Even before taking office, the actions of the president-elect indicate the direction of the incoming administration and its impact on the economy. Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees have sparked a firestorm in Congress and a fire sale in the stock market.
In addition, Trump has demanded that controversial nominees take office without Senate confirmation. That has angered defenders of the Constitution’s principle of separation of powers.
Markets Are Going Down
All three major stock markets fell last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 305 points or .7 percent. The S&P 500 fell 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped 2.2 percent.
In short, the markets have done a U-turn after a while The “Trump bump” after the election. Many businesses and investors thought Trump would cut taxes, regulations, and government oversight of business. As a result, they felt that it would lead to higher profits.
Stock prices of banks, small US companies, and cryptocurrencies have gained significantly.
However, the controversial cabinet appointment has brought the party on Wall Street to an end for now. Those appointed have been criticized for incompetence or corruption.
Destroying the Balance of Power
Trump has come under fire from the campaign trail for comments he made about it a dictator on his first day in office. He has made it clear that he will use the power of a dictator to close the border and promote oil drilling. However, various supporters close to Trump have expanded the notion of dictatorship to include political revenge.
Dictators appoint government officials and change laws at will and without accountability.
Trump tried to change the law by law in his first administration when he signed an executive order to end the Affordable Care Act (ACA) commonly called Obamacare. However, the Constitution prohibits the president from repealing the law.
Now Trump is trying to appoint his cabinet without the Senate doing it constitutional (Article ll, Section ll, Clause) obligation to “advise and consent.”
Circling the Senate
Except in emergencies, presidents submit cabinet names to the Senate for review. In almost all cases, those proposals are referred to a committee, such as the Justice Department, for review by the proposed attorney general.
The committee conducts background checks, reviews information, and holds public hearings.
The committee presents recommendations to the full Senate and votes on the nomination. A simple majority is required for confirmation. With Republicans holding a 53 to 47 advantage – Trump’s nominees would normally blow the whistle on the process.
However, these are not your nominees. As a result, Trump is trying to get the Senate’s express confirmation.
Break appointments
Although the Constitution appoints the Senate to review and vote up or down on cabinet appointments – there is a loophole.
Trump is going back to the 18th century for a 21st century solution to installing cabinet members without a public hearing.
When the nation was founded there were no planes, trains or cars. If a senator is in his place (women couldn’t work then) it can take weeks – even months to get to Washington. As a result, the founders allow “break hire.” This is a presidential appointment made during the recess of the Senate and is not subject to review.
Trump called for a recess appointment in a Statement of November 10 to X. It said in part:
“Any Republican Senator seeking LEADERSHIP in the United States Senate must accept Term Appointments (to the Senate!), otherwise we will not be able to get people confirmed on time. Sometimes votes can take two years or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we will not let it happen again. . .”
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune (RS.D.) quickly fell into line. However, he seemed to be making political conflicts.
In a Fox News interview On Thursday, Thune said, “I think all options are on the table, including a recess appointment.”
However, in the same interview, Thune said, “But obviously, there’s a process where we go down and we sort through all these nominees and find out if one, they’re qualified and they’re the right people to hold these offices.”
That process is called a confirmation hearing. They do not occur while the Senate is in recess.
Check Checks and Balances
The man Thune defeated 20 years ago to become a member of parliament, former minority leader Tom Daschle has a different view of Trump’s attempt to take steps for Senate scrutiny.
“Trump promised he would be a dictator on day one but he has already started before day one,” Daschle told the New York Times. “This is huge a test in our system of checks and balances. Congress must demonstrate its commitment to its constitutional role. And it’s important to do it now. Failure to do so is an acknowledgment that the president’s promise will be fulfilled.”
In addition to violating the Constitution and the Senate, the lack of certainty may lead to some members of the cabinet being unfit for their jobs.
“None of these candidates, I’m sure, were vetted,” said David Marchick, dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University and co-author of “The Peaceful Transition of Power”. “It’s all Trump’s automatic decision and he announces it via tweet. No process, no discussions, no tests, just chaos. He had the authority to deal with the number of eggs. The question is: Has authority gone beyond this madness?”
The Most Troubled Nominees
The president appoints thousands of people. Cabinet members are the most influential. With that in mind, let’s review three of Trump’s most controversial nominees.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Perhaps no appointment has disrupted the health care industry more than that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The day after Trump announced Kennedy as his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services – pharmaceutical companies saw their stocks plummet.
Modern it was trading down 2.92 points over the weekend at 36.85. Pfizer went up 1.22 points to 24.80 in the period Novavax closed up .10 at 7.32 after dipping Friday morning by 2.8 percent.
Kennedy campaigned against vaccines founding Children’s Health Defense. That group says the childhood vaccination schedule is linked to autism. Again, he called the Corona vaccine “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”He has also promoted other medical ideas that are opposed by scientists.
Matt Gaetz
The idea of Matt Gaetz as attorney general didn’t directly affect the financial markets — but it did create a stir on Capitol Hill.
Gaetz resigned from his seat in the House on Wednesday “to act immediately” shortly after Trump decided to tap him for attorney general. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Gaetz resigned so his seat could be filled sooner. However, there is widespread speculation that Gaetz’s hasty exit was an attempt to prevent the ethics report from being released.
The House Ethics Committee was expected to release an investigation into the misconduct charges against Gaetz on Friday. However, since Gaetz is no longer a member of the House, the report may not be released.
The committee was investigating several charges against Gaetz – including sleeping with a minor. Gaetz has always denied the charges. However, John Clune, a lawyer for the woman who testified before the committee that she had sex with GaetzHe urged the committee to make their findings public.
Some witnesses and other lawyers also asked for the release of the committee’s report. Johnson is not one of them. However, even if the report is not officially released, it is the kind of thing that can be leaked.
Pete Hegseth
The weekend host of Fox News’ morning show, “Fox and Friends,” Pete Hegseth served as an Army officer with tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. However, he has never served in a high-ranking military position and has no national security experience.
Like Gaetz and Trump – Hegseth has an alleged sexual past. A woman alleges that Hegseth assaulted her following a 2017 Republican Women’s event in California. No charges were brought against him, however Hegseth paid his accuser in agreement after a few years.
Trump considered him twice during his first administration in undersecretary roles at the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was vetted for those positions by Justin M. Higgins, a former opposition researcher for the Republican National Committee.
Higgins writes that he thinks Hegseth was chosen for the top Pentagon job, because of his devotion to Trump.
“Unfortunately, these are Trump’s friendly qualities as well we ranked him as one of the worst nominees for secretary of defense we’ve ever seen,” Higgins wrote.
Hegseth “wasn’t qualified for the most junior positions he was considered for in 2016, and the eight-plus years he spent at Fox News didn’t qualify him to run the Department of Defense,” Higgins noted.
The Way Forward
The list of proposed Trump nominees with sketchy backgrounds and lack of qualifications is growing. That not only undermines market stability – it threatens democracy. The question is whether the Senate will do its job according to the constitution or step aside to usher in a dictatorship.
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