The selling of Trump's Cabinet
- By Mitchell Blatt
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 24, 2017
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Trump's cabinet [By Zhai Haijun / China.org.cn] |
The contrast between Donald Trump's words at his inauguration speech and the goings-on under the dome of the Capitol could not be greater.
As Trump puts forth rhetoric claiming to represent "the people" taking back their government, two of the top 100 campaign contributors in America testify in consideration for high level government positions. Far from a return to popular democracy or meritocracy, Trump's choices to lead the departments of government represent a coarsening of what critics call "oligarchy."
The government of the United States under Trump will be run by billionaires, bankers, political contributors, political hacks and cronies. Among the 23 cabinet members and cabinet-level positions, there are three billionaires, half a dozen CEOs, six Republican legislators and governors, two losing candidates for president in 2016 and at least six private citizens who donated large sums of money to Republican presidential candidates in 2016. Together, the total wealth of just the first ten nominees exceeds $10 billion, more than four times as much as the combined wealth of Obama's entire cabinet, and 30 times more than Bush's.
The wealthiest is private equity investor and Republican activist Betsy DeVos, who is nominated for education secretary. DeVos has no experience in education positions, but she has worked tirelessly campaigning for Republican politicians and supporting private school vouchers, a policy that Republicans support. In 2008, as director of the political fundraising group All Children Matter, her group was fined $5.3 million for illegally funneling money from out-of-state to Ohio to elect Republicans. Neither the group nor she ever paid the fine.
In 2016, DeVos and her husband, Richard Devon Jr., the son of the cofounder of Amway, contributed $3.2 million to Republican candidates, making them the 77th biggest fundraisers in the country. That's 57 times the median American income at a time when her prospective boss, Trump, won the presidency on a campaign that promised to put the needs of "forgotten Americans" first. DeVos's father-in-law, Richard Devon Sr., contributed $2.8 million to Republican Super PACs, and Devos's son also threw over a million into Republican politics. Politics is a family business.
Asked during her confirmation hearing whether her family could have given $200 million to the Republicans over the years, DeVos said, "That's possible." One might forgive Sen. Bernie Sanders, then, for his next question: "I don't mean to be rude. Do you think, if you were not a multi-billionaire, if your family had not made hundreds of millions of dollars of contributions to the Republican Party, that you would be sitting here?"
It's not hard to imagine that money could have bought her the position considering her lack of credentials. The previous education secretaries under Obama had experience as the New York Commissioner of Education and Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. DeVos has no experience implementing education policy. DeVos flunked question after question from senators, showing no understanding of the distinction between student growth and proficiency or the regulations covering for-profit colleges.
She wasn't the only mega donor whose campaign cash might have helped them get a cabinet post. Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, who was nominated as administrator of the small business administration, has given Republicans more than $1 million every campaign year since 2010. In 2010, she contributed $53 million to candidates and PACs, and she was the country's 20th biggest donor to Super PACs in 2016.
Fast food mogul Andrew Puzder, taped to oversee the labor department, contributed to the campaigns of six Republicans running for president, including $75,000 to a Trump Super PAC. Investor Wilbur Ross, nominated for commerce secretary, donated more than $100,000 to the Republican National Committee. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson was CEO of ExxonMobil and a board member of the trade lobby the American Petroleum Institute from 2006-16, during which time ExxonMobil PAC contributed 90 percent of its money to Republicans, including over $1.3 million every year from 2012-16. Among the recipients were every Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will confirm him, despite concern from Russia hawks Marco Rubio and John McCain, both of whom received $10,000 contributions from ExxonMobil PAC in 2016.
American politicians always run on "anti-establishment" records and then go on to appoint a certain number of political hacks and ex-lobbyists. In fact, some wealthy influence-peddlers are quite talented.
What is different about Trump, however, is the level of contrast between his words and actions. No one in modern history was able to lie as shamelessly as him. But presidents from both parties - Bush and Obama - appointed qualified candidates for lower level positions like Education, Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Secretary. Trump apparently views those positions as spoils for his supporters.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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