chronister for the DEA job drew backlash from conservatives, who raised concerns over his actions during the Covid-19 pandemic and him saying that his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities”. > In March 2020, Chronister [arrested the pastor](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/florida-megachurch-pastor-arrested-for-breaching-covid-19-health-order) of a megachurch who held services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus. > > “Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said at the time. “We are hopeful that this will be a wake-up call.” ---
**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 4, 2024, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/543 "2024-12-04T03:13:23Z")
So he just wasn’t enough of a crackpot. Well, _that’s_ different. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/544 "2024-12-04T03:27:36Z")
Indeed. One wonders why he was picked in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/545 "2024-12-04T03:39:49Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > One wonders why he was picked in the first place. Possibly due in part to Chronister’s father-in-law, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers, who received a pardon from Trump in 2020, over his involvement in a gambling scandal. DeBartolo has been a Trump supporter. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/546 "2024-12-04T03:45:54Z")
That makes sense, especially if the “vetting” went no further than “Florida sheriff? Okay, then!” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/547 "2024-12-04T03:47:45Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > especially if the “vetting” went no further than “Florida sheriff? Okay, then!” The NBC article indicates that Chronister was backed by DeSantis and a number of other Florida Republican leaders, but I guess the element who was angry about churches being forced to close during the 2020 COVID lockdown has a long memory. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2024, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/548 "2024-12-04T04:36:13Z")
Speaking of Ron DeFuhrer, Trump is reportedly mulling him as a replacement for Hegseth. > **['Don't fire somebody without backup': CNN guests react as Trump mulls...](https://www.rawstory.com/pete-hegseth-2670302712/)** > > CNN panelists reacted to new reporting from the network that President-elect Donald Trump is weighing replacing his embattled Pentagon chief nominee with three names.Fox News weekend co-host Pete Hegseth's nomination has come under fire following... ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/549 "2024-12-04T14:06:57Z")
The good news for Florida Democrats is that there may be no Republican politicians left in Florida by the time Trump gets finished staffing his Administration. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/550 "2024-12-04T14:17:23Z")
His sliver of basic decency and social responsibility is the kind of thing that an FBI background check may have uncovered. And yet … ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/551 "2024-12-04T15:07:11Z")
So it looks like Don Jr. and Eric won’t be as involved in the Trump White House this time around except to recommend people for high positions, which is a big minus (because there will be fewer clowns in the circus and therefore things will be less “entertaining”). No pluses are evident. > **[Trump's children won't have White House roles in his second term](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trumps-children-white-house-roles-second-term-rcna181703)** > > The absences of Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and other immediate family members reflect shifting dynamics — including their trust and confidence in advisers like Susie Wiles. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/552 "2024-12-04T15:21:23Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > So it looks like Don Jr. and Eric won’t be as involved in the Trump White House this time around Not much of a surprise. Trump has always worried about his kids being losers, and the fact that they didn’t win the election for him in 2020 proves they _are_ losers. He was stuck with them during 2020-2024, but now that he’s the president again, he’s got enough bootlickers-to-be fawning over him for spots in the government that he doesn’t need these losers anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/553 "2024-12-04T19:06:40Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > The good news for Florida Democrats is that there may be no Republican politicians left in Florida by the time Trump gets finished staffing his Administration. As a Florida resident I have to say that sounds delightful, but unlikely: local politics here is full of white-supremacist, pro-autocracy types. Staffing vacated offices will be no problem. What a point of pride for Trump! --his will be known as the _Florida Man Presidency_. ---
**Author:** ![JoePockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8dc957/32.png) [@JoePockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoePockets)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/554 "2024-12-04T19:15:43Z")
At this point the legion of Trump lap dogs in Washington would support Curly, Larry or Moe if they could rise up and become a part of Trump’s cabinet soon . Weren’t they celebrities , too ? There is a foursome to behold! What could go wrong? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/555 "2024-12-05T18:06:28Z")
According to this theory, the appointees Trump will really fight for are RFK Jr and Gabbard, because they expand his base: > **[The Two Nominees for Whom Trump Is Prepared to Go to War](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/two-nominees-trump-go-to-war-gabbard-rfk)** > > The president has kept an uncharacteristically low profile in the confirmation fights. That could soon change. Crazy. Can it be true that Trump puts the woman from the [not really Hindu cult](https://www.spytalk.co/p/my-battle-with-tulsi-gabbards-cult) ahead of Christian Republicans? ---
**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:** [December 5, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/556 "2024-12-05T19:38:51Z")
And isn’t RFK pro-choice? That’s not going to endear him to the religious right. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/557 "2024-12-05T21:54:13Z")
Well, he did arrest a clergy person and we all know laws don’t apply to them. At least not Christian clergy. They get their instructions directly from god. Or so they say. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/558 "2024-12-05T22:08:21Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > According to this theory, the appointees Trump will really fight for are RFK Jr and Gabbard, because they expand his base: why would he care about expanding his base at this point? I think he’s rather solidify the hard core MAGAs. No one joining him now from expansion of the base can be trusted when the shit hits the fan ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/559 "2024-12-05T22:42:22Z")
I think the idea is to unite all loony CT-loving iconoclasts under one banner. While he’s getting their support to tear down the current system he can let them hold whatever individual fantasies they want about what its going to be replaced with. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799/560 "2024-12-05T23:38:57Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > why would he care about expanding his base at this point? I think he’s rather solidify the hard core MAGAs. No one joining him now from expansion of the base can be trusted when the shit hits the fan He may be thinking of the 2028 election. Taking him literally, he wants a third term, constitution be damned. Taking him seriously, he wants a MAGA successor like JD Vance or Lara Trump. For MAGA to have legs, it needs to appeal to the median voter. In this cycle, that worked, as illustrated by this October polling factoid: [more Americans say Harris is very liberal (37 percent) than say Trump is very conservative (28 percent).](https://wapo.st/3Bo6Lr2) Trump needs to keep it that way with respect to the 2028 contenders, whomever they may be. Being able to say MAGA is almost bipartisan will help, and with RFK Jr and Tulsi on his side, that helps. As for his base, they are locked in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-new-cabinet/1009799.md?page=29)