Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

I was promised a recession.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Fables Of The Reconstruction / You’re Fired! and Ready to Go…Errr, P’raps Not

You’re Fired! and Ready to Go…Errr, P’raps Not

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There’s much to be said about the still-unpossible fact that the shitgibbon is now president.  But in this day one of our national experiment in test-to-destruction governance, there’s something…missing.

That would be a government.  Or at least, an administration.

There are roughly 675 Federal positions that require Senate confirmation.*

There are some four thousand more jobs to be filled by direct appointment, and while many of those are minor, many are not.**

So that’s the hole. How far along is Trump to filling it?

Well, according to The Washington Post‘s tracker, Trump has so far sent 30 names to the Senate.***  None have been confirmed.

Update: James Mattis and John F. Kelly have now been confirmed for Defense and Homeland Security respectively.

By comparison in 2009, six Obama cabinet nominees were confirmed as of the inauguration, and four more followed the next week.

And even if/when all those nominated so far do make it through the Senate process, they’ll be doing — or rather not getting done all the work of the senior management of their departments.

Foreign policy? We ain’t got none, for the time being, no matter how often Trump bellows “America First!”  There are no appointees at State below the secretary level. That’s not “none-confirmed.” That’s none, as in not a single deputy, assistant, or under secretary has yet been named.

We’ve got no boots on the ground either.  In a break with prior custom, Trump demanded the resignation of every serving ambassador as of today.  With only three as-yet unvetted, much less confirmed, ambassadorial appointments, and dozens yet to be made, the US is without its head-of-mission everywhere.  While it’s true that politically appointed ambassadors have professional staffs that are still in place, the fact remains that our international representatives aren’t there.

Same goes for the national security apparatus.  The odious and unfit Michael Flynn does not require Senate confirmation, so he’s on the job.  He’s got no help though:

Trump has made one other NSC appointment, tapping retired Gen. Keith Kellogg to be NSC chief of staff. And some reports indicate that Matt Pottinger, a former Wall Street Journal China correspondent who joined the U.S. Marines and grew close to Flynn, may become the NSC’s director for Asia.

It ain’t going to get any better any time soon.  Flynn’s in charge of filling out his org chart, and, as the same Politico article notes, he’s making a mess of it:  

The NSC staffing process is being controlled closely by Trump’s national security adviser-designate, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who, unlike his past several predecessors, has no NSC experience. Flynn’s deputy, K.T. McFarland, served as a typist and a research assistant at the NSC in the Nixon and Ford White Houses before working as a speechwriter and public affairs official in the Reagan Pentagon…

…Sources who have had contact with Trump’s national security transition team said it has been tight-lipped about its staffing. “Very few people really know anything about lower-level appointments,” said one person in the mix for a job. “Those who do know aren’t talking, and those who are talking don’t know anything.”

The same is true at Defense.  James Mattis looks from this distance as the best of Trump’s cabinet appointments and the one likely to get through the confirmation process most smoothly.  It could be months — or hell, who knows, more than year — before he has a full cadre of senior officials to help him run the department that spends about half of the entire Federal discretionary budget.  Right now, as at State, there’s not a single deputy, assistant or under secretary appointment out there.  He can have coffee with the Secretary of the Army, once that confirmation goes through, but while that’s undoubtedly a significant post, just about everyone a SecDef needs just to stem the torrent of decisions that department needs made every day isn’t even on the radar yet.

Trump’s going to redo trade deals around the world? Who’s going to do the talking? At least Commerce has a deputy secretary nominee, but again — no one else is home.

Modernize the nuclear arsenal? Governor/Secretary Perry, all by his deeply – nuclear – competent lonesome?

And so on.  In sum, as Jonathan Bernstein put it at Bloomberg News:

When it comes to policy, Trump will be only a vague presence in the executive branch during the months when presidents normally have the best chance to get things done.  [link in the original] It’s not news to anyone that bureaucrats are skilled in resisting the preferences of presidents. But an entrenched bureaucracy against a secretary (and in most cases, a secretary with little government experience or little policy expertise or both) and a bunch of empty desks? That’s no contest.

In some ways this is all a tiny bit of a good thing: when if we have to confront malice, may it be incompetent and all that.  I don’t take too much comfort there — I’m sure the Republican Congress will do all they can to ensure that policy, once Trump’s executive branch knows where the bathrooms are, will be just as awful as can be.  That it may take a bit longer to get there is a good thing, but not hugely so.

But here’s what does seem scary. Government isn’t just about doing what you want to do pro-actively, whether it be getting or taking away health care from millions.  It’s also about dealing with what happens in the world while you were making other plans.  And here, from emergency management to war and conflict, there’s no one minding the store.  That could bite us on the ass at any time.  (And, if Trump’s appointments match Bush-the-lesser’s for competence, even after he staffs up.)  Politico again:

Several of Trump’s national security appointees, including Flynn, have strong military backgrounds — but limited experience in coordinating with other senior government officials in a time of crisis. McFarland last served in government more than 30 years ago. Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has no prior government experience. Nor does Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus.

At the moment, the team’s heavyweight is Trump’s pick for defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, who led U.S. Central Command from 2010 to 2013.

To help the Trump team prepare for the worst, on Saturday the Obama White House held an emergency-management exercise with nearly two-dozen Trump appointees, including Flynn, McFarland, Mattis and Trump’s nominees for CIA director, Rep. Mike Pompeo, and for director of national intelligence, Sen. Dan Coats.

But that exercise focused on natural disasters, and not the type of catastrophic terrorist attack that some fear could strain an understaffed Trump team.

So:  two cheers for any no-show-derived reprieves from the worst of Trumpismo.  None at the thought of the Ferret Heedit Shitgibbon faced with a real-time response to more or less anything with his non-existent administration there to help.

*It’s a slightly tricky number.  For one thing, since 2011, almost three hundred positions that require confirmation can get it through a streamlined process, and the number above omits those.  For another, people don’t seem to be sure exactly how many appointments still have to go through the full megillah. The Washington Post says 660, for example, while Bloomberg News goes with 690.  Hence my split-the-0difference number above.

