Trump's Pentagon filling top jobs after slow start

For months after President Trump's inauguration, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was the only Senate-confirmed appointee from the new administration at the Pentagon.

But after a slow start, Trump's Pentagon says key positions, including dozens of jobs that don't require congressional confirmation, are being filled.

"It's moving. It's definitely moving much faster than it was," said Dana White, assistant to the secretary for public affairs. "We've got a nice rhythm going now, we've got at least two-thirds of the Senate-appointed [positions] at least identified, or in process."

Take your time and do it RIGHT!

It's June. The election was eight months ago. A newbie coming onboard today will take some time to get up to speed and assemble his own team in whatever agency he heads.

(Managing career government employees is an art; most of them will try to loyally serve whomever is in charge, but one still needs to know which of them can be relied upon, who is effective and who isn't, who can serve as a change agent, and who is an accident waiting to happen. It takes time. Political appointees recycled from the Bush Administration would have a big leg up in this area, as they would have the most recent institutional knowledge on the GOP side; how many of them the Trump folks will trust remains to be seen.)

Anyhow, regarding time. The lack of staff means that Trump has already largely defaulted to the permanent bureaucracy and the congressional subcommittees on the details of the 2018 budget. The legislative agenda is being set by the House Republicans, and since the Senate Republicans don't seem inclined to nuke the filibuster, it seems unlikely that anything substantive will be enacted. The administration is not even a player at this point, and it really can't be a player until the subcabinet is in place, ready to get down in the weeds and dicker with the congressionals on the details. The next congressional elections are fast approaching, and by spring of next year, Congress will be in full campaign mode.

How much time does Trump have? Not much. The window is about to slam shut before Trump has a team in place across most of the agencies. White House tweets can't fill the void. Which is, of course, exactly what the Democrats had planned all along. The administration has been gelded and this White House doesn't even know it yet.

Trump will do what he can with executive orders, and he seems to be making good judicial appointments. That is important and useful. Anything he does via executive order or regulation, however, will simply be reversed by the next Democratic president.

Everything now depends on holding both Houses of Congress in 2018. That will give Trump another brief window of opportunity in 2019 to seek lasting change. Perhaps he will have the administration staffed by then.

I hope I am wrong. Maybe the Senate can find the votes for Obamacare repeal. Maybe a tax reform bill can be enacted after all. Maybe the wall will be funded. I'm not holding my breath. Anybody want to place a bet?

Yeah, you’re wrong. Trump has in place now the beginnings of the permanent tax, environmental, state, & military bureaucracy, plus a good start in courts, to fundamentally change the nation.

THE HUFF PO already admitted they were snookered & called it “fundamental” change.

Window is just opening. Sen now saying they will repeal Ocare. House repealed Dodd-Frank. Trump rolls out new Cuba policy next week. Rs will likely DELAY tax cuts til early next year for full election impact, have pretty crushing victory in Nov.

Only question now is—and I’m serious-— not whether Trump will survive.

It’s whether the Dem Party will survive past 2020.

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