Trump's Cabinet Draft is Almost Complete
Trump released 11 more names this weekend. Some are great, some are OK, and some are real head scratchers.
Trump released a flurry of new cabinet picks on Truth Social Friday night, most of them on the official campaign letterhead, with the exceptions of Pam Bondi and Russell Vought.
Pam Bondi - AG
Bondi was announced as the replacement for Gaetz late Thursday. Dana had some thoughts about this one on the show Friday. While there is no doubt that Bondi is a much better pick than Gaetz, there are some serious concerns about her 2A record. Bondi has been all over the map when it comes to 2A. On the one hand, she joined a case before SCOTUS that would allow 18 year-olds to buy handguns, but on the other hand, she pushed to unmask a 19 year-old girl who was suing the state over the same law that prevented her from arming herself. She pushed for National Reciprocity but fought Constitutional Carry. Ms Bondi really needs to explain herself. The Second Amendment protects all the others. We cannot have an Attorney General who would allow it to be weakened.
Scott Bessent - Treasury Sec.
Trump describes Bessent as “widely respected as one of the world’s foremost international investors.” What Trump’s announcement leaves out is that Bessent worked as a fund manager for George Soros from 1991-2000, and again from 2011-2015. A quick perusal through the FEC individual contributors database shows a man who was a full-blown Democrat until about 2008 when he started small by contributing to both John McCain’s and Lindsay Graham’s campaigns along with his contribution to Obama. Since 2010, he donated to a few more Republicans, mostly the party elite types like Boehner, McConnell, and Paul Ryan. He supported Kasich in the 2016 election. It wasn’t until after Trump won in 2016 that he jumped fully on the Trump train, donating a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration fund. Since then, he’s been fully supportive of a multitude of Republicans. He is widely considered one of the GOP’s biggest fundraisers in this last election cycle.
Besset has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s tariff plan. He recently wrote for Fox News, “Used strategically, tariffs can increase revenue to the Treasury, encourage businesses to restore production and reduce our reliance on industrial production from strategic rivals.”