**The top public affairs folks at the major departments are among those direct hires.  One way to keep a lid on news is to leave the press with no one to talk to…

***That’s all fifteen members of the cabinet, three ambassadors — to China, Israel and the United Kingdom — the US Representative to the United Nations, a deputy secretary (Commerce), the Secretary of the Army, Medicare’s assassin the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Deputy Attorney General, the Adminstrators of the EPA and the SBA, the trade rep, the director of OMB, the CIA and Office of National Intelligence Directors, and the SEC chairman.

Image: Albert Anker, The District Secretary, 1874.

Reader Interactions

182Comments

  2. 2.

    Kryptik

    At some point, you wonder if the total lack of Executive Branch staffing is by design. After all, who will enforce the laws against Trump if there’s no one there to enforce them?

  3. 3.

    SatanicPanic

    Trump’s going to redo trade deals around the world? Who’s going to do the talking?

    I think you answered your own question

  4. 4.

    Baud

    That could bite us on the ass at any time.

    White voters bit off our whole ass last November. We are assless.

  5. 5.

    Tenzil Kem

    Dubya was a shitshow even with people who came to their jobs with solid resumes (Powell, Rumsfeld, O’Neill, Ashcroft, etc. all had plenty of government experience no matter what their views may have been). Our best hope for sanity is a guy nicknamed Mad Dog. Heaven help us all.

  8. 8.

    Archon

    The most powerful nation that ever existed just elected President a buffoon whose inauguration speech was basically an abdication of American political, economic, and moral leadership in the world.

    There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that when America falls the cause of death will be suicide.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    BTW, mark my words, at least three of Trump’s senior appointees will use private email for government business, and no one will care.

  10. 10.

    gratuitous

    Running government like a business. What would the board of directors have to say about such a feckless CEO? How long would this kind of crap go on at a Fortune 500 company?

  11. 11.

    dm

    When Jared Kushner first toured the White House and asked how many people planned to stay on, what a shame no quick wit replied, “Why, all of them, of course.”

  12. 12.

    Captain C

    But here’s what does seem scary. Government isn’t just about doing what you want to do pro-actively, whether it be getting or taking away health care from millions. It’s also about dealing with what happens in the world while you were making other plans. And here, from emergency management to war and conflict, there’s no one minding the store. That could bite us on the ass at any time.

    And of course, those who want to mess with you will know that you are under-staffed and under-led, and act accordingly. If I’m China, North Korea, Russia, or anyone else with bad intentions (or even just my own ideas about how the world should be organized), I’d be thinking of probing Trump’s resolve and competence sooner rather than later.

  13. 13.

    Captain C

    @Baud: And they may just use AOL, a la Colin Powell, rather than at least set up their own secure and inconspicuous server.

  14. 14.

    schrodingers_cat

    I am totally ignoring the day’s event and listening to the Jukebox of Vishal Bharadwaj’s Rangoon to be released in late Feb. Its going to be awesome.
    So far the numbers have name checked Hitler, Churchill, Rumi and Tabrizi (Sufi poets from the 12th century). It also has 2 songs English and totally evokes the Hindi movies of the 40s era. One of the songs has a chorus of what seems to be either Spanish or Portuguese.

  17. 17.

    Greenergood

    Though not as severe, we’ve got something like that going on over here in UK Land – ‘the people’ (30% of them) voted to leave the EU and ‘let’s just BREXIt!’, but the number of people needed to negotiate the treaties involved is huge, and we don’t have them, so the Tories are now scouring round for people from EUROPE to come and help wth the negotiations. At this point, my only hope is that there’s another Scottish Independence referendum and then I can apply for Scottish citizenship. If it weren’t so awful, it would be laughable – a lesser version of what’s happening on the other side of the Pond. After all, UKIP Brexit baboon NIgel Farage threw a swanky party in Washington on Thursday night, rejoicing in the victory of his new friend Mr Trump, and hoping to curry favour with him. My partner arrived home from town today after hearing Trumeplethinskin’s speech on the car radio – opened the door and shouted ‘Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer!’ Oh, how we laughed …

  19. 19.

    zhena gogolia

    I have not really sobbed yet, but I was just trying to cheer myself up by watching and singing along with the Hamilton performances at the White House, and when Chris Jackson sang Washington’s farewell address, “I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government,” I lost it completely.

  20. 20.

    hilts

    Foreign policy? We ain’t got none, for the time being, no matter how often Trump bellows “America First!” There are no appointees at State below the secretary level.

    Here’s one reason for this predicament:

    In an unprecedented move, the President-elect’s team are reported to have demanded ambassadors appointed by Barack Obama to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day on 20 January. The decision to provide no grace period for politically appointed ambassadors marks a significant break with decades of tradition.

    The move risks leaving the US without envoys in key countries like Britain, Germany and Canada for months. It also means ambassador’s families have been forced to find places to live in America or their respective countries with very little notice.

    According to a report in the New York Times, Mr Trump’s transition team issued the mandate “without exceptions” in a State Department order sent to diplomats on 23 December.

    A senior Trump transition official anonymously told the publication there was no “ill will” in the decision and it was simply an attempt to ensure Mr Obama’s overseas appointees left the government on time.

    h/t http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-barack-obama-ambassador-orders-resign-inauguration-day-20-january-president-elect-leave-a7512631.html

  23. 23.

    cosima

    @Greenergood: We welcome all BJ folk here in the Highlands. Not a lot of Brexit love here, and zero love for the #SCROTUS (borrowing that from my daughter). But don’t get me started on the indy referendum issue.

  25. 25.

    AnotherBruce

    @Kryptik: Except that, if it’s by design, they’re cutting their own thoats. The point is, there is nobody to enforce anything, including stuff that Trump wants to enforce. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, What will kill us isn’t that Trump is evil, he is, But we have more to fear from his incompetence.

  27. 27.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Timurid: Indeed! However the view from India is different from that of the United States.
    Bose’s Azad Hind Sena* fought against the Allies in Burma and Manipur (both parts of British India, then). Its supposed to be a love triangle on the back ground of WWII. I have actually seen movies in that gorgeous Deco theater that you see in the trailer.

