Competence is Irrelevant

Slavish Loyalty Lands You on Team Trump

There is no dearth of outrageous, sometimes senseless activities from this administration to highlight in this blog. The latest is the appointment as Acting Director of National Intelligence William J. Pulte. Remember, this is the post that was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to coordinate the many agencies (eighteen in number) in the U.S. government that deal with intelligence. It includes the CIA, FBI, many intelligence services within the military, the DEA, Intelligence agencies within DHS, and elements within the departments of State, Treasury, Energy, and others.

Given that pervasive role, one would think that the occupant would need extensive and broad experience and training in intelligence work. In fact, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 mandates that the individual nominated must have, “Extensive national security expertise.”

Bill Pulte has none. Not one scintilla of experience. He obtained the position by being an attack dog for Trump in his all-consuming retribution vengeance campaign. He was previously the Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency, and also served as the chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where he won Trump’s approval by suggesting charges against Letitia James, Adam Schiff, and Lisa James for “mortgage fraud”, charges that either have been or likely will be thrown out as malicious by courts.

But it gets worse. Take the time to read Will Sommer’s expose of Bill Pulte’s background (here) to realize this nepo-baby is a misguided buffoon, somewhat the same genre as My Pillow guy, Mike Lindell. I mean, even his family’s own company threw him off their board. One would be hard pressed to find an individual less qualified and more dangerous to national security than this guy. Which is probably why he will stay as “Acting Director” and not risk facing Senate confirmation.

I used to think that many of the sketchy, unqualified nominees that Trump chose were because more sophisticated, knowledgeable candidates were unwilling to serve in a Trump administration. I no longer think that. Rather, it’s more likely Trump really doesn’t care about candidate’s lack of expertise, or even the damage they might do to the country – because he is so focused on his vengeance campaign and his authoritarian designs that he just wants sycophants. The country’s welfare is not his priority, it’s him. Any stooge will do if he can say, “yes, sir”.

This is not a one-off. Trump’s administration is full of folks without the background and skill set to do their jobs. RFK,jr. has no science or medical training and is rife with anti-science conspiracy theories. He was selected for one reason: he could bring votes to Trump from his MAHA movement. Pete Hegseth, at least, had some military service after being commissioned in 2004 and serving in Guantanamo Bay and then Iraq (2004-2006). He then returned to active duty from the National guard to teach counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. He left the military as a major. The most command experience he had was a platoon – anywhere from 16-50 soldiers. The idea that he is purging the upper echelons of our military of generals and admirals because they don’t meet Hegseth’s idea of “the white warrior soldier” is pretty much political theater.

We could spend time reviewing the resumes of many more of Trump’s picks, not the least of which are Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche, but you know the story – they both pledged loyalty above justice to serve him.

Another aspect to Trump’s appointments is the number of vacancies that still exist in the administration even after 18 months. Trump could fill about 4000 jobs. The Partnership for Public Service tracks 824 key public positions among 1300 that require Senate confirmation. So far, 273 have no Trump nominee, 357 have been confirmed and 100 are being considered (here). Many ambassadorships are unfilled, including those for Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the majority of countries in Africa. In sum, Trump has not yet filled 109 out of 195 ambassadorships worldwide (here).

Many of Trump’s team carry multiple assignments. Secretary of State Rubio also wears the hats of interim National Security Advisor, Acting Archivist, and Acting Director of USAID. All of these are full time jobs in an administration that takes governing seriously. Russell Vought, Director of OMB, also helped close out USAID and is the Acting Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary is also Acting Commissioner of the IRS. Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation, also serves as Acting NASA administrator. There are many others. Ethics experts note that the dual-role sometimes “conveniently” serves to undercut oversight in related positions.

The “Acting” role of many of Trump’s nominees avoids having to face difficult questions at Senate confirmation hearings. Three cabinet level appointees, William J. Pulte, Todd Blanche, and Keith Sonderling are now “Acting” with dozens in lower ranks.

It all reeks of disregard for the seriousness of government responsibility and the duty to the country. And it fits with a focus on his priorities – vanity projects, legacy issues, vengeance campaign, and corruption by monetizing his presidency.

We also learned from a whistleblower, Jeremiah Schofield, who worked for Social Security for 25 years before leaving last October, that the Trump administration had plans to classify 2.7 million people, including some citizens and lawful permanent residents, into a deceased database (here). Had this plan been implemented, folks who were classified as “dead” would have been unable to get credit, find a job, get government benefits, etc. Apparently, the malign intent was to force folks to self-deport or go to a social security office where they could be arrested if they were undocumented.

No shortage of cruelty and corrupt actions from Team Trump.

One of many insightful signs at our last “No Kings” rallies: