How Far Will Trump Go to Install His Unqualified Cabinet?
Plus: Trump’s Muddled Signals on Ukraine
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: They Want to Blow It All Up
MARC CAPUTO: Trump’s Transition Chair Howard Lutnick Keeps Shooting Himself in the Foot
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PHILIP ROTNER: How Far Will Trump Go to Install His Unqualified Cabinet?
EVER ATTUNED TO LOOPHOLES, ambiguities, and blank spaces that might permit them to trample on previously unquestioned norms, Donald Trump and his transition team have seized upon a constitutional gimmick as a potential path to install loyalists, hacks, and cronies like Matt Gaetz to positions that require Senate confirmation, only without the confirmation part.
SAM STEIN: Why ’Deliverism’ Didn’t Deliver for the Democrats
AS DEMOCRATS GRAPPLE with their election drubbing, one question in particular haunts them: Why didn’t Biden’s policy achievements win over more voters?
Theories run the gamut, from disinformation, to the culture dominating politics, to the pain of inflation blocking out everything else. But in recent days, another argument is gaining credence: The problem wasn’t that the party failed to sell the public on what it delivered, it was that it provided them with the wrong things, politically speaking.
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Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Bill Kristol: A Power Play for Autocracy [YouTube]
Bulwark+ Live: How Trump's Stooges are Defending His Matt Gaetz Pick! [YouTube]
The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood: Melding Video Games and TV Shows
Shield of the Republic: What Comes Next for Our National Security? [YouTube]
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CATHY YOUNG: Trump’s Muddled Signals on Ukraine
WHAT NEXT FOR UKRAINE? The question loomed over the 2024 campaign, but answers remain elusive even after Donald Trump’s victory. It’s not that the Biden administration has been such a great partner; from the start, its Ukraine policy has been frustratingly hobbled by timidity and half-measures. But what’s replacing it is a foreboding unknown.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Monday! Hope you had a restful weekend and enjoyed at least some good sporting events. My Browns disappointed, the Cavs remain undefeated, and old Iron Mike didn’t get KO’d but lost the fight. Should Katie Taylor have been given the win?
In Cleveland… a Forgotten Streetcar Bridge Gets a Long-Awaited Lift (Bloomberg)
… and in Cincinnati… The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge remains damaged and awaits estimates for repairs. Ideally, in a few years, we’ll likely be getting the Brent Spence Bridge a few days shy of my 50th birthday.
Merrick Garland owes us… Jack Smith's final report, argues Kim Wehle.
Just a second endorsement here… For Patrick Fealey’s Esquire item on his homelessness. Beautifully written, haunting, frustrating.
Job preferences, motherhood… and the gender pay gap. A new paper from Dr. Lawrence Eppard and the Connors Institute Research Fellows.
The would-be 2020 Election Thieves… Want to gaslight you on the last four years (and present reality, as Trump will never acknowledge losing.)
“her desire for attention is a bottomless pit that can never be filled…” Nancy Mace chooses cruelty. Just remember the 9:30 show is completely different from her 7:30 show. Try the veal!
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.