    INA drew heavily from the jawans and officers from the British Army. The top ranking officers were court-martialed after the end of the war. Nehru was on the defense team.

  31. 31.

    p.a.

    What, there aren’t enough toadies at Heritage, AEI, Family ‘Research’ etc to fill the void?

  32. 32.

    geg6

    I read somewhere today (TPM maybe?) that there has been some panicky behind the scenes begging of current staffers to stay long enough to get the Dumpster’s people in place. If it was me, I’d tell them to get fucked. But I’m guessing some of them will agree.

  33. 33.

    Ruckus

    @gratuitous:
    This shareholder is fucking pissed. But I’d bet the new board members are rubbing their hands in glee with anticipation of being able to sell off the entire company, all the while enjoying huge golden…..

  35. 35.

    Taylor

    But that exercise focused on natural disasters, and not the type of catastrophic terrorist attack that some fear could strain an understaffed Trump team.

    What’s the big deal? The Bush government was MIA on 9/11, fighter planes flying around wondering WTF they were supposed to do. Watch United 93 to see what a clusterfuck it was.

    And who here remembers Haig’s “I’m in charge” the day Reagan was shot, while everyone else was pissing in their pants?

    This is SOP for Republicans in government, amirite?

  36. 36.

    ThresherK

    @trollhattan: I don’t remember that fellow (and I remember both the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the original Rowdies) but good on him. A bit of what I needed to read today.

  37. 37.

    Ruckus

    @geg6:
    If they are going to burn it down, and they are, I want them to get the entire blame, every last bit of it. So if it was me, I’d have my box packed and be out the door. Of course not having to walk out without a job, living in a very expensive city, allows me to be a bit more bold.

  38. 38.

    Mike in NC

    Wasn’t chaos Bannon’s plan to begin with? Shut it all down.

    Came home from an errand today and noticed a couple of cars I hadn’t seen before in our wingnut neighbors’ driveway. They also had put back up the yooouge TRUMP-PENCE yard sign on their lawn. Apparently a little mini-rally underway. Told the wife they should party while they can and before Trump’s first massive fuck-up (due before the end of the month).

  40. 40.

    trollhattan

    @Taylor:
    What I want to know is which of Trump’s Deplorables is his Dick Cheney. He has at least one but I don’t know who it might be. Pence is too dumb–not to say he’s not dangerous, just preoccupied with sexytime and punishing moochers.

  41. 41.

    Tom Levenson

    @trollhattan: Jared Kushner, probably. And that’s frankly terrifying. Pence is going to try to be, as is Bannon. Not sure how that three-way will work out.

  44. 44.

    Timurid

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I’m familiar with the backstory, which makes it all the more triggering.

    A more realistic worst case result for the regime of Trump (and like-minded successors) is not the Third Reich but British India. A sprawling, decentralized racist kleptocracy in which the government mandates no evil but allows all evil. Not a Fuhrer but a constellation of petty tyrants. ‘Stets rahts’ federalism taken to and beyond its logical conclusion…

  45. 45.

    Jeffro

    @Captain C:

    If I’m China, North Korea, Russia, or anyone else with bad intentions (or even just my own ideas about how the world should be organized), I’d be thinking of probing Trump’s resolve and competence sooner rather than later.

    Why, it’s not like there aren’t properties all over the world with the PEEOTUS’ name on them?

    Also, I hear his office is on the 26th floor of Trump Tower. And he lives in the penthouse of Trump Tower. 26th floor and penthouse.

  46. 46.

    Ruckus

    @SuzieC:
    Does it really matter how cold it gets? Cold can be dealt with, a country this size with no functioning government is another story entirely.
    @cosima:
    Would it help if my ancestors are Scotch/Irish?

  49. 49.

    Chet Murthy

    @Tom Levenson: Talk about small mercies. I -pray- that it’s Kushner. B/c he’ll merely be venial. Bannon? Pence? Either of them …. I cringe to think of what some of my country(wo)men will suffer. And count my lucky stars I live over the hill from The Castro.

  51. 51.

    Jeffro

    @Tom Levenson: re: who’s Trump’s Dick Cheney

    Jared Kushner, probably. And that’s frankly terrifying. Pence is going to try to be, as is Bannon. Not sure how that three-way will work out.

    Bannon and Kushner are both evil and calculating, so they’re your two Cheneys right there (Bannon has said as much). Pence is just there to carry out orders and be the smooth-talking face of Randian voodoo and religious right cognitive dissonance.

  52. 52.

    Corner Stone

    @gratuitous:

    What would the board of directors have to say about such a feckless CEO? How long would this kind of crap go on at a Fortune 500 company?

    You put way too much trust and honor in a BoD’s and their concern for shareholders. The decades long fetizishation of the CEO has to die an ugly, brutal death or this nation will never get any better.
    It has long been my stated contention that companies survive in spite of the CEO’s and not due to their efforts. All CEO’s are either evil, incompetent or feckless.

  53. 53.

    Chris

    @Timurid:

    A more realistic worst case result for the regime of Trump (and like-minded successors) is not the Third Reich but British India. A sprawling, decentralized racist kleptocracy in which the government mandates no evil but allows all evil. Not a Fuhrer but a constellation of petty tyrants. ‘Stets rahts’ federalism taken to and beyond its logical conclusion…

    This is what my guess has been too. The historical analogy I had in mind was the South, just nationwide, but yours works too.

  54. 54.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Timurid: Sorry, if I was being pedantic. Not everyone on Balloon Juice is that familiar with the history of the subcontinent.
    T=Mir Jafar
    P=Clive
    Rest of the Republicans: Indian Princes that sided with the British so that they could lead a life of luxury, while their subjects died of unjust taxation that lead to mass starvation and other indignities.
    Analogy is loose not perfect.

  55. 55.

    ArchTeryx

    See, I get that it’s all about fear. I’m a white dude. The thing is, I’m an educated white dude, so I know who my enemies are. It ain’t the blahs, the messicans, the immigrants that are threatening to deprive me of life-sustaining care. I count people, actually, from all those groups as good friends, as well as a fair few people from all over the world. The magic of the Internet.

