Coop Scoop: Why The Crackpot Trump Cabinet ?

It's all about humiliation and revenge

September 14, 2024

By Marc Cooper

Is Trump just crazy? Or is he playing some curious political game? Or both? What exactly is his strategy in turning over American national security and law enforcement to the extremist fringe of MAGA? Each appointee is less qualified and more extreme than the other.

I’m assuming by now you’ve heard all the dirt on the backgrounds of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, Kristi Noem as Chief of the Department of Homeland Security, and Fox weekend morning anchor Peter Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. Throw into that mix the notorious xenophobe Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy—meaning he can put his fingers into any issue he wants. And he will definitely be the point man in Trump’s plans for mass deportation. There’s no point in my rehearsing all that for you, as I’m three hours behind much of the media on the East Coast.

But talk about shock and awe. Trump’s appointment of the unknown and rather fascist-adjacent DefSec has shaken the foundations of the Pentagon, and his naming of Matt Gaetz has set off panic in the DOJ, including the FBI, and probably more than half the country.

In any case, with the appointment of the completely unhinged Matt Gaetz—the single most despised member of the House by his own party colleagues—to become the chief law enforcement officer, Trump is making history. If confirmed, Gaetz will be the first Attorney General in history to have been the subject of a federal criminal investigation.

He is also under current investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which was slated to release a damaging report on him this Friday. But Gaetz resigned from the House on Wednesday night, rendering the investigation moot. Smooth move.

So, why? What is Trump doing? I think there are multiple motives for empowering the fringe of the fringe: the radically unqualified and the politically extreme, to run the domestic and foreign security bureaucracies of this nation.

Two motives come to mind.

First, Trump campaigned on a platform of retribution and revenge against “the enemy within,” and these picks are among the most vile, vengeful, and unprincipled lowlifes he could find—even if he had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with Matt Gaetz. Like any crime family boss, these picks were already loyal captains within his political sphere. They are “made men” (and one woman) who have already given their blood oaths of loyalty to the Don in exchange for whatever souls they might have previously possessed . They will follow any order given to them and carry out the wet work to get whatever The Don desires—including politically eliminating his real and imagined enemies. And indicting and prosecuting the innocent who attempted righteous prosecution of him

Second, this is a power grab by Trump to intentionally test the loyalty of the Republican-dominated Senate, specifically the more “moderate” ones (at least compared to, say, a Ted Cruz). It’s certainly a MAGA-dominated body, but with a lot of cracks (not just crackpots) that could spell trouble for Trump.

That the Senate today gave only 13 votes to the candidate Trump and Elon Musk had zealously backed, Florida Senator Rick Scott—who has said he wants to shut down Medicare and Social Security—tells you that the Senate wants to at least not be perceived as a Trump rubber stamp, even if it inevitably becomes one. I don’t think it a coincidence that Trump chose Gaetz out of rage that his and Elon’s guy got walloped in the Senate. He’s not taking any more chances at losing.

The election on Wednesday of Sen. John Thune as Majority Leader underlines the problems that even a MAGA Senate may pose for Trump. He knows very well that if confirmation hearings are held, as is routine, this requires extensive background checks by the FBI, and some of these picks might fall short of the 50 votes needed for confirmation—especially Gaetz.

This puts tremendous pressure on Leader Thune, a moderate in MAGA terms. And then there’s Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and a couple of other backbencher old guard Republicans as well, who could balk at such outrageous appointments.

That’s why Trump is pressuring Thune to accept his demand that confirmation hearings not take place, and that the appointments be made “recess appointments.” These are basically meant to be emergency appointments when the Senate is in recess for at least 10 days and there’s a dire and immediate need to fill a post that would normally require confirmation. That is not the case in any manner here.

Trump’s demand would shred the concept of "advise and consent" and would strip the Senate of one of its most important powers, turning it into a feeble and humiliated rubber stamp.

Thune is considered to be at least the most decent among the MAGA herd and even voted to certify Biden’s election in 2020. This clearly angered Trump who publicly denounced Thune at the time and who is now seeking not only revenge but complete and immediate capitulation by the entire Republican Senate.

The weight of all this is on Thune’s shoulders, and on Wednesday afternoon, when asked whether he would give in to Trump’s demands, he sort of hedged but sounded like he was ready to capitulate and pass on confirmations.

But that was before the radioactive choice of Gaetz was announced, and what Thune decides in the next day or two will determine whether or not there will be confirmation hearings or if Trump will be free to appoint anybody to anything, over the heads of the Senate.

Either way, this is a power move by Trump to consolidate 100% control of the upper house. And either way, he is likely to win and carry out the taming punishment he seeks. If Thune folds and there are no confirmation procedures, it means an immediate win for Trump.

If, in fact, there are confirmation hearings, the pressure on Thune and the handful of other less-than-100%-reliable colleagues will only increase. The vast majority of the MAGA Senate will vote to confirm any of these goofs, no matter what shows up in their background checks. Will Thune and the few others like him want to be the ones to deny the last needed votes for confirmation? I suppose not. They, too, will eventually fold.

On a much less dramatic and bloodless scale, you can see Trump force-feeding the “moderates” into accepting his extremely troubling nominees as a sort of Night of the Long Knives. Trump is politically liquidating those within his own party who he does not consider blindly loyal. They will be his, eventually, one way or another. They have no real choice. And that’s what Trump most seeks—humiliation and absolute power.

There is one coda to be considered. It’s not impossible that he nominated Gaetz to suck up all the media and political oxygen surrounding his other horrific choices. So far, that is also working.

I’m just wondering if by the time you read this, will Marjorie Taylor Greene have been appointed to some other cabinet post? I give it a 50/50 chance. ++

The future of journalism is in doubt and danger. Independent publications like the Coop Scoop will be more important than ever. It has become near impossible to spread these posts on social media so please spread this around to your friends and ask them to subscribe.

We also need your financial support as this election and now its aftermath has turned The Coop Scoop into near full time work which was not my first choice. I’m supposed to be retired! But to continue at a reasonable pace we need funding. So if u are a free subscriber, please try to upgrade to paid. It’s only $5 a month… less than one Starbucks Frappuccino.  If u are already a paid subscriber, then give a gift subscription. Your support is crucial now. Thanks in advance!

One year subs are now discounted to $31.00 (or $5 a month)

A $25 donation or more via Paypal, Zelle or Venmo would be just as fab. So would smaller or bigger donations. Be sure to include your email if you use Zelle or Venmo.

ZELLE ————————>marccooper.usc@gmail.com

VENMO ———————→ @marc-cooper-56022