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You can scan Substack and you’ll see an array of arguments against Trump’s picks, and many for good reason. There are dubious pharmaceutical ties, previous statements and beliefs, and a history of disconcerting actions, to say the least.
But the fact remains, the enemy is scared, and in the case of the recent NIH nominee, Jay Bhattacharya, there is a clear distinction between those who want one thing and those who want a totally different, draconian, life-controlling, life-sapping, other thing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins (who has cavalierly dismissed excess deaths due to the jab) do not like Bhattacharya in particular, thanks to his “Great Barrington Declaration” that has received 940,000+ signatures to date.
Trump names loyalist Kash Patel to serve as FBI director
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has picked Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, turning to a fierce loyalist to upend America’s premier law enforcement agency and rid the government of perceived “conspirators.” It’s the latest bombshell Trump has thrown at the Washington establishment and a test for how far Senate Republicans will go in confirming his nominees.
“I am proud to announce that Kashyap “Kash” Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Trump posted Saturday night on Truth Social. “Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People.”
Trump picks billionaire Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, as advisor on Middle East and Arab affairs
President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday that he will tap his daughter Tiffany’s father-in-law Massad Boulos as his Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
“Massad is an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the International scene,” Trump, 78, wrote on Truth Social.
“He has been a longtime proponent of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American Community,” he added.
Boulos, who was born in Lebanon, runs Nigeria-based Boulos Enterprises, which produces and distributes mechanical equipment and motorcycles. His net worth is estimated in the billions of dollars, according to reports.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday that he will tap his daughter
💉💉💉
I was sorely tested yesterday when news broke of President Trump’s nomination to head the Drug Enforcement Agency: Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister. During the pandemic, Sheriff Chronister arrested Tampa Pastor Dr. Ronald Howard-Browne, who defied Florida’s short lockdown order and held several religious services anyway.
Sheriff Chronister also enforced a local covid curfew, and ordered punitive policies aimed at coercing unvaccinated deputies under his command to get the shots.
On the other hand, he may not have enforced all laws as enthusiastically as the covid laws. In at least one local news story, reporters indirectly quoted Sheriff Chronister as promising to focus on “public safety” rather than federal immigration laws. He didn’t come right out and say he wouldn’t help deport illegals, apparently, which was smart because that kind of thing, promising not to enforce the law, can get you removed from office in Florida.
Though vowing to focus on public safety, Chronister did release 165 ‘low level, non-violent’ prisoners during covid.
As to his politics, Chronister apparently donated $15K to Obama’s campaign, but more recently endorsed Governor DeSantis during the Republican primary, so he’s likely now a Republican. Still, Chronister is not well-liked by local conservatives who call him a woke Democrat plant. This Twitter thread helpfully rounds up a long list of anti-Chronister information.
I get it; Sheriff Chronister only enforced the laws at the time. We celebrated as heroes those Sheriffs who (rightly, in my view) refused to enforce what they concluded were unconstitutional laws. There may be more to the story; this Twitter poster claims Sheriff Chronister went back to the church and publicly apologized.
Apology or no, Sheriff Chronister was no covid hero. But more than that, Chronister’s covid policies alone raise serious questions whether he is ideologically aligned with the incoming Trump Administration.
As the more controversial Trump nominees have occasionally cropped up, I’ve repeatedly encouraged GTMTTW (give the man time to work). Now, I’ve been forced to take my own advice, which is pretty bitter. If I were in the Senate, I would vote not to confirm Sheriff Chronister.
I’ve said my piece, and I won’t make a song about it — I will assume Trump has a good reason for selecting this person for DEA, or maybe Chronister really has changed. But we don’t have to like it. During his confirmation hearings, Sheriff Chronister should be required to answer for his own words and decisions.
And he should have to wear a mask the whole time.
I was sorely tested yesterday when news broke of President Trump’s nomination to head the Drug Enforcement Agency: Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister. During the pandemic, Sheriff Chronister arrested Tampa Pastor Dr. Ronald Howard-Browne, who defied Florida’s short lockdown order and held several religious services anyway.
Trump’s DEA pick – who locked up a pastor during COVID-19 pandemic – withdraws from consideration after conservative backlash
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency announced Tuesday that he will not take the job following conservative backlash to his nomination.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister – described by some conservatives as a “COVID tyrant” – bowed out just three days after being selected by Trump to lead the nation’s primary agency for combatting illegal drugs.
Chronister’s record as Hillsborough County sheriff – particularly at the height of the COVID-19 – came under scrutiny soon after his nomination.
On March 30, 2020, Chronister ordered the arrest of Ronald Howard-Browne, the pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, for allegedly flouting COVID-19 lockdown orders by holding services at his church.
During the pandemic, Sheriff Chronister arrested Tampa Pastor Dr. Ronald Howard-Browne, who defied Florida’s short lockdown order and held several religious services anyway.
Sheriff Chronister also enforced a local covid curfew, and ordered punitive policies aimed at coercing unvaccinated deputies under his command to get the shots.
Conservatives are nowhere near ready to forgive public servants who, though they may only have been doing their duty and following the law, they still revealed much too much enthusiasm for pandemic authoritarianism. Like it or not, good or bad, the pandemic was, is, and forever will be a kind of litmus test. It’s partly an ideological test, but it’s mostly a test of character.
Chronister’s career evidenced all the hallmarks of a woke, lifelong Democrat who recently switched parties out of bare political calculus, so he could not pass an ideological test. In the final analysis, though, Sheriff Chronister failed the character test. It wasn’t just the pastor he arrested. Chronister exuberantly embraced all the obscene, anti-scientific, dictatorial tools supplied by the federal government and corporate media. He’s never apologized or even claimed to have changed his viewpoint. ...
This story is important, not because Trump’s transition team withdrew a bad candidate and smartly yielded to quiet conservative pressure. Rather, this story is a morality tale about accountability and justice over people’s decisions during covid, with a side dish about how transformative social media has become, since Chronister’s offensive covid record would have been concealed by corporate media just a few years ago.
There’s zero appetite to let things go, forgive and forget, or Move On. The absence of any official accountability for pandemic excesses has created an abhorrent vacuum of intense frustration that nature has filled with a vast, informal army of volunteer enforcers, both individuals and conservative groups. It’s a kind of unorganized covid reconciliation movement.
For example, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association opposed Chronister’s nomination, saying it was “shocked and dismayed” by his selection because of his enforcement of covid mandates. Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and others tweeted their concerns about Chronister, calling him competely disqualified.
Yesterday, the San Fransisco Chronicle ran a terrific story headlined, “Trump taps culture warrior and S.F. attorney Harmeet Dhillon to lead Office of Civil Rights.” Harmeet was one of the most energetic and effective covid lawyers during the pandemic. We crossed paths a few times, even though between Florida and California, we lived in completely different worlds. Beyond covid, Harmeet helped with Trump’s elections lawsuits, helped run California’s GOP, and much more.
On Monday, Trump announced Harmeet’s nomination in a social media post saying, “Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our cherished Civil Liberties, including taking on Big Tech for censoring our Free Speech, representing Christians who were prevented from praying together during COVID, and suing corporations who use woke policies to discriminate against their workers. Harmeet is one of the top Election lawyers in the Country, fighting to ensure that all, and ONLY, legal votes are counted.”
The Libs of BlueSky were appalled, variously calling Harmeet “anti-trans,” an “election denier,” anti-abortion, a “MAGA darling,” and “an existential threat to all civil rights, especially trans rights.” They really dislike that Harmeet represented influential detransitioner Chloe Cole or that Harmeet’s website links other detransitioner lawsuits against fraudster doctors.
Harmeet, an Indian-American, is involved in many high-profile cases, and you probably never even knew it. For instance, she represents Portland anti-antifa investigator reporter Andy Ngo.
Harmeet will replace Biden’s appointee, Kristen Clarke, who is the one responsible for prosecuting all the abortion center protestors under the so-called “FACE Act.” I note, without comment, that the FACE Act can also be used to prosecute people who vandalize pregnancy support centers. Harmeet might want to take a look at that.
"Nearly 100 former national security officials 'alarmed' at prospect of Gabbard leading intel community"
this is not what it looks like.
no one expects this to affect her hearings.
it's not intended to head off tulsi.
it's a way for 100 guilty people (and by extension other people like them) who were always likely to be investigated for their possible past misdeeds to try to make a case it's political retaliation when people start asking questions about what they got up to and for whom.
see it now that the cups are clear?
this is going to be the go to playbook for the next 4 years:
any investigation into past actions and activities of the people who weaponized state agencies for political or institutional purposes will be cast as trump "using justice and intelligence to attack his political enemies."
it's just the next round of psyop from the people who do psyops for a living, an attempt to frame holding people accountable for their persecution of political enemies as “persecution of political enemies.”
it's inversion and projection.
miss this frame and voila, those who victimized you are the victims here.
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Sec of State: Rubio (meh, but not awful).
UN Ambassador: Elise Stefanik
Ambassador to Israel: Huckabee
Sec of Defense: Pete Hegseth - author of the "War on Warriors" - rabid anti-woke, pro-hard training, high-standards, meritocracy only advocate