    It’s the people who were celebrating today.

    But, on the GOOD side: I just finished fixing up some of my homemade Parmesan turkey meatballs for my host. Part of how I earn my keep around here is play amateur chef, and I’m pretty good at it. It also helps keep me in the foods I need to keep my guts from self-destructing even WITH the medicines, so it helps me too. He’s an incredibly kind friend, and has done a lot to keep me moving forward the last few years. Part of why I’m reluctant to simply abandon him for far more uncertain waters in some big, ultraexpensive city where I know nobody.

  57. 57.

    debbie

    @Jeffro:

    Yeah, it’ll definitely be Bannon.

    I didn’t hear the speech until just now and I want to rip the faces right off of my Trump-supporting relatives.

    And when the hell did Blues Traveller agree to play?

  59. 59.

    mai naem mobile

    The fucking problem is that Lumpy and his Pals think that government is a business and so they think that they need to streamline everything and to have the fewest people doing the most work. government is not a business. They think they are running Southwest Airlines or something and that you can cross train somebody on everything. Dumb asses. The Germans met with W’s people during the post Iraq invasion time for the rebuilding of Iraq and they were shocked at the few number of people that bush had trying to do the reconstruction. They had needed thousands of people to help with rebuilding East Germany and that wasn’t even the result of a war.

  60. 60.

    Tom Levenson

    @debbie: Read the speech. Won’t listen. In some ways, I was reassured. He ain’t even trying to hide it. The Congressional GOP caucus wants to mask their deeds. Der Trumpenfuhrer is going to make that difficult, which is a good thing.

  64. 64.

    ET

    Looks like Mattis and Kelly got confirmed.

    CNN and WTOP.com are already comparing inaugural attendance and it don’t look good for Trump.

  65. 65.

    Chris

    @mai naem mobile:

    The fucking problem is that Lumpy and his Pals think that government is a business and so they think that they need to streamline everything and to have the fewest people doing the most work. government is not a business. They think they are running Southwest Airlines or something and that you can cross train somebody on everything. Dumb asses. The Germans met with W’s people during the post Iraq invasion time for the rebuilding of Iraq and they were shocked at the few number of people that bush had trying to do the reconstruction. They had needed thousands of people to help with rebuilding East Germany and that wasn’t even the result of a war.

    And that’s another great analogy I’ve heard for what’s coming: CPA era Iraq. Total cronyism, incompetence, ideology gone mad, and just generally every part of the government out to lunch.

  68. 68.

    boatboy_srq

    @Corner Stone: All I’ve done so far is read the speech. It’s definitely a piece’o’work. The next few years will be interesting – in the ancient curse sense.

  72. 72.

    Hal

    I realize I am completely biased but Trump’s speech was terrible. Void of anything but boasting and bragging and aimed entirely at the people who voted for him.

    But I am enjoying watching a handful of Facebook friends get pissed at how unpopular he is to so many. Much butt hurt. Even a little old white lady in my clinic today said he was disgusting and she couldn’t even look at his face on tv.

  73. 73.

    cosima

    @SuzieC: Today it started out at about -5C (15F?), and reached 3C — those are actually perfect temps, crisp clear days. Much better than rain (which we do not get as much of as is commonly believed). Our lab is recovering from surgery and is now able to take 15-20 minute walks. To avoid complete tedium I’ve started driving to new areas to find forest walks for us to do, finding new beautiful places and keeping Lola happy. We’ve had some beautiful walks this week.

    @Ruckus: If Mr. Cosima & I can get love — without a bit of Scottish/Irish in our blood — *anyone* can. And having lived in Alaska, Texas, Calgary & Denver (extremes of hot & cold), I revel in the mild Scottish weather, rain or shine.

    Moving here my soul immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It was a revelation living amongst people who *all* understand the importance of the obligation that we all have to provide basic things, education & healthcare, to all citizens to ensure they’re afforded the best possible opportunity for a happy & productive future. Fighting that battle with your co-workers, neighbours, relatives — every single day — is soul-crushing. I know that everyone who comments here understands that aspect of it, but the weight that is lifted when that constant mental/emotional battle no longer needs to be fought is profound. We are lucky to live here, to have that option/opportunity. It was not easy to get here, and it’s not easy to *stay* here. Every day I hope we can stay — as expats there are no guarantees, particularly now, but that’s something that I have no control over, so I choose not to actively worry about it (as much as I am able).

  74. 74.

    Stan

    @schrodingers_cat: The INA was pretty small, though, and most personnel were not punished in any way. Just a little quibble, but, the Indian Army was always a separate organization from the British Army; no Indian officers served in the *British* Army.

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    First report of Heat Tech leggings: they don’t stand up to wind. And especially not wind-driven rain. Without the wind, they’re reasonably warm for their weight.

    I’m waiting to check into the hotel so I can DRY OFF. Very heavy rain today.

  77. 77.

    mai naem mobile

    I don’t think any of the Obama people should stay on . Fuck patriotism . Anything that goes wrong will be blamed on them . Anyting. And it’s not like they are going to get brownie points from Lumpys supporters. Fuck em. They are the ones who said they were sooo competent and the adults. Put your big boy pants on and start working.

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    @Tom Levenson:
    You could be spot-on. He’s smart enough to get into Dear Leader’s head and sufficiently goal-oriented to know what to do once there.

    Plus, you know, pics of the wife and all.

  79. 79.

    cosima

    Has anyone else seen the news that the WH website for the #SCROTUS had a photo of Obama’s inauguration up initially (better optics, one presumes)? It was swapped out fairly quickly for one of the shitgibbon looking out of a window, must have got a torrent of backlash immediately. That’s what the book of faces told me, anyway.

  81. 81.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Stan: I meant the British Indian Army. The officers were tried for treason, found guilty but their sentences were not carried out. There was tremendous sympathy for them among the Indian armed forces. The writing on the wall was clear and the days of the Raj were numbered.

  82. 82.

