The Problematic Candidates Of Trump's Incoming Cabinet

We are only a week into the dramatic election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, and the president-elect has continued to stir attention with a short-list of nominations for his incoming administration’s cabinet. This Friday, it was announced that republican Representative Mike Pompeo has been nominated to take on the role of CIA Director. It has also been reported that Jeff Sessions, US Senator from Alabama, was nominated by Trump for US Attorney General and retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, for National Security Advisor.

With Trumps nominations of these three notable politicians, controversy has stirred around their political backgrounds, with speculators foreshadowing a negative impact on the state of domestic and foreign affairs. Rep. Pompeo, who has served for three terms on Congress, has also served in the House Intelligence Committee, gaining notability for his criticism of Secretary Hillary Clinton during the 2012 Benghazi US diplomatic mission. Pompeo has prominent anti-immigration views, demonstrated in a public attack on Muslims following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Trump has seemingly rewarded loyalty, nominating Sen. Sessions, who was the first US Senator to endorse Trump on his campaign. Since his nomination, Sessions has been subject to allegations of racism dating back to 1986, when he was denied for federal judgeship by the Senate Judiciary Committee for disparaging remarks on the NAACP and ACLU. Throughout Trumps campaign, the president-elect has awakened and championed what is described by President Barack Obama as a form of “crude nationalism,” making his nomination of Sen. Sessions a problematic choice for US Attorney General, with anti-immigration views that he intends to act on under a Trump administration.

Sen. Sessions’ political track-record includes an opposition to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act, and his vote for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. As an advisor to Trump, it has been reported that he has proposed canceling federal funding to sanctuary cities such as Chicago, New Orleans, Oakland, and Seattle. Sessions has also proposed challenging the 14th amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship amid a crackdown on immigration in the US.

Although Sessions has widely negated allegations of racism, citing his push to nominate Rosa Parks for the Congressional Gold Medal; the current climate of domestic racial disparity is expected to continue with Sessions serving as the point of intervention in the federal judicial system. This has sparked concern from civil rights leaders and politicians all over the country. President and Director-Counsel, Sherrilyn Ifill for example, released this statement on behalf of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund:

Jeff Sessions has a decades-long record—from his early days as a prosecutor to his present role as a Senator— of opposing civil rights and equality. It is unimaginable that he could be entrusted to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for this nation’s civil rights laws. This is yet another signal from the incoming administration that it is not only prepared to turn its back on equality, it is actively working to continue to sow division and undo decades of progress.

Lt. Gen Mike Flynn, a retired US lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has been designated as National Security Advisor for Trump’s cabinet. One week in, and Trump has already compromised a measure outlined in his “contract” to American voters. Flynn’s background in foreign lobbying with the Turkish government, is a direct contradiction to the sixth measure of cleaning up corruption and special interest collusion in what Trump outlined as a 100-day plan to “Make America Great American.” This paired with Flynn’s anti-Muslim views have also made him a problematic choice for the Trump cabinet amid a rising concern for the future of foreign affairs.

With questions of Flynn’s composure and competency within a role as National Security Advisor, it is speculated that there is an increasing validity to democratic concerns of president-elect Trump’s composure and approach to domestic and foreign affairs as the incoming commander in chief. In a post-election world tour with European leaders in Great Britain, France, Italy, and Spain; President Barack Obama encouraged his foreign counterparts to enter a “peaceful transition of power” with an open-mind, hopeful that Trump finds where our values and interests align:

“We have very different points of view, but American democracy is bigger than any one person. That’s why we have a tradition of the outgoing President welcoming the new one in, as I did last week. Why in the coming the weeks, my administration will do everything to support the smoothest transition possible, because that’s how democracy is supposed to work.”