Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - December 15, 2016
Trump Administration (first term)  Vice President Mike Pence Cabinet • White House staff • Transition team • Trump's second term |
Domestic affairs: Abortion • Crime and justice • Education • Energy and the environment • Federal courts • Firearms policy • First Amendment • Healthcare • Immigration • Infrastructure • LGBTQ issues • Marijuana • Puerto Rico • Social welfare programs • Veterans • Voting issues Economic affairs and regulations: Agriculture and food policy • Budget • Financial regulation • Jobs • Social Security • Taxes • Trade Foreign affairs and national security: Afghanistan • Arab states of the Persian Gulf • China • Cuba • Iran • Iran nuclear deal • Islamic State and terrorism • Israel and Palestine • Latin America • Military • NATO • North Korea • Puerto Rico • Russia • Syria • Syrian refugees • Technology, privacy, and cybersecurity |
| Polling indexes: Opinion polling during the Trump administration |
This is the December 15, 2016, edition of a daily email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition team, potential cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.
Federal Communications Commission
Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the federal agency that regulates all-things-communications—tv, radio, cable, satellite, and the internet—announced his intentions to resign on January 20, the day Trump takes office. This means that the Federal Communications Commission could soon undertake the process of rolling back regulations put in place under the Obama administration, including the commission’s landmark net neutrality rules from 2015.
The FCC has five members, all of whom serve five-year terms and are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than three commissioners can be from the same political party. Right now, Democratic commissioners have a 3-2 majority. But the Senate did not reconfirm one of those Democrats, Jessica Rosenworcel, for a new term, and Wheeler’s retirement—also a Democrat—will give Republicans a 2-1 majority come January 20. Trump will have the authority to nominate two new commissioners, one of whom we can expect will be a Republican (though he’ll have to nominate a Democrat too). The president also has the authority to select the chair of the commission. It’s normal for FCC chairs to step down at the start of a new president’s term. Wheeler’s term was scheduled to expire in 2018.
What does this mean for net neutrality?
Last year, the FCC passed a series of major rules reclassifying broadband internet as a public utility and allowing for increased federal regulation. The debate over these rules, centered on what is broadly known as net neutrality or the idea that internet service providers should treat all content equally, was and still is contentious. Congressional Democrats and President Obama favored the rules, while congressional Republicans and several television and telecommunications companies opposed them.
Trump hasn’t commented a whole lot on the net neutrality debate, but there are indications that his administration sides with congressional Republicans. In 2014, before the FCC passed the rules, he said, “Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. ... Will target conservative media.” Moreover, Trump’s advisers on telecommunications issues have voiced opposition to the rules and the two Republicans currently on the commission, Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly, voted against them.
Ballotpedia is not currently aware of any names that have been floated as potential Trump nominees for the commission.
Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum
Trump added three new names to his Strategic and Policy Forum, an advisory board he announced earlier in the month that will be focused on economic growth and job creation. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi will be joining the board when it is scheduled to meet for the first time at The White House in early February 2017.
The forum, according to a press release, is “designed to provide direct input to the President from many of the best and brightest in the business world in a frank, non-bureaucratic, and non-partisan manner.” Leading the forum is Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of the private-equity firm Blackstone. Other members include JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon, and former GE chairman Jack Welch. See a full membership list here.
Forming advisory boards like Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum is typical of presidents early in their tenures (or, in this case, a little bit before)—and it’s normal for the members of these boards to be from outside the Beltway. President Obama, for example, formed the Economic Recovery Advisory Board just a couple of weeks after taking office. Obama established that board, he said, to “enlist voices from beyond the echo chamber” of DC. It included individuals such as General Electric’s Jeffrey Immelt, Charles Phillips from Oracle Corp., Jim Owens from Caterpillar Inc., and TIAA-CREF’s Roger Ferguson.
More on Musk (plus space exploration)
Musk’s addition to the forum has generated some interest among various media outlets because of comments he made about Trump during the 2016 campaign. In November, Musk said that Trump “just doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States” and added that he prefers Hillary Clinton’s economic and environmental policies. But, despite these differences, the two have similar opinions on at least one major issue: space exploration. One of the top priorities of Musk’s SpaceX company has been a mission to Mars. Trump, meanwhile, said in an October speech that under his administration, “America will lead the way into the stars,” adding, “I will free NASA from the restriction of serving primarily as a logistics agency for low earth orbit activity. ... Instead we will refocus its mission on space exploration.”
Another area of common ground is Trump’s plan to increase public partnerships with private companies involved with space exploration. In that same October speech, Trump said, “A cornerstone of my policy is we will substantially expand public private partnerships to maximize the amount of investment and funding that is available for space exploration and development.” SpaceX has already begun to benefit from such partnerships. In 2014, NASA announced a $2.6 billion contract with SpaceX to develop spacecraft capable of ferrying American astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The company is planning its first manned launch of its “Dragon” spacecraft in 2018.
Trump and the RNC
With Reince Priebus headed to the West Wing as Trump’s chief of staff, his position as chair of the Republican National Committee will be up for grabs. This is a big job, and the individual who ends up getting it will be responsible for shaping the GOP’s official messaging and strategy at least through the 2018 midterm elections (RNC chairs are re-elected every two years).
Ordinarily, the election of a chair is strictly an internal process, decided upon by the 168 members of the RNC. But, when the party is in control of The White House, the president’s preference often carries the vote.
So who is Trump backing to succeed Priebus?
Ronna Romney McDaniel. She’s the chair of the Michigan Republican Party—a state that was crucial to Trump’s victory last month—and is the niece of the 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Unlike her uncle, McDaniel was a staunch supporter of Trump throughout the 2016 campaign and cultivated a close relationship with the president-elect. In an official statement, Trump said of McDaniel, “Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, and I know she will bring the same passion to the Republican National Committee.”
McDaniel first entered politics in 2012 as the chair of the Women for Mitt Michigan Coalition. The following year, she served as chair of the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, and in February she was elected as a Michigan GOP national committeewoman. McDaniel was elected as the chair of the Republican Party of Michigan in 2015. During her campaign, she reportedly focused on bridging the gap between the establishment members of the party and grassroots activists.
Priebus is said to have lobbied on McDaniel’s behalf. Several other potential successors were reportedly in the mix, including Georgia GOP operative Nick Ayers and Trump’s deputy campaign manager David Bossie. Politico reports that Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon lobbied for Ayers. He made a statement yesterday in support of Trump’s selection of McDaniel.
The official election of the new RNC chair will take place in January.
Nominations and Appointments
Ryan Zinke
Trump made official his nomination of Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) to lead the Interior Department. In a statement, Trump said, “[Zinke] has built one of the strongest track records on championing regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development and public land issues. … America is the most beautiful country in the world and he is going to help keep it that way with smart management of our federal lands.” We wrote about Zinke and his (potential) new job yesterday. Read more here.
With the announcement of Zinke, Trump has officially announced 13 out of 15 cabinet nominations. The remaining two are the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs.
Monica Crowley
Fox News contributor and radio show host Monica Crowley will reportedly be a deputy national security adviser in the Trump administration, where she will work under incoming National Security Adviser retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Crowley worked as a foreign policy assistant to former president Richard Nixon and holds a Ph.D. in international affairs from Columbia University. She is the second Fox News employee that Trump has appointed to his national security team. Last month, he announced Fox News analyst KT McFarland as a deputy national security adviser. McFarland worked in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. Deputy national security adviser positions do not require Senate confirmation.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
| |||||||||||||||||||
