Trump’s stumbling start – Cabinet picks drop stocks
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Even prior to taking office, the actions of a president elect can indicate the direction and impact the new administration will have on the economy. Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees created a firestorm of controversy in Congress, and a stock market fire sale.
Moreover, Trump demanded that these controversial appointees assume office without having been confirmed by the Senate. This has caused outrage among those who defend the Constitutional principle of separations of powers. Markets Drop
All major stock markets fell last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 305 points, or.7 per cent. The S&P 500 dropped 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite average fell 2.2 percent.
In short, the markets have done a U-turn after a brief
post-election “Trump bump.”Many businesses and investors assumed Trump would cut taxes, regulations, and government oversight of business. They thought that this would result in higher profits. Stock prices of banks, small U.S. companies and cryptocurrency were the biggest beneficiaries. However the controversial cabinet nominations have brought an end to the Wall Street party for the moment. These nominees were criticized as being unqualified or corruption.
Destroying the Balance of Power
Trump’s comment about being a dictator in his first year of office
haunted him on the campaign trail. He said he would use his dictatorial power to close the border, and promote oil drilling. However, various supporters close to Trump have expanded the dictator idea to include political retribution.
Dictators appoint government officials and change laws at will and without accountability. Trump attempted to change a federal law in his first term when he signed a decree to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. However, the Constitution prohibits a president from overturning a law.Trump is now trying to appoint his cabinet without the Senate performing its
constitutional (Article ll, Section ll, Clause ll) responsibility to “advise and consent.”
Circumventing the Senate
Except in emergencies, presidents submit cabinet nominations to the Senate for review. The Senate is not involved in the process of reviewing cabinet nominations except for emergencies. Confirmation requires a simple majority. With Republicans holding a 53 to 47 advantage – Trump’s nominees would normally breeze through this process. However, these are not your nominal nominees. As a result, Trump is trying to get around a transparent Senate confirmation.
Recess Appointments
Although the Constitution designates the Senate to review and vote up or down on cabinet appointments – there is a loophole.
Trump is reaching back to the 18th century to find a 21st century solution for installing cabinet members without a public hearing.
When the nation was founded there were no planes, trains or automobiles. It could take a senator weeks or even months to travel to Washington if he was in his home state (women were not allowed to serve at the time). In a statement made on X
, Trump demanded recess appointment in a January 10th, 2010 statement. In a statement on X
, Trump demanded recess appointments in a
November 10 statement. It said in part:
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate! Sometimes, the voting can take up to two years. They did this four years ago and we can’t let it happen again. . “
Newly-elected Senate Majority leader John Thune (R – S.D. ) fell in line quickly. However, he also seemed to perform some political contortions.
In a Fox News interview Thursday, Thune said, “I think that all options are on the table, including recess appointments.”
However, in the same interview, Thune said,
“But obviously, there is a process whereby we get down and scrub all these nominees and figure out whether or not, one, they’re qualified and are they people who are fit to hold these offices.”
That process is called a confirmation hearing. The confirmation hearings do not happen while the Senate has a recess. Test to Checks and BalancesThe man Thune defeated 20 years ago to become a senator, former minority leader Tom Daschle has a different view of Trump’s effort to side-step senate scrutiny.
“Trump has promised to be a dictator on day one but has already started before day one,” Daschle told the New York Times. This is a major test of our system for checks and balances. The Congress must show its commitment to the constitutional role. Failure to do so is an acknowledgement that the president’s promise will become reality. Failing to do so would be an acknowledgement that the President’s promise becomes reality. It’s just Trump making spontaneous decisions and announcing them via tweet.
No process, no interviews, no vetting, just chaos
. He was given a mandate by the government to control the price of eggs. The question is: Did the mandate extend to this craziness?”
Most Troubling Nominees
A president makes thousands of appointments. Cabinet members are most important. Let’s take a look at three of Trump’s most controversial nominees. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Perhaps, no nomination has shaken the health sector as much as that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pharmaceutical companies’ stocks dropped the day after Trump named Kennedy his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Moderna
was trading down 2.92 points over the weekend at 36.85. Pfizer was off 1.22 points to 24.80 while
Novavax
closed up .10 at 7.32 after dipping Friday morning by 2.8 percent. Kennedy has been a vocal opponent of vaccines since founding Children’s Health Defense. This group claims the childhood vaccination schedule is related to autism. He called the Corona vaccine
“the deadliest vaccination ever made.”
He also promoted other medical theories debunked.
Matt GaetzThe prospect of Matt Gaetz becoming attorney general did not cause a direct stir in financial markets, but it was a big deal on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Gaetz resigned so that his seat could be filled faster. There is widespread speculation that Gaetz’s sudden exit was an attempt to stop an ethics report being released.The House Ethics Committee had planned to release its investigation of misconduct allegations against Gaetz on Saturday. The report could not be released because Gaetz is no more a member of Congress. The committee is investigating Gaetz on several counts, including allegations that he had sexual relations with a minor. Gaetz has denied all charges. John Clune has however called for the committee’s findings to be made public. Clune is the attorney of a woman who told the committee she had sex before Gaetz. Other witnesses, as well as some legislators, have called for the committee’s report to be made public. Johnson is not among them. Even if it’s not released officially, the report could be leaked. Pete Hegseth As a weekend host of the Fox News morning program, “Fox and Friends”, Pete Hegseth was an officer in Army National Guard, serving tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also served in Guantanamo. However, he has never served in a senior military position and has no national security experience.Like Gaetz and Trump – Hegseth has a sexual allegation in his past. Hegseth was accused of assaulting a woman in California after a Republican Women’s Event held in 2017. Hegseth settled with his accuser a few year later, even though no criminal charges were filed. Justin M. Higgins, a former opposition researcher for the Republican National Committee, vetted him for those posts. He was vetted for those posts by Justin M. Higgins, a former opposition researcher for the Republican National Committee.
Higgins writes that he thinks Hegseth was tapped for the top Pentagon job, because of his devotion to Trump. “Unfortunately, these Trump-friendly qualities also
position him as perhaps one of the least qualified picks for secretary of defense we’ve seen
,” writes Higgins.
Hegseth was “unqualified for the more junior positions he was being considered for in 2016, and eight additional years spent at Fox News has not made him any more qualified to run the Department of Defense,” noted Higgins. The Road Ahead
The list is growing of Trump nominees who have sketchy backgrounds or lack qualifications. This not only threatens the stability and security of markets, but also democracy. The question is whether the Senate will do its constitutional duty or step aside to make way for a dictatorship.
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