| Cabinet Watch 2016 is going swimmingly as speculation heats up on the next round of appointees. And one of them might not be an old white guy! |
| Meanwhile, we contemplate what Donald Trump's first 100-day agenda might mean for said appointees, and a pair of polls tells us we've failed at being Americans. |
| Happy day-before-the-day-before-Thanksgiving, For the Record friends. |
| CABINET WATCH: THE SEARCH CONTINUES |
| The president-elect was back in New York Monday after entertaining potential secretaries of Defense and State over the weekend, and the guest list at Trump Tower prompted a new round of speculation over who could fill key Cabinet spots. (Marginally related question: What exactly do they eat at a Trump meeting? Caviar and crackers? Corn nuts? KFC with forks?) |
| Transition officials tell us to be on the lookout for economic and domestic appointments this week so they can get to work promptly after Thanksgiving - which because of the holiday, means we could have a slew of announcements either today or tomorrow. The operative word there being "could." |
| Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who reportedly are under consideration for multiple posts, are among those who met with Trump Monday, as did former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has said he won't be serving in the administration. |
| As for secretary of State, the job seems to be down to former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (who has been a hardcore Trump supporter) and 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney (who, to put it nicely, has not). |
| WHAT CAN TRUMP DO (OR NOT): CABINET EDITION |
| Donald Trump has an ambitious plan for his first 100 days in office, which delights some and scares the bejesus out of others. But which bullet points are most likely to happen? The New York Times breaks it down with helpful charts, divided according to the things Trump can do on his own or that he needs Congress to achieve, and how often Trump mentioned the ideas during the campaign. |
| Here are two things, according to The Times, that Trump touted in almost all speeches and can do without Congress (but would still need help from his 3,800-plus appointees to achieve): |
| • | BAN IMMIGRANTS. Trump has softened his stance on Muslims, seeking now to ban people from certain regions, not religions. But the effort still would require a lot of bureaucrats to make it happen, and even then, it would likely move slowly. Hence, why those foreign-policy and homeland-security appointments are so important. | | • | END TRADE ABUSES. Trump said he'll direct his Commerce secretary to immediately "identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers," and he has a lot of leeway to punish whoever is accused of undercutting American manufacturers, for example. Another reason to watch that appointment. | |
| TWO POLLS: YOU FAILED. NOW FEEL SHAME |
| How lost are we? Consider the results from two polls released Monday. A Gallup poll found a record high 77 percent of Americans believe we are a nation divided on what matters most. Not surprisingly, poll respondents could not agree on whether Trump would unite or further divide us. |
| Meanwhile, a Pew Research poll showed that while respondents were equally happy and devastated about Trump winning, 35 percent gave Trump an F for how he conducted his campaign. That makes Trump the lowest-graded president-elect in nearly three decades. |
| Lest we point the finger without four pointing back, we should mention that even more respondents (38 percent) failed the media for how we handled the election. Is it unity if we all go sit in a corner and feel shame? |
| MORE FROM THE AFTERMATH: |
| • | For the first six months, Melania will telecommute as First Lady - from New York (USA TODAY) | | • | Depending on whom you ask, Trump's off-the-record meeting with TV network executives was either awesome or a disaster (New York Post) | | • | Steve Bannon offers a point of clarification: I'm an economic nationalist, not a white nationalist (USA TODAY) | | • | Trump's grandfather, facing deportation, begged to stay in Germany (Washington Post) | | • | Lots of countries are worried about Trump's election. But not Russia. They love it! (USA TODAY) | | • | After meeting with Indian investors, some ask: When will Trump turn off his inner real-estate developer? (CNN Money) | | • | Eric Trump asks American Hat Co. to make a custom cowboy hat for his dad; company obliges (Times Record News) | |
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| YES, EVEN NEWSIE TECHNOLOGY CAN READ THAT |
| And now, a friendly reminder for anyone contemplating a photo-op with the president: You might want to put away those top-secret papers before you smile for the cameras. Trump immigration adviser Kris Kobach (the guy potentially in line to head the Department of Homeland Security) left his immigration plan on top of his portfolio, and while most of it was obscured by his arm, it didn't take long for people to blow up the high-resolution images and start asking more pointed questions about its content. |
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