Did a good job covering the other selections Trump made too -
Waltz at NSA -
Like many others, heck, almost all others, Mike Waltz believes the IC system is inherently good, just under the control of bad actors.
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We REALLY need to watch the White House Counsel selection closely now.Trump will have to execute strong oversight on him and exert his authority when needed...and if he doesn't obey he has to be prepared to fire him and fine someone better.
Ratcliffe for CIA Director -
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/12/president-trump-announces-nomination-of-john-ratcliffe-to-cia-director/Has a chance to be a change agent, or at least be willing to be transparent in calling out BS when he sees it. Guess we'll see, most of the declassification roadblocks originated here in term 1.
McGinley as WHC -
For Term-2 that recent SCOTUS decision and affirmation will play a significant part in a change of tone that should allow the White House Counsel to be less cautious about the office itself. Hopefully, this will empower President Trump to extend his authority over the Executive Branch and target any issues he may deem appropriate within his official acts.
President Trump’s priorities are his “official acts” and they exist without question or oversight within the Executive Branch. If the President deems an issue of vital national interest, that issue is a vital national interest – period. This approach applies toward everything within the executive branch.https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/12/president-trump-announces-william-joseph-mcginley-as-white-house-counsel/Sundance didn't express disappointment or concern, so at least for now he is good with this selection. I'll bet he is in research mode to confirm this. For now, looks solid.
Hegseth as SecDef -
Remember, under the Trump Doctrine, the use of the military takes a backseat to the deployment of economic weapons to achieve national security objectives. From this fundamental outlook, the Secretary of Defense needs to maintain a strong military, but only for use as a last resort when called upon.
If triggered for reasons of extreme national security, the Defense Department under Commander in Chief Donald Trump is expected to deliver much faster, harsher and a more directed forceful response. This was on display in Syria, 2017, when ISIS was destroyed in weeks; and then followed up with the first ever dropping of a ‘MOAB’, the Mother of All Bombs.
With this intent in mind, Pete Hegseth needs to harden the warriors and prepare them only in the event that all other approaches by President Trump have not led to the optimal outcome. This approach scares the crap out of militaristic nations who were stuck in the old ‘red line’ paradigm.
Minnesota guy, Forest Lake HS kid, I like Pete. Reckon some Dem's will raise a stink against him but he should get confirmed unless Cucks want him torpedoed.
Hopefully the woke BS gets flushed and warriors can be warriors again and used as a last resort and not for Globalist/NGO nation-building BS!
Plus, he has some killer tats!
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1856654832301494340 
DOGE Czars Musk & Ramaswamy -
Deadline for Swamp Draining, July 4th, 2026! It’s in the announcement.
President Trump has announced the creation of a new department. The Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE (tongue in cheek head nod to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency created by Musk). Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be tasked with reducing the size and scope of government and completing the agenda by July 4th, 2026.
Awesome, our 250th birthday as a due date!
Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East -
If you look at the structure of the announcements, there does appear to be a strategy at play; yes, including the likelihood of Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.
Using the announcement of Steven C. Witkoff to be Special Envoy to the Middle East, I’ll try to put it together.
If President Trump pulls Marco Rubio out of the Senate, he opens up the position of Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI). Rubio would love the opportunity to load his presidential aspiration resume with Secretary of State, for later use. However, this also opens the opportunity for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to appoint an interim senator who would be more MAGA-minded, trustworthy and loyal (dare I say Gaetz).
With Rubio removed from the equation of the IC problem, the issue becomes mitigating (think neutering) the Secretary of State from undermining the Trump Doctrine; which, as you know, is the key Trump foreign policy approach using economic power combined with diplomacy.
President Trump has long expressed being sick and tired of U.S. mid-east policy, endless wars, endless spending etc. President Trump in term-1 created the Abraham Accords to establish long-term peace and stability in the region, as a countermeasure to all the prior administrations stirring sh*t up there. Essentially, the Abraham Accords create peace, get us out and allow policy to focus on more pressing foreign concerns, vis-a-vis China.
President Trump constrains Rubio in the mid-east by putting Steven C. Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East. Essentially, neutering any intervention that might be launched by the IC agenda supported by the neocon wing of Rubio. Trump does this directly from the White House.
That puts Rubio’s role as Secretary of State focused on Europe and Asia, both regions where President Trump has already outlined the benefits of the Trump Doctrine in creating a peace deal in Ukraine and economically neutering Chinese aggression (like he did in North Korea).
While many of us do not like the thought of Rubio as Secretary of State, the value in removing Rubio from the SSCI is quite significant.
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I can find cautious optimism in this strategy. Frankly, getting Rubio out of the Chair position is a pretty big deal.https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/12/president-trump-announces-steven-c-witkoff-as-special-envoy-to-the-middle-east/I see a lot of attractiveness n this move...though there could be 2028 implications if Rubio makes a play for POTUS in the GOP field, I am hoping JD can have some plum assignments and projects to burnish his credentials for being a better standard-bearer of keeping the MAGA torch going.
Noem to head DHS -
…And just like that, President Trump opens the door of possibility for a special election, and John Thune to fulfill Kimberly’s hope returning to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a full-throated gubernatorial endorsement from the Great MAGA King. But I’ll get to that in a moment….
First, President Trump has announced his nomination of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Keeping in mind that Tom Homan is already assigned the one task that Governor Noem would not like to be responsible for, controlling the border and deporting illegal aliens. Both matters are of interest to the Big Ag industry back home.
So, with a streamlined responsibility portfolio, at DHS Noem would be more focused on national security matters that are not tied to border security. The types of national security issues that Noem has a tendency to frame around constitutional freedoms, liberties, and the removal of systems that directly restrict the rights of Americans. Something, shall we say, directly in her wheelhouse.
Simultaneously, this appointment opens the door for Senator John Thune to return to South Dakota and run for Governor. This possibility directly fits into the wish list of his wife Kimberly Thune, together they have grandkids now. The family dynamic caused Senator Thune to seriously contemplate retiring two-years ago.https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/11/12/president-trump-announces-sd-governor-kristi-noem-as-nominee-for-dept-of-homeland-security/I like Noem, her dog episode does not bother me. And I agree on the Homan choice freeing up Kristi to focus on other parts of that house...a house needing a lot of cleaning. And I am not as hopeful as Sundance in the Thune angle...regardless if he stays or goes (and idiot Cornyn becomes majority leader) the Senate still has a serious Cuck problem.
