slate - "Its Bad Enough Trump Has No Foreign Policy"

It’s worse that he has appointed no one to help his Cabinet secretaries clean up after him.

By Fred Kaplan

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/02/trump_has_nominated_no_second_tier_cabinet_officials_that_s_a_problem.html

There are two things wrong with President Trump’s claim that Senate Democrats are delaying confirmation of his Cabinet picks. First, it’s not true; the pace of hearings, probes, and votes has been about the same as in previous administrations. Second, if Trump is suggesting that the delays are preventing his government from revving up, he’s the one to blame.


Three weeks into his presidency, Trump has not nominated any second-tier officials—the deputy, under, and assistant secretaries—in a major department. Whatever the merits of his various Cabinet secretaries, they are heading empty shells.

Yes, Secretary of Defense James Mattis flew to Asia to assure his counterparts in South Korea and Japan that America’s commitment to their defense is rock solid (despite some of Trump’s remarks to the contrary). Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reinforced that message with phone calls himself.

But then what? Traditionally, the appropriate underlings—the undersecretary of state for political affairs, the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, and various others—would follow up, in phone calls and face-to-face meetings, to discuss specific issues, allay specific concerns, reshape imperfect accords, untangle some misunderstandings. Asian allies in particular require almost daily hand-holding.