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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump says acting cabinet members give him 'more flexibility' Trump 'in no hurry' to fill role
Trump says acting cabinet members give him 'more flexibility'
Trump in no hurry to fill roles with Senate-confirmed names
Former UN ambassador Power: The president is unhinged
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Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House for Camp David on Sunday. Photograph: CHRIS KLEPONIS/POOL/EPA
Donald Trump is in no hurry to find permanent replacements for the quarter of his cabinet currently serving in an acting capacity, because, the president said on Sunday, the situation gives him more flexibility. His words will do little to dampen rising concern about the lack of experienced counsel around a president who said on Sunday he might soon react to the government shutdown by declaring a national emergency, a move likely to lead to a collision with a Congress part-controlled by Democrats.
I am in no hurry, Trump told reporters as he left for Camp David and meetings on the shutdown. About a quarter of the US government has been closed for more than two weeks and about 800,000 workers are without pay.I like acting, Trump said. It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that? I like acting. So we have a few that are acting. We have a great, great cabinet. He did not elaborate on why acting officials give him more flexibility or say why that should be a good thing, but he spoke as critics continued to voice alarm over the departure of a succession of senior advisers who were seen as able to restrain his wilder impulses.
Secretary of state Rex Tillerson, defense secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser HR McMaster, attorney general Jeff Sessions and chief of staff John Kelly have all been forced out by Trump. United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley resigned. Mattis, Sessions, Haley and Kellys replacements are all serving in an acting capacity. On Saturday night, the Pentagon chief of staff not a cabinet post announced his resignation. Obama-era UN ambassador Samantha Power responded by tweeting: It is [5 January] 2019: we have no Secretary of Defense & now no DoD chief of staff, no Attorney General & no evident guardrails in Trumps inner circle.
The President is unhinged even GOP zealots know it. Rs inside & outside the admin must stop enabling Trump & protect America. Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, told CNN on Sunday he agreed that all of the adults are one by one being forced out of the room. Anyone who had the standing to tell the president what he needed to hear, not what he wanted to hear, has been pushed aside. There are 24 cabinet-level positions and six are now filled by individuals serving in an acting capacity, after the departure of members confirmed by the Senate. Other than the White House chief of staff and the vice-president, cabinet-level officials require such confirmation. Federal law allows presidents to temporarily fill vacancies by appointing acting department heads who are already employees there.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/06/trump-acting-cabinet-members-give-him-more-flexibility
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Trump says acting cabinet members give him 'more flexibility' Trump 'in no hurry' to fill role (Original Post)
niyad
Jan 2019
OP
Rhiannon12866
(205,288 posts)1. How many countries are still without ambassadors?
He never filled those important positions, either. Last I knew, South Korea, Egypt and Belgium were among the countries still without ambassadors...
D_Master81
(1,822 posts)2. "flexible" means sychophant
someone who will start a cabinet meeting like the current "acting" AG and talk about how great he is.
RockRaven
(14,966 posts)3. It's simply false that there is any difference in flexibility. (no surprise Trump's full of s--t)
Probably between Trump's paranoia/need for loyalty oaths and obsequious behavior and the damage working for Trump does to one's CV, he can't find people a) willing to take the job, b) that he likes, and c) who would also make it through Senate confirmation without mortifying him and themselves.