Weekly Opinion Editorial
SAVE AMERICA FROM BANKRUPTCY!
by Steve Fair
President
elect Trump has moved quickly to build his second term cabinet. He has filled more than half of his fifteen (15)
cabinet level positions. Florida Senator
Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, Fox News host and military vet Pette
Hegseth for Defense Secretary, and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz for Attorney
General are his picks for the major cabinet positions.
North
Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is his choice to be Secretary of the Interior. Robert F Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, is
his pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Former Georgia congressman Doug Collins has
been chosen to lead the US Department of Veterans' Affairs. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has
been nominated for Secretary of Homeland Security. Former Democrat Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
has been nominated to lead the CIA. President-elect
Donald Trump has selected former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his
administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Liberty Energy CEO Christ Wright has been
tapped to lead the Energy Department.
The only
positions left unfilled are: Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HHS, Transportation,
and Education. Three observations on
Trump’s picks:
First,
Trump values loyalty. All his cabinet
level appointments are vocal supporters of Donald Trump. Unlike in his first term, where he appointed
experienced politicos, Trump seems to be choosing personal friends. These picks would likely execute out his
decisions without pushback. President
Trump has long said he made a mistake in his first term in choosing the wrong
people to help him execute his plans.
Second, placing loyalty above competence
is dangerous. Several of Trump’s appointees
don’t appear to be qualified. For
example, Lee Zeldin is nominated as the administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), but has little history with climate or regulatory
issues. Pete Hegseth, a Fox News weekend co-host tapped to serve as secretary
of defense, but has no Pentagon experience. Clearly both agencies need reform,
but putting someone in charge who has little experience is risky. Placing loyalty above competence could result
in failing to accomplish what Trump ultimately wants to attain. Hopefully, Trump will have these advisors on
a short leash.
Third,
change is coming. Based on Trump’s picks
for the cabinet, it will not be business as usual in Washington. Trump’s picks are unconventional and unorthodox. They will ‘shake things up.’ Government is past due for reorganization,
restructure, reform, and transformation.
Change happens in the private sector on a regular basis, but change in
government is scarcer than hen’s teeth. The
problem with change without a clear purpose is it often leads to confusion, inefficiency
and demoralization, making things worse, not better.
A potential
game change is Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as heads of
a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Their stated marching orders are to: (1) dismantle
government bureaucracy, (2) slash excess regulations, (3) cut wasteful
expenditures and (4) restructure federal agencies. Just the stated goals of DOGE should strike
fear in the hearts of government bureaucrats.
America’s major challenge is fiscal! Government spends more than they take in and waste is rampant. Both political Parties have shown no resolve to address out of control spending. Trump promised he would balance the federal budget in his first term, but didn’t even come close. If Musk and Ramaswamy are effective and reduce government’s footprint, Trump’s real legacy would be that he saved America from bankruptcy.
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