Top O' the Briefing
Happy Wednesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Jespenson was a free-thinking haberdashery enthusiast who preferred that his ice never needed shaving, thank you very much.
We have had a lot of fun here with all things Trump 47 going so swimmingly. Watching the Democrats' heads go full "Scanners" every time one of President Trump's Cabinet nominees is confirmed has been a particular delight. Well, they're not going to be too upset by the confirmation hearings that are starting today.
Trump's nominee to be the next Secretary of Labor is Lori Chavez-DeRemer, one of the worst Republican nominees for a Cabinet position in recent memory. Seriously, this was a phenomenally bone-headed choice by Trump; it's a serious buzzkill for those of us who have been enjoying the MAGA high since January 20.
Catherine wrote about this nightmare of a nominee yesterday:
Lori Chavez-DeRemer's Senate confirmation hearings begin on Wednesday. The former Planned Parenthood employee and loyal union stooge needs to be replaced — Trump should never have chosen her. In fact, she’s an absolute gift to the most leftist and most corrupt unions. It is one thing to appeal to union membership, as Trump undoubtedly did in the last election, and another thing to place a radical union ally in a position of high federal authority.
What, didn't Nancy Pelosi or Elizabeth Warren have relatives who were available for the job?
Over at HotAir, my friend Ed Morrissey explains why Chavez-DeRemer (I really get sick of typing out hyphenated names) is a particularly ill fit for the administration that Trump has assembled:
That's not true of Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Chavez-DeRemer has no record of taking on the establishment clique and looking for reform. Chavez-DeRemer is the establishment, someone who not only has a clear bias to Big Labor, but also to Planned Parenthood and a host of other alliances that are aligned far more with the bureaucratic state than with Trump's constituents and constituencies.
There is no angle to look at this from that makes it seem sensible. It's a major screw-up on Trump's part. While writing this past month about how well things are going with Trump's second go at the presidency, I've been hoping that he would change his mind and have some people in his inner circle convince Chavez-DeRemer to withdraw her name.
Both Catherine and Ed linked to a column I wrote last November about Chavez-DeRemer last year when Trump announced her nomination. I raised the alarm as soon as I read that she was his pick. I caught some grief about that from the people who think being a fervent Trump supporter means that he should never be criticized. A couple of people said, "Let Trump cook."
Sorry, he's not my personal chef; he's my president and he works for me. When he does something idiotic, I have every right to denounce it.
Apologists say that Chavez-DeRemer's nomination is forgivable because Teamsters head Sean O'Brien "helped" Trump during the campaign last year. Did the Teamsters endorse Trump? No, they merely didn't endorse Joe Biden. That was only because internal Teamsters polling showed huge support for Trump. That means that O'Brien's "help" in declining to endorse Biden was almost negligible. A lot of Teamsters were already going to vote for him.
That hardly seems worthy of giving a Big Labor shill a seat at the MAGA table.
Trump fans are getting excited about all of the talk of getting rid of the Department of Education, something that will be fought tooth and nail by the teachers' unions. Guess who is a Lori Chavez-DeRemer fan?
It is significant that the Pres-elect nominated Rep. Chavez-DeRemer for Labor. Her record suggests real support of workers & their right to unionize. I hope it means the Trump admin will actually respect collective bargaining and workers' voices from Teamsters to teachers.
— Randi Weingarten 🇺🇸💪🏿👩🎓🟣 (@rweingarten) November 23, 2024
That's right, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, and one of the two or three most thoroughly evil people in American politics. Weingarten is quite infamous for being a spittle-spewing lunatic when responding to anything any Republican ever does, but she's the picture of calm when it comes to Chavez-DeRemer.
The friend of my enemy... well, you know.
Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored the PRO Act, which would have been an existential threat to my job, and also legalized union thuggery via "card check," which I explained in my original column. Again, there is nothing redeeming about this choice.
If you're still in the "let Trump cook" camp, you should grab a bib and a plate and get ready for the steaming piles of commie horse manure that you're going to be served if Lori Hugo Chavez-DeRemer makes it into President Trump's Cabinet.
(h/t Paula for the Hugo idea.)
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