Bill Press: Trump’s insane cabinet: Gaetz gone. Confirm the rest!

By nominating the feckless Matt Gaetz as a ttorney g eneral, Donald Trump wanted to show how far he’s willing to go in blowing up the federal government. How fitting that cynical ploy blew up in his face.

Was Gaetz fit for the job? No way! He only practiced law for two years. He accomplished nothing in Congress except to lead the mutiny against Kevin McCarthy. He was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for having sex with a 17-year-old one day and then nominated for attorney general the next (details of his pay-for-sex parties have already leaked out). And he pledged to weaponize the Justice Department to go after the “deep state” and Trump’s political opponents.

The Gaetz nomination was met with immediate shock and outrage – by fellow Republicans. He’s a “terrible pick,” said Washington Times political correspondent Byron York. The conservative Bible, the National Review, slammed his nomination as “foolish” and “futile.” Conservative commentator Ben Domenech called Gaetz “vile” and “abhorrent,” adding “If you vote for him to be attorney general of the United States, you don’t just need your head examined, you need to be committed to a mental institution.” And John Bolton – who, remember, was Donald Trump’s national security adviser – called Gaetz “the worst Cabinet appointment in American history.”

Facing the prospect of an ugly and ultimately unsuccessful confirmation hearing, Gaetz withdrew his nomination. The wheels are already starting to fall off the Trump wagon.

Now, what about the rest of Trump’s insane Cabinet nominations? My answer – hold onto your hats – confirm them all! Let the beast loose!

If Gaetz was not qualified for the job, neither are Trump’s three other controversial picks: former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as director of National Intelligence; Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense; and anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services.

In fact, they are singularly unqualified. Gabbard has never worked in the intelligence world or served on a congressional intelligence committee. Two years ago, she was accused by fellow Republicans, including Adam Kinzinger and Mitt Romney, of spreading Russian propaganda. Hegseth has no senior military or national security experience. Accused of sexual assault at a Republican Party conference in California in 2017, he denied the claim, but still paid the woman to keep quiet. Kennedy has no formal scientific or medical credentials, other than his self-described role as “poster child for the anti-vax movement.”

Nevertheless, Republican senators should still confirm all three. Why? Two reasons. First, because that’s what the American people voted for.

Unlike 2016, when, one could argue, Americans were lulled into voting for Trump because they didn’t really know him, this time was no accident. They knew what they were getting in Donald Trump: an egomaniac, serial adulterer, pathological liar, racist, misogynist, twice-impeached, four times indicted convicted felon who vowed a second term built on revenge against his political enemies, carried out by spineless sycophants loyal to nothing or nobody but Donald Trump.

That’s what Trump promised at every campaign rally. That’s what half of Americans voted for. That’s what they wanted, and that’s what they got. Now let them own it. Elections have consequences. And this is one of them.

Second reason. I hate to say it, but those who voted for Donald Trump deserve the worst. Again, they knew how unfit he is to be president. They knew he would surround himself with an equally unfit band of dangerous extremists. But they ignored the warning of former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who called Trump a “fascist.” They dismissed the alarm expressed by former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney: “In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.” They voted for Trump, anyway.

Chaos will result. Under Gabbard, our allies will no longer share intelligence with the United States, making us more vulnerable to foreign and domestic attacks. Under Hegseth, the Pentagon’s top generals will be sent packing and troops will be patrolling American cities, rounding up 12 million people here illegally, breaking up their families, and throwing them out of the country. Under Kennedy, the world’s best scientists and doctors at CDC will be fired and, without vaccines, we could well face a deadly measles attack.

It’s going to be painful. People will get hurt. But here’s the good part: The worse it gets, the sooner Trump voters will realize their mistake, and the stronger the Resistance will grow. Let the reckoning begin.

(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod.)