Comparing Biden's cabinet to Trump's
A matter of competence
When the Register’s new Iowa Poll comes out this weekend, it will likely show Iowa Republicans continue to favor Trump by a wide margin. It seems everyone has forgotten just how chaotic his tenure was and how many awful staffing decisions he made.
I’ve always felt the mark of a good political leader is the ability to attract smart, talented people to government work. Joe Biden has done just that. He filled his cabinet with capable leaders. And, in contrast to Trump, they have stayed. Biden has returned competence to federal government.
Trump’s cabinet picks turned into a disastrous minefield. Let’s review some of the highlights:
Rex Tillerson – Secretary of State: Tillerson lasted a little more than one year. He learned Trump had fired him by reading about it on Twitter. After he was fired, Tillerson testified before Congress that Vladimir Putin had out-prepared Trump for a summit meeting in Germany, after which Trump called Tillerson “dumb as a rock.”
James Mattis – Defense Secretary: Resigned in December of 2018 after failing to convince Trump not to withdraw all US troops from Syria. Trump claimed Mattis couldn’t resign because Trump fired him first. Mattis later tore into Trump, saying, “We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.” And, “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try.” Trump called Mattis “the most overrated general” and said “I didn’t like his leadership style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!”
Jeff Sessions – Attorney General: Sessions angered Trump by recusing himself from the Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Sessions resigned in November 2018 after being lambasted repeatedly by Trump, who reportedly called him an idiot to his face. At one point, Trump claimed he didn’t have an attorney general and called Sessions mixed up and confused.
Ryan Zinke – Interior Secretary: Resigned in December 2018 following an Inspector General’s report concluded he had repeatedly violated ethical rules and had lied to investigators. Zinke took private jet flights to events that did not pertain to his job.
Tom Price – Health and Human Services Secretary: Resigned in September 2017 following criticism of using government funds to pay for private jet travel. The HHS inspector general urged the agency to recover more than $300,000 from Price.
Scott Pruitt – EPA Secretary: Survived barely one year in office after becoming the subject of 14 separate federal investigations over his spending habits and management practices. He made frequent use of first class and private jet travel and leased a DC condo at a discounted rate from a lobbyist whose clients were regulated by the EPA.
John Kelly – Homeland Security Secretary then White House Chief of Staff: After leaving the White House, Kelly infuriated Trump by confirming he had heard Trump refer to dead US service members as “suckers”. Trump said, “John Kelly, by far the dumbest of my military people.” And “He was incapable of doing a good job, it was too much for him, and I couldn’t stand the guy so I fired him like a “dog.”
And let’s not forget other disastrous hires like National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who resigned 22 days into the Trump administration for lying about conversations he’d had with the Russian ambassador to the US before Trump took office. Or Chief Strategist Steve Bannon who was later arrested on federal charges of conspiring to defraud investors in a project to build a wall at the Mexico border with Bannon and his co-defendants accused of enriching themselves. On his final day in office, Trump pardoned Bannon, so he never stood trial. He has since been convicted of contempt of Congress, but his prison sentence is delayed pending appeal.
Who hired those people?
All these appointments Trump deemed to be “terrible”, “dumb as a rock”, “overrated”, “incapable”, “mixed up and confused” people were put in office by Trump himself. Instead of draining the swamp, Trump dredged the swamp to new depths and filled it with people who either flamed out on ethical violations or who Trump later turned on.
Biden’s cabinet has been steady – quietly doing a competent job with barely a whiff of controversy. Oh sure, Republicans make noise about impeaching the Homeland Security secretary as part of their political strategy on border issues. But there have been almost no allegations of impropriety.
Only one cabinet secretary has resigned. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh took a new job running the NHL players’ union.
After reviewing his record on executive hiring decisions, one wonders why anyone would think he belongs back in the White House. I can’t imagine any responsible company putting a guy in the C-suite who has such a terrible hiring record, much less facing 91 criminal indictments.
It was wonderful to see so many paid subscribers to the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Thursday night at our holiday party in Des Moines. We appreciate all readers, free and paid! Thank you for your support.
He knows how to create a swamp!
Blatant cronyism and incompetence. Thank you for reminding us.