2:00PM Water Cooler 11/20/2024 | naked capitalism

“Trump’s casting call as he builds out his administration: TV experience preferred” [Associated Press]. ” There’s a common trait that President-elect Donald Trump is clearly prizing as he selects those to serve in his new administration: experience on television. Trump loves that ‘central casting’ look, as he likes to call it…. [He’s] working to set up a more forceful administration in this term, and in his eyes, many of those people happen to intersect with celebrity…. The White House-to-cable news pundit pipeline tends to cut across administrations of both parties, to some extent. President Joe Biden had three MSNBC contributors on his transition team and his former press secretary went to the network after she left the White House. Biden, though, looked to career diplomats, longtime government workers and military leaders for key posts like the Defense Department.” • You could argue, I suppose, that the social capital intrinsic to celebrity gives these appointments a certain autonomy; they can always go back on cable or secure an “Orange Man Bad”-type book deal. Of course, this cuts against the “loyalist” narrative. Readers, what do you think?

“Trump reconsiders Treasury Secretary nomination, may no longer choose pro-crypto” [Binance]. • Imagine breathing a sigh of relief that we’re getting some private equity weasel, and not some crypto bro.

“Elon Musk’s endorsement of a Treasury secretary candidate has reportedly rubbed Trump’s people the wrong way” [Fortune]. “Despite the apparent unease of some Trump staffers with Musk’s actions, there is no evidence that any rift has formed between Musk and Trump. Musk is still spending much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, and traveled with Trump to New York Saturday to attend a UFC fight. Whoever becomes Treasury secretary, Musk is likely to work somewhat closely with them as part of his duties with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE will work with the White House Office of Management and Budget to implement the recommendations of Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk has said previously he believes it is possible to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, though many have been skeptical of this figure.”

The Case for Matt Gaetz” [Compact Magazine]. “There are two ways to look at the corruption that is rife in 21st-century American life. One view is that reform demands a saint to reproach the wicked…. The second view is that if we must await an immaculate reformer, reform will never come. So we ought to support even obviously flawed individuals when they take on the necessary work of confronting systemic evils.” This speaks well of him: “This year, Gaetz took James Poulos and a film crew from The Blaze on a tour of congressional offices whose occupants—including Republicans—were violators of Congress’s seldom-enforced rules against insider trading.” And: “Gaetz has been complimentary toward Lina Khan, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, and the Biden Justice Department’s chief antitrust official, Jonathan Kanter. The New York Post notes that Google, in particular, is likely to be a focus of antitrust attention in a Gaetz Department of Justice, which might move to break up the tech megalith. The same story quotes Gaetz referring to Big Tech companies in 2021 as ‘the internet’s hall monitors’ with a bias against conservatives. Gaetz has described himself as a ‘libertarian populist,’ and that characterization is reflected by his stances on civil liberties and social issues.” •

How the Gaetz Ethics report could still come out if the panel blocks it” [Politico]. “Here’s a breakdown of what could happen if [Ethics Committee] members vote not to release the [Gaetz] report, and other ways the investigative findings could see the light of day…. Someone leaks it to the press: Ethics Committee members and staff don’t take the prospect of a leak lightly, if the panel votes to keep the report under wraps. Part of that is wanting to protect the credibility of the panel, but members also take an oath, pledging: “I will not disclose, to any person or entity outside the Committee on Ethics, any information received in the course of my service with the Committee, except as authorized by the Committee or in accordance with its rules.”… Using the House floor: Some lawmakers are privately theorizing that, should the committee block the release of the report, a lawmaker could go to the House or Senate floor and read it into the congressional record rather than leak it to the media…. Sharing it with senators: Even if the Ethics panel doesn’t want to make the report public, they can vote to share it with the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of potential confirmation hearings…. Sober warning: Staff-driven leaks have happened before, but typically not in a situation with so much at stake. In addition to losing a job, there are also real concerns of political violence if a staff leaker’s name became public.” • Hmmm.

“What to know about Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to lead Medicare and Medicaid” [Associated Press]. “Oz had a net worth between $100 million and $315 million, according to a federal financial disclosure he filed in 2022, which gives dollar values in ranges but does not provide specific figures.” • Oh.

“Prosecutors request stay in Trump NY case until 2029 as defense plans motion for dismissal ‘once and for all’” [FOX]. “New York prosecutors are requesting a stay until at least 2029 in New York v. Trump, as the president’s defense attorneys prepare to move to dismiss the case entirely. Prosecutors wrote a letter to Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday, who agreed last week to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the conviction proceedings against Trump in the final months before he takes office. åMerchan granted the request, which issues a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date, to consider the effect of his election as president. Prosecutors had asked for the pause in proceedings, which they said would allow them to better evaluate the impact of Trump’s new status as president-elect. ‘As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, Defendant’s inauguration as President will occur on January 20, 2025,’ Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to Merchan on Tuesday.” And: “Trump’s attorneys have requested that Merchan overturn the guilty verdict, citing the United States Supreme Court’s decision that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office. Trump’s legal team argued that certain evidence presented by Bragg and New York prosecutors during the trial should not have been admitted, as they were ‘official acts.’”

Deploy the Blame Cannons!

“NBC’s Kornacki: Republicans Achieve Historic Realignment, 25-Point Shift Among Lower-Income Voters Since 2012” [RealClearPolitics]. KORNACKI: “Remember, three straight elections Trump’s been the Republican candidate. So pre-Trump voters under 30 were going for the Democrats by 23 points. Folks with incomes under $50,000, 22 points for the Democrats. Folks without college degrees, four points for the Democrats. That’s pre-Trump. What comes out of this election? Look at some of these shifts. The youth vote, that Democratic margin cut more than in half. Voters under $50,000, now a Republican constituency. Voters without a college degree, look at that shift. Now a core Republican constituency. And then we can talk about race, ethnicity. This gets into that diversity I mentioned a minute ago. Check this out. Again, pre-Trump versus now. The Black vote still overwhelmingly Democratic, but that’s a 15-point shift. It used to be 87 points for the Democrats, down to 72. How about this? You’ve heard a lot about it this week. This is what the numbers look like. Hispanic voters were 44 points Democratic before Donald Trump. Now, basically a toss-up constituency. And Asian Americans, a 32-point shift there as well. That’s what’s happened to the Republican Party since Donald Trump became its standard bearer eight years ago. This has been the movement.”