    Lizzy L

    @Another Scott: Mattis is qualified and experienced, and I believe (and have been told by people who know) that he is an honorable man. I am glad they confirmed him. I don’t expect him to last a year in the job; I think he will resign. Would love to be wrong.

  83. 83.

    mai naem mobile

    @efgoldman: okay, bad example. It’s the only business that came off the top of my head where they cross train. But then maybe it is appropriate because Lumpy did hire an incompetent drunk to fly his plane.

  84. 84.

    trollhattan

    @Another Scott:
    As a Californian I salute New Yorkers on your choice for junior senator.

    On the topic of senators, DiFi is considering running for another term in ’18. Data point: she will be 84 in June.

  85. 85.

    debbie

    @Hal:

    Last night, a couple FB friends were insisting we respect the Office of the President and that Obama had been given every deference possible (this was from the brother still looking for the birth certificate). Today, nothing but crickets from them.

  87. 87.

    ? Martin

    @mai naem mobile:

    The fucking problem is that Lumpy and his Pals think that government is a business and so they think that they need to streamline everything and to have the fewest people doing the most work. government is not a business. They think they are running Southwest Airlines or something and that you can cross train somebody on everything. Dumb asses.

    The biggest problem with running government like a business is that business can pick and choose their customer base. Government can’t. That means that business can decide what fraction of a market they are going to simply not serve because it’s not cost effective for them to do. If your favorite toothpaste is not longer popular enough to warrant shelf space at the store, then you don’t get to buy your toothpaste any longer. Government can’t work that way. The whole point of a democratic government is that it has to serve everyone, which means doing a shit ton of things that aren’t cost-effective. Nobody is going to be able to justify humping mail out to the middle of Alaska for $0.47, yet that’s what government does – and for very good reason.

    The problem with treating government like a business is that it assumes, in its very framing, that government will refuse to serve some portion of the voting population. They can deny that all they want, but that is part of the very definition of how businesses are run. So the only question left to ask is ‘who gets left out?’. We know the answer to that. But are they willing to say it out loud?

  88. 88.

    01jack

    @cosima:
    Yes, it was a picture cropped to a banner pic of the waving flags. Much mocked around Twitter

    Edited to add:
    Not the website, but his Twitter profile page.

  89. 89.

    Emerald

    I will not watch the speech, I will not read the speech, I will avoid all images from today.

    I am curious, however, about the words “American carnage.” In what way did he use these words? Probably ought to be something I should find out.

  90. 90.

    debbie

    @cosima:

    What is it about Scotland that bestows such a wonderful gift for linguistics? I’m still laughing over the descriptors in Tweets responding to Trump’s congratulating Scotland for supporting Brexit.

  91. 91.

    debbie

    @Emerald:

    That this was the true state of the country today. You do need to read/hear it to understand just how infuriated some people (me) are.

  94. 94.

    ? Martin

    @trollhattan: Yeah, I’m a bit concerned about that as well. Not so much about her age, but more that we now have a bunch of up and coming democrats in the state and we need to promote them into national spotlight.

    One thing that California has yet to redeem itself for is that we’ve only contributed two presidents – Nixon and Reagan. I don’t mind only contributing two, just not those two. We need to round out the bullpen.

    And I’m all-in for Harris to run for President in 2020, btw.

  95. 95.

    Tenar Arha (same Tenar, more Nameless Ones)

    @Tom Levenson: And that scares me. I can see the patsy from miles away. It’s obvious he wasn’t brought up with enough of a paranoid understanding about the history of what happens to Jewish people who get too close to the “throne….”

  99. 99.

    Emerald

    @debbie:

    Ah thanks. Yep, it’s what he would say. If he’s going to make America great, doncha know, he’s got to start at rock bottom, now doesn’t he?

    Plus, it’s another dig at Obama.

  102. 102.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I think they’re just regular warm. They’re quite thin, more like tights than leggings (but footless). Rain definitely affected how well the warming works.

  103. 103.

    Couldn't Stand the Weather

    @Baud:

    Sad but true.
    Maybe Trumpenstein will get distracted by all the lawsuits he and his cronies are mixed up in.

  104. 104.

    cosima

    @debbie: I really wish I knew the answer to that! We do have several friends who have an amazing sense of humour, but I’ve not caught them going to those lengths. Maybe the bleak weather & (alleged, because I love it) landscape have led them to hone their conversational skills & humour (lots of time inside around a fire or sitting at the pub)? I’ll ask next time we’re drinking with a few. The wife of the neighbour couple next door kicked everyone’s arse at Cards Against Humanity here at ours not long ago — the naughty stuff she was putting out there without cracking a smile was pretty epic. And you’d never in a million years imagine she’d do it.

  106. 106.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @mai naem mobile:

    my friend insists that the inability/incompetence of Trump to actually do anything he promised will turn off a lot of the people who voted for him really soon, with his 27% base bailing on him eventually too. His sell by date was actually 11/9.

  107. 107.

    darrel wright

    @Emerald: You should read it. It’s short and painless and indescribably stupid.

    I think the “carnage” line comes at the end of a little perroration on how everyone is miserable and America sucks because of horrible politicians that got rich on your backs but the carnage stops right this second!!

    I know I’m relieved!

  108. 108.

    celticdragonchick

    Trump just nominated the fascist fuck who headed up the defense of NC ant trans HB2 to head the DOJ civil rights division.

    Rod Fucking Dreher is creaming his jeans on twitter right now.

    I am in a real dark place of rage right now. I really try to eschew wishing violence on people, but not at the moment.

  109. 109.

    satby

    Need to share what a friend wrote on FB today, because lots of the white male union guys were and are on our side in this:

    William [redacted] You know Im a Union Ironworker, it has been a long tradition to ‘boom’ out to other cities when work is slow in your Hometown, I have had to do it many times..I have the power of my Union to assist me, I speak the language, I have the tools and training. The experience . So I respect the shit out of a man who scrambles across the muddy Rio Grand with everything he owns on his back to come to a foreign country, with only the hope of employment and to build a future for his family, taking what ever he can get to begin to live like a man.There is no shortage of people waiting to take advantage of them, yet they endure, Bless them, for in many case”s their contribution to revenue for huge Corporations like for example ‘Tyson’ Chicken allow those Companies of supporting guys like GW BUSH, who while campaigning in 99 an 2000 was flown endlessly on Tyson company Jets. Want to stop immigration? Stop those companies, not the poor lil man.
    Like · Reply · 49 mins

  111. 111.

