(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump Nominations and Infighting from Nov. 16 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-17 What do you do when the entire barrel of apples is rotten? If you are Donald Trump, you continue to claim that they are the best ever and set out to collect more like them. Appointments Trump has named his picks for 11 of the 24 Cabinet positions that are supposed to go through Senate confirmation, and a lot of White House staffers who aren’t. Ali Velshi and Katie Phang have laid out Trump’s announced picks so far, including all of those we have looked at in this series, and None of these, you will note, has any relevant government experience other than the few picked in Trump’s first administration, back when they had no government experience at all. Trump names former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead EPA, adviser Stephen Miller to be deputy chief of policy Zeldin, a Republican who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022, will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses,’' Trump said in a statement. Zeldin also will maintain “the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,’' Trump said. Trump’s statement misidentified the name of the agency Zeldin was picked to lead, labeling it the Environmental Protective Agency. Stephen “Mr. Cruelty in Person” Miller needs no introduction here. AP: What to know North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, tapped by Trump to run the Interior Department Infighting Trump’s transition team caught off guard by Hegseth allegation Trump had announced he was tapping Hegseth as his next secretary of defense after only days of considering the veteran-turned-Fox News host and very little internal vetting. Within 48 hours, the heads of Trump’s transition team were brought a complaint about a sexual assault allegation regarding Hegseth. The campaign was brought information that aligns with what Monterey, California, police described as an investigation into “an alleged sexual assault” involving Hegseth on October 8, 2017. Politico: Johnson: Ethics shouldn’t release Gaetz report Senators have acknowledged Gaetz faces an uphill battle to be confirmed, and many also said they wanted to see the Ethics report as part of his confirmation hearing. “The rules of the House have always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee,” Johnson said, when asked if the public has a right to see the report. “And so I don't think that's relevant.” “I think it’s a terrible breach of protocol and tradition,” Johnson said, later adding that he is going to request that it not be released. Let us all remember that Mike Johnson is personally a terrible breach of protocol and tradition, and that nothing he says should be taken at face value. So, yes, he is lying again. Politio: Ethics panel faces existential crises over Gaetz report The panel has previously released reports on lawmakers who resigned. In 1987, the committee published its report on former Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.) after he resigned from the House, and did the same to former Rep. Donald Lukens (R-Ohio) in 1990 after he resigned. There is nothing in the Ethics Committee’s rules that bars publication or voting to share a report simply because the subject is no longer a member of the House. While the jurisdiction for punishment ends with membership, sharing information already gathered in a probe is up to the committee. The long pattern of not releasing reports is a courtesy rather than a rule. The Senate can, of course, subpoena the same witnesses and documents the House did in its extremely dilatory three-year investigation. How much they can get hold of that way before the new Congress is seated in January is unclear, except that the women who had sex with Gaetz at age 17 appear to be eager to cooperate, and Gaetz showed House members video of some encounters on the House floor, on his own phone. Oh, BTW, the DoJ has a lot of this evidence. They declined to prosecute Gaetz two years ago, but this is a whole new ball game. Privately, Senators are saying that Gaetz doesn’t have the support of even half of the Senate Republican Caucus, except that they have an ironclad rule of obeying Trump in advance in public. Recess Appointments Senator Thune joins Fox News x YouTube Video [Recess appointments are] an option, but obviously it’s a, you know, you have to have all Republicans vote to recess, as well. So the same Republicans that you mentioned, that might have a problem voting for somebody under regular order, probably also have a problem voting to put the Senate into recess. You have to have concurrence in the House, there’s a process. All this is a process. But, I don’t think any of those things are necessarily off the table. Commenting on these and other such events of the last day, Chris Hayes opined Trump world is going to go to war against their own Republican Senate caucus majority in order to place a man being investigated for sex trafficking a minor into the highest law enforcement position in the country. If so, we’re going to run out of popcorn. Not Yet Announced Heatmap: Beware a Low-Key Energy Secretary Pick from Trump The future of U.S. climate policy may depend on things getting dramatic. Where’s Vance? Really. We aren’t hearing anything about what he will do in a Trump administration. x JD Vance: If immigration was the path to prosperity, then "America would be the most prosperous country in the world” News Flash: It is AND: CA, w/the most immigrants in the US, is the most prosperous state & the 5TH largest economy IN THE WORLD Facts pic.twitter.com/zxYWG5DQwN — Rob Bonta (@RobBonta) November 11, 2024 x Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost reelection, refuses to rule out running in Ohio’s special election to fill the remainder of J.D. Vance’s term — POLITICO pic.twitter.com/tzIa4DhYV1 — NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) November 15, 2024 Manchin Trump has been threatening President Biden to get him to stop appointing judges. Joe Manchin responds. 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