Transition to Governing, 9

The Senate steps up; loyalty in three forms; the shameful avoidance of consequences

In this post:

1. What the Senate should learn from Bondi’s replacement of Gaetz

2. Loyalty: Experience, no experience, and Trump-only experience

3. The shameful anti-republicanism of Trump’s avoidance of prosecution

Previous columns in this series here: Transition to Governing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

---

Stand Up and Trade Up

There were some who suggested that GOP Senators needed to be careful about opposing Trump nominees. Not because Trump would exact revenge against the recalcitrant Senators, but because if a nominee failed, Trump would pick an even worse nominee the next time. The argument amounted to, “Let’s just accept this because it will only get worse if we object.”

That turned out to be wrong.

Matt Gaetz was staggeringly unfit to serve as Attorney General. Evidently, a bunch of GOP Senators made that clear to the Trump team. Mr. Trump then had Gaetz step aside. He then replaced Gaetz with the significantly better Pam Bondi, a career prosecutor who served two terms as a state attorney general. Bondi might not be your cup of tea, but she’s clearly superior to Gaetz.

Not only does this episode tell us that the Senate is willing to stand up to Trump when necessary, the Senate’s principled opposition can improve Trump’s deficient decision-making.

GOP Senators need not oppose all or even most of Trump’s picks. But if they oppose Hegseth, DoD is likely to get a much more experienced leader. If they oppose Kennedy, HHS is likely to get a far more informed and able leader. If they oppose Gabbard, DNI is likely to get a far more seasoned and responsible leader.

Loyalty and the Third Category of Governing Experience

In my very first column in this series, I wondered whether Mr. Trump would surround himself with people with experience in governing or those who’d never done this work at all. In his first administration, Trump chose lots of amateurs, and his first term’s chaos and meager successes were a consequence. I’ve always suspected that Trump prefers neophytes because people with experience and knowledge about policy and the practice of governing would be less likely to do whatever he wants.

I’ve been tracking the backgrounds of his top appointees. Sure enough, there are lots of people who’ve never served in serious governing capacities before, including Bessent (Treasury), Hegseth (Defense), Kennedy (HHS), Lutnick (Commerce), Wright (Energy), Musk/Ramaswamy (“DOGE”), Dr. Oz (CMS), Marty Makary (FDA), Janette Nesheiwat (surgeon general).