    DCF

    Charlie Pierce today on the Esquire web site:
    Today Was Just the Beginning. The Reckoning Will Come.
    http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a52437/donald-trump-inauguration-day-report/

    In his speech, and in draining the event of his inauguration of its majesty, the president* managed to turn the west front of the Capitol into a college auditorium in Iowa, or an airplane hangar in New Hampshire, or a stage in Cleveland, Ohio. Already, this is being praised by the dim and the craven as admirable—that Trump deserves credit for declaring that he will be the same person as president as he was in the campaign. I would remind those people, and the new president*, of Harry Gondorff warning to Johnny Hooker: “You gotta keep his con even after you take his money. He can’t know you took him.”

    There is a reckoning out there in the distant wind for everything and everybody who brought us to this day, when not even the Marine Corps Band and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir could neither elevate the inauguration of a president out of the language of mere commerce nor make of the event anything more than a banal transaction—a day on which even Jesus Christ on the Mount was warned to keep it simple, stupid.

  112. 112.

    Suzanne

    The Right mocked women for us even suggesting that having a woman president might be an important thing. But even I really underestimated how important it was to America’s trailer trash for them to have a president who was one of their own.

  113. 113.

    Peale

    At least the mother fucker knew to say that our children are beatiful. Education may make them dumb because teachers rob them blind, but at least he knew enough to only call our children stupid.

  116. 116.

    darrel wright

    @Peale: Ah yes, that was the best one. I guess we should be thankful he didn’t say “our children are ignorant because our education system is full of cash.” But that’s pretty much what it meant, of course.

  117. 117.

    Chet Murthy

    @efgoldman: Crrikey. I think overall she’s been …. ok …. could have been worse. But setting aside her record, shit, at age 84, you’d think somebody would be thinking of grooming their successor/replacement, not “six more years”. Shit, she wants to be a Sen at age 90?

  122. 122.

    planetjanet

    I am trying to find a classic Balloon Juice post compiling Scottish names for Trump. It was months ago, long befre the election. There were some amazing creativity in that post. Does anyone know how I can find it?

  123. 123.

    Suzanne

    @debbie: I read that apparently that coat was designed by Gucci as a tribute to the city of London.

    GOD THESE PEOPLE ARE SUCH TRASHY IDIOTS. They are Ugly Americans, writ orange.

  124. 124.

    ? Martin

    @celticdragonchick: Yeah, this administration is all about retribution, about pissing off the people that supported Obama more than any sense of governance. Don’t be surprised when the next outrage comes – that’s what they’re aiming for. Find your strongest allies and put your energy behind them. For me it’s my state. We’ll fight this, we’ll eventually win it, but this is going to be a fucking shitshow for a lot of people for a little while.

  126. 126.

    Suzanne

    @debbie: I am kind of sorry not sorry, but there are times when I can set aside, or at least not be immediately despondent due to, what this fail parade is going to do to our economy, our rights, our standing in the world……and I see just how fucking tacky and gauche and in wretched, vulgar taste this whole country is going to be, and I get sad. Really sad.

  127. 127.

    darrel wright

    @Peale: He really does hate kids I think. I watched a little of the signing stuff because I wanted to see if there was any real signing being done, and a couple of the little nippers were crowding his elbow, and he did a little thing like he did in that one campaign thing where the baby was crying, said something like “these beautiful…beautiful… little children keep bumping my elbow, but that’s ok, that’s ok….we like that…” They aren’t really even touching him, but seems like he’s honestly annoyed and doing some kind of relaxation technique with the “that’s ok, that’s ok, we like that…” stuff.

  129. 129.

    Tilda Swintons Bald Cap

    This just in:

    mark seibel ✔@markseibel
    White supremacist Richard Spencer was punched in the face during D.C. protests at 14th and K, @sleavenworth reports
    3:25 PM – 20 Jan 2017

    Link to video.

  131. 131.

    PsiFighter37

    @Mary G: That was satire.

    This country is going to look very, very different in 4 years. And not in a good way, either.

    So depressing.

  132. 132.

    Wapiti

    @debbie:

    OMFG, Kellyanne’s outfit for the inauguration.

    My wife saw that picture this morning (here in Seattle) then texted me that she saw it in Gucci on the way to work. Expensive and not an American designer.

  133. 133.

    Van Buren

    I just opened a fortune cookie that said,”Today could be an almost perfect day. Enjoy it.”
    So, Giant Meteor after all.

  135. 135.

    darrel wright

    @? Martin: This is it exactly for me. The Republicans have an (unpopular) agenda with a very unpopular man at it’s head. All they have is theatrics. All of Trump’s instincts are doing whatever will create the biggest stink and chaos. I think the best defense is just to train down our rage and focus in like a laser on the agenda items. It needs to be boring, and I think we need to remind ourselves that we’re in a position in the not-all-that-long term to win and win big.

  136. 136.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jeffro:

    Also, I hear his office is on the 26th floor of Trump Tower. And he lives in the penthouse of Trump Tower. 26th floor and penthouse.

    You’ve mentioned that fact several times in the last few days, so I just want to make sure you’re aware that what he calls the “26th floor” is, in all likelihood, no higher than the actual 25th floor, as there is almost certainly no “13th floor” in Trump Tower. Just in case that’s in any way a helpful piece of information.

  141. 141.

    Quinerly

    @sukabi:
    You’re right. I think Vanity Fair called the buttons “feline.” KAC has called the $3600 outfit “Trump Revolutionary Wear.” Andy Borrowitz had a picture of her in it and quipped that the inauguration was disrupted by a clown…

  143. 143.

    Another Scott

    @planetjanet: First hit – I think that’s it.

