Trouble Brewing: Transition Team May Have Misread the Nomination Process

So coming on the heels of a sweeping victory of a magnitude that few considered even possible, President-elect Donald Trump has reason to be celebratory and confident. And yet, according to a new article in The Washington Post, it would seem that the transition team forgot who they worked for, and his unique management style – putting it somewhat mildly – along the way. The team hand selected and vetted a number of candidates for the top positions in the administration and seem shocked, shocked I tell you, that Donald Trump will do what he wants, when he wants it, which is what his supporters love in the first place, and yet this quality now apparently beguiles those closest to him. Now they find themselves in each others’ way, unsure how to go forward. Sound familiar?

Despite the fact that Trump was always going to follow his gut despite the best made plans around him, unforced political errors are popping up and his extremely well-paid staff is evidently unequipped to keep up. The two biggest issues are – again, surprise – nominating Matt Gaetz and Peter Hegswseth to the Justice Department and Defense. According to the WaPo:

The transition has properly vetted some potential nominees, but Trump has also been operating off his own script with many of his personnel choices — choosing unvetted candidates and acting outside the transition structure in a way that has immediately created serious political challenges, according to interviews with 18 people involved, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly. The president-elect has been largely unfazed, ebullient and soaking in his win on the Mar-a-Lago patio.”

Yes, so? Again, did they expect anything else? And if they did – and it sure sounds like it – then perhaps they shouldn’t have been working for the man. Their time might have been better spent with less vetting and more preparation for surprising and problematic choices, sort of a “team red ready-alert” mechanism that would break down different issues in different order, pre-assigned, pre-loaded. Alas, these are the type of things that get in his way. Democrats are the ones who believe this to be his greatest asset.

If indeed Project 2025 was planned so thoroughly, it might well be that a lot of people got very rich off raising money from Trump’s supporters only to then find themselves on the outside looking in with respect to power and his normal operating procedure. They are having trouble keeping up, so where did all that money go?

“But some of those people brought baggage. Senior transition officials have grown concerned about the confirmation process for both Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, four people close to Trump said. But Trump made clear he was not inclined to withdraw either selection, convinced that the incoming Republican-controlled Senate would support them, people close to him said.”

Maybe so. But then why didn’t they ask Trump to make his picks prior to the win? They could have avoided a lot of these problems. And if they didn’t try, it goes back to what it was they were doing besides cashing massive checks. If these fights were inevitable, then have them behind closed doors and pound it out beforehand so as to emerge with one voice, ready to go on the ground afterward. It doesn’t take political genius to say earlier on: “Whatever we do, the controversial stuff better be worked out before, inside, so that we’re all on the same page when we climb that mountain.”

It is not like it would’ve all taken too much time. He sure hasn’t needed much afterward. And, it’s hardly a huge surprise that he won – some of us knew that the election was always 50-50 at best, no matter how joyous some of the polls might have been. How much work would it have taken to make these calls beforehand? If those choices weren’t even considered, it goes back to why they were paid so much money. Or, was that the point in the first place? To keep the money flowing well-afterward? His original administration suffered from the same pattern, never getting everyone pulling together.

This is especially concerning given the dynamic where the Steve Bannon and Kash Patel types are highlighting the desire to “break things” as the only way forward. But has anyone actually checked with whether Donald Trump believes the same? It may well be that he fully knows he will be the one running things from the top and yet wants something there to actually run! Breaking everything seems to ensure that this exact type of problem, people underneath fighting for power, are the ones making decisions even prior to running it before the soon to be boss.

If there is one thing everyone knows, the quickest way to the door is to set about implementing a project that is more near and dear to – perhaps – Steven Bannon’s heart (As just an example) and not fully run by Trump himself. Because it is when Trump sets about to attempt to initiate his plans – only to find them already subsumed in another’s agenda, that things get real bad real fast. Such a context is the surest way to finding something broken, but then be a harder fix under any plan.

I suspect that those folks who are already partying about Project 2025 were more focused on what they want, which includes their unique agenda – along with spending a ton of that pile of green raised – prior to even checking with the only opinion that matters – Donald Trump, who was busy campaigning. It certainly fits the pattern with respect to the nominees.

Dunno, but they might want to check all those plans out before him – first, especially in the near future, all to make sure that the “best laid plans” are actually his plans before rolling it all out. If for no other reason than there is always another consideration…

He hates it when others use up a bunch of his money that he primarily collected. No wonder there is some real worry on the ground floors at Mar-a-Lago. More than a few will have to account for how much money went where prior to even presenting the plans they were paid to make.

God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and @JasonMiciak

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