    I searched for it at Google using the following:

    “site:balloon-juice.com scottish insults” (without the quotes)

    (The “site:” prefix restricts the search to Balloon-Juice.com)

    HTH!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  144. 144.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Greenergood:

    pened the door and shouted ‘Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer!’

    What does the people and the country have to do with Trump? Ein Fuhrer and stop. The reason the transition is so half assed is Trump doesn’t give a shit about anything put hearing Hail to the Chief when walks into a room.

  145. 145.

    schrodingers_cat

    @satby: They and also the much hated H1-Bs pay into SS and Medicare, the benefits they cannot access in most cases (they can access them if and when they become permanent residents/citizens).

  147. 147.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    But even I really underestimated how important it was to America’s trailer trash for them to have a president who was one of their own.

    That’s really it, isn’t it? He is trailer trash, with gold plating and bullshit. He’s who trailer trash would be if they inherited a fair bit of money and absolutely no class.

  148. 148.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @celticdragonchick:

    Trump just nominated the fascist fuck who headed up the defense of NC ant trans HB2 to head the DOJ civil rights division.

    Who is that? A quick and desultory Google didn’t provide a name.

  149. 149.

    liberal

    @satby: it’s pretty obvious that the most efficient means of stopping illegal immigration is draconian sanctions against those who employ them. You don’t even have to spend money on deportations.

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Suzanne:

    But even I really underestimated how important it was to America’s trailer trash for them to have a president who was one of their own.

    That’s it, really, isn’t it? However many penthouses and resorts and golf clubs, however much gilt furniture, however many interchangeable beauty queen wives, at base he is just trailer trash.

  156. 156.

    Peale

    @liberal: they aren’t really interested in stopping it. They are interested in creating conditions that will create more of it. Wall or no wall, I’m going to wager a bet that the numbers increase in four years

  157. 157.

    raven

    But are things so far gone that Trump supporters in the crowd thought it appropriate to chant “lock her up!” when Hillary Clinton was announced? Or that they would jeer Schumer’s reading of the poignant letter of Maj. Sullivan Ballou, who said, a week before he fell at Bull Run, that he was “willing to lay down all my joys in this life” for his country?

    Here’s what else they booed:

    “Today, we celebrate one of democracy’s core attributes, the peaceful transfer of power,” Schumer said. “And every day, we stand up for core democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution — the rule of law, equal protection for all under law, the freedom of speech, press, religion.”

    If such ideas earn jeers in Trump’s presidency, the American carnage is only beginning.

  158. 158.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mary G:

    I read someplace that Mathis has sent a reading list of 6,000 books to all officers. Trump won’t stand for that.

    You’re making a big assumption there, that he even knows what a “reading list” is.

  160. 160.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @darrel wright:

    he did a little thing like he did in that one campaign thing where the baby was crying, said something like “these beautiful…beautiful… little children keep bumping my elbow, but that’s ok, that’s ok….we like that…”

    IIRC, he soon followed that up with something like “OK, that’s enough, now get that baby out of here.”

  162. 162.

    Ruckus

    @Quinerly:

    Andy Borrowitz had a picture of her in it and quipped that the inauguration was disrupted by a clown…

    Now we know the secret of why Omnes hates clowns.

  163. 163.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @? Martin:

    He’s a germophobe. Generally germophobes are terrified of children.

    Could also explain why there’s no evidence in any of the biographies of him of his ever having had a pet as a child (or later).

    I also agree that he doesn’t seem to like children. I know almost nothing about young Barron Trump, but the photos I’ve seen don’t indicate that T shows him any kind of affection. When he (Barron) has made obligatory appearances at campaign-type events (at the Convention, Election Night, and today) he comes across as wildly uncomfortable and unhappy, as though he’d rather be just about anywhere else. He doesn’t smile, or act in the least excited or even happy (compare and contrast with Malia and Sasha on Election Night 2008). Part of it might be just being a 10-year-old boy, but his affect is one of a truly disinterested and unengaged kid. I feel really sorry for him. One day, he’s going to make a therapist/analyst very wealthy.

  164. 164.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @zhena gogolia:

    except for some canoodling with adolescent Ivanka

    There’s one photo of him standing behind Ivanka, who’s seated at a table at what looks like a banquet of some kind. His hands — his tiny, tiny hands — are grasping her arms hard enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if they left bruises. And the index finger of his left hand is inside the armhole of her dress, clearly a very short distance from her left boob. She looks about 10 or 11, but made up with foundation and eyeliner and collagened lips, wearing a sleeveless gold lamé dress. And the look on her face is one of pure terror.

  165. 165.

    Ohio Mom

    @SiubhanDuinne: It’s been suggested that Barron may be on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum. There is something atypical about him — I spent part of the day with one fellow autism mom, and had a long phone conversation with another, and while none of the three of us were sure, our spidey senses were tingling (spotting autism “in the wild” is a frequent autism mom pastime).

    One thing I did notice today was that his half-siblings have absolutely no use for him at all. They are one cold shoulder after another to him. At the signing ceremony, Barron tried to entertain the baby on Ivanka’s hip with a game of peek-a-boo. The baby seemed engaged and then Ivanka shifted him to her other hip, away from Barron. She never glanced at Baron. She was working hard at ignoring him. It was cruel.

  167. 167.

    trnc

    @geg6:

    I read somewhere today (TPM maybe?) that there has been some panicky behind the scenes begging of current staffers to stay long enough to get the Dumpster’s people in place. If it was me, I’d tell them to get fucked. But I’m guessing some of them will agree.

    I’d agree to stay on the condition that PSO state specifically how good many of Obama’s policies have been for the country. Also, release his tax returns.

  169. 169.

    Larkspur

    @Ohio Mom:

    At the signing ceremony, Barron tried to entertain the baby on Ivanka’s hip with a game of peek-a-boo. The baby seemed engaged and then Ivanka shifted him to her other hip, away from Barron.

    Oh damn, I didn’t see that. I was already feeling bad for him because he looked so isolated as they were gathering on the platform. I kept wishing he’d had a young friend with him, or a carer. Protocol kept his mom away during the preparations, but I wish she’d been with him.

  170. 170.

    Morzer

    @Timurid:

    A sprawling, decentralized racist kleptocracy

    Nah, that’s the Mughal empire or Narendra Modi’s little Hindu fascism that can’t.

  172. 172.

    Suzanne

    @Ruckus: Yes, he is just trailer trash with some (borrowed) money. Clearly never got the kind of arts and humanities education that the generationally wealthy get for their children. That generally ends up conferring some taste and sensibility.

    But the representation issue is real. Women were scorned for saying that having a woman in the White House would be—WILL BE, GODDAMNIT—an important thing. And then the NASCAR set went and voted for this clown because he co-opts their symbols, like fast food and not speaking in complete sentences.

    Have I adequately conveyed my contempt?

  174. 174.

    Elie

    @darrel wright:

    Well said. Trump and his minions are reactionaries reacting to what they perceive as lack of respect, etc. The more we have them and push, the more they will do to put thumbs in our eyes. We have to be cunning and strategic to make sure that we do not oppose them lightly but that we hurt them badly every time we can. Repeat.

    They have many many enemies — more than they know and more than they can take on. But they have our children, women and the fragile hostage. They know we care and will use assault on these to hurt us and try to cow us. We are in a kind of a civil war, doncha think? Their target is us… that was why the speech was not about any conciliation or bringing together. They WANT a war — they want to separate and bring us down. But we must not give them easy opposition. We must work sneakily and across broad fronts.
    We will know more in the next weeks. It was hard to have a plan before now cause they were not in office and we didn’t know where they would go … We can get some traction and a plan now…

  175. 175.

    J R in WV

    @Emerald:

    Trump believes (or claims to, it’s crazy wrong!) that America is subject to a huge onslaught of crime, murder is everywhere, always. Everyone is threatened, all the time, everywhere.

    This is absurd, as crime statistics show that crime has been plummeting since the late 1970s, when crime actually was peaking. Many think that removing tetra-ethyl lead from gasoline and trying to remediate lead paint have caused people to be less crazed, hence less criminal. Right now Americans are safer than ever in general, everywhere.

    People think there is a violent crime wave because every crime is reported everywhere. We hired a fine man from India back in the late 1990s, and told him when he came here to WV that the crime rate was among the lowest in the nation. A few weeks later he asked how that could be, he saw violent crime on TV every night. I said, mostly behind bars in an alley at 3 am, or relatives attacking each other. Also, look where they are, they want one every night, and it they need to report one from way away, they go there. He thought about it, watched, observed, and told me a couple of weeks later that he thought I had a point, the TV made it look more violent that it was.

    Trump watches TV, it is his only source of information because, for whatever reason he doesn’t read. How would he know that American violent crime is the lowest it has been since, well, ever.

    When I was a kid, I could read microfilm of old newspapers while I waited for my parents to finish their work. From the 20s and 30s mostly… crime was amazing back then. More than ever since then. Trains were robbed of payroll safes. Homes were blown up to kill families as explosives were used by every worker in the area. Actual horseback posses chased killers over the mountains, right here in rural West Virginia. And it was in the newspaper, in old fashioned single column style.

    Ladies, teachers, nurses, bookkeepers, storekeepers, carried pistols in their purses always. I did an oral history research project in college, interviewed very proper 80 year old ladies who’s fathers were mine superintendents, college educated engineers in charge of large companies, and the daughters were taught about guns early, and kept their guns with them always.

    Including my Grandma. A proper Baptist lady, educated, played piano, farmed and kept a general store from 1932 to the mid 50s, was never robbed because everyone knew one apron pocket had the money and one had the pistol. That was then. Now, the crime rates are lower than in 40 years.

    Trump is wrong about American Carnage. There is no such thing today! Someone really should tell him the numbers, Really! He might not care, may not remember, may not be able to process that information. But someone should tell him. If anyone cares about him.

    Sad!

  176. 176.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:
    You may have adequately conveyed your contempt (but I’m not sure) but mine feels a lot worse. This clown has been a disgrace to the human race for decades and having enough money, inherited or borrowed (he did after all inherit enough that would have made me extremely comfortable and I actually use stolen rather than borrowed, seeing as much of it will never be paid back) to at least live like a normal human being, he chose to live like a 2 bit hustler with very bad taste and manners. But then very bad taste and manners runs in one of our political parties.

  177. 177.

    Ruckus

    @J R in WV:

    If anyone cares about him

    The only reason anyone other than his family cares about him is that he now has the ability, and desire, to destroy. His family cares about him because he has some money.

  179. 179.

    ArchTeryx

    You know, since I delurked to holler and scream what may be my last months to a bunch of snarling jackals, I actually felt less marginalized then I have in a long time.

    And then news of the EO attempting to disassemble the ACA via extralegal means came out. Unless I manage to find a job soon, I truly feel like I’m a dead man walking.

    On the other paw, I managed to get myself certified for the NYS Medical Marijuana Program due to my IBS and the chronic pain it brings, so at least I’ll be able to drug myself into being “comfortably numb,” as Pink Floyd once sang, for a while.

  180. 180.

    Texasdoc

    @J R in WV: You are so right! I wondered as he spoke what country he was describing, because it’s sure not the one I live in. It’s bad enough that he seems to depend on TV for his information, but he obviously watches only FauxNews.

  181. 181.

    rachel

    @Ohio Mom: He could just be a normal kid who’s being raised in an abnormal atmosphere. They are all (with the possible exception of his mother) horrible people.

  182. 182.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    Every agency and department in the Federal Government has career senior staff (non-political appointees that are permanent) that are pretty competent and committed to effectively managing the various departments they’ll be leading. The day to day stuff they are authorized to do will continue to get done. What won’t happen until appointees come aboard is any change in policy direction…the career staff are very cautious when it comes to making moves that might be considered politically controversial so they will not move to the right, or left, unless or until they get clear direction from new appointees (i.e. Federal Highways will keep handing out infrastructure repair funds, BLS will continue to collect data on employment and release reports, etc.). So what you can expect is no change in policy direction but competent effective management of various programs. Doesn’t sound all that bad compared to the alternative.

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