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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - January 18, 2017
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 January 18, 2017, edition of an email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition, 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.
Yesterday’s hearings
Two more Senate confirmation hearings took place yesterday for Trump cabinet nominees. Just as we did for previous hearings, below we get into the details of the hearings with a focus on what we learned about the nominees’ policy stances and priorities.
Betsy DeVos
Nominated for secretary of education on November 23, 2016, Betsy DeVos is a longtime advocate of charter schools in Michigan. She is the chair of the American Federation for Children, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that oversees a 501(c)(3) called Alliance for School Choice and a political action committee, the American Federation for Children Action Fund. In a 2013 interview she said: "I’m most focused on educational choice. But, thinking more broadly, what we are trying to do is tear down the mindset that assigns students to a school based solely on the zip code of their family’s home. We advocate instead for as much freedom as possible.”
DeVos appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions yesterday for about three-and-a-half hours. Here is some of what we learned from her confirmation hearing.
- On college debt and post-secondary opportunity. DeVos addressed the rising costs of college and post-secondary opportunity in her opening statement. She said, “Escalating tuition is pricing aspiring and talented students out of college. Others are burdened with debts that will take years – or even decades -- to pay off. There is no magic wand to make the debt go away, but we do need to take action. It would be a mistake to shift that burden to struggling taxpayers without first addressing why tuition has gotten so high. For starters, we need to embrace new pathways of learning. For too long a college degree has been pushed as the only avenue for a better life. The old and expensive brick-mortar-and-ivy model is not the only one that will lead to a prosperous future. Craftsmanship is not a fallback - but a noble pursuit.”
When questioned by Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) on making public colleges and universities tuition free, DeVos said, “I think that’s a really interesting idea. It’s really great to consider and think about. But I think we also have to consider the fact that there’s nothing in life that is truly free. Somebody’s going to pay for it. … I think we can work together and we can work hard on making sure that college or higher education in some form is affordable for all young people that want to pursue it.”
- On school vouchers. Throughout her time as an education activist, DeVos has been a proponent of school choice, broadly defined as educational alternatives for parents who do not wish to send their children to the local district public school to which they have been assigned. She is a supporter of school vouchers, which redirect the state per-pupil education funding, giving it directly to individual families instead of school districts. Families can then select the public or private schools of their choice and have all or part of the tuition paid by the government. Of vouchers, DeVos said, “I would hope I could convince you all of the merit of that in maybe some future legislation.”
- On guns in school. Asked by Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on whether she thought “guns have any place in or around schools,” DeVos answered that the issue was “best left for locales and states to decide.” In January 2016, Trump pledged to end gun-free zones in schools and military bases, telling a crowd, “I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools — you have to — and on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first day. … You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait.” Asked whether she supported Trump’s proposal to end gun-free zones, DeVos replied, “I will support what the president-elect does.”
Ryan Zinke
Zinke, who has served as Montana’s representative in the U.S. House since 2015, was nominated for secretary of the interior on December 13, 2016. The Department of the Interior is responsible for managing federal lands, the development of energy resources on those lands, the country’s national parks, and federally run dams and reservoirs. Prior to his election to the U.S. House, Zinke served in the Montana State Senate from 2009 to 2013 and was a Navy SEAL from 1985 to 2008. During his service, Zinke commanded troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq while also training SEALs as an executive officer at the SEAL Training Center.
Here is what we learned from Zinke’s hearing with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources yesterday.
- In his opening statement, Zinke described his three broad goals if he is confirmed: “The first is to restore trust by working with rather than against local communities and states. I fully recognize that there is distrust, anger, and even hatred against some federal management policies. Being a listening advocate rather than a deaf adversary is a good start. Second, is to prioritize the estimated 12.5 billion dollars in backlog of maintenance and repair in our National Parks. The President elect is committed to a jobs and infrastructure bill, and I am going to need your help in making sure that bill includes shoring up our Nation’s treasures. And third, to ensure the professionals on the front line, our rangers and field managers, have the right tools, right resources, and flexibility to make the right decisions that give a voice to the people they serve.”
- On climate change. Asked by Bernie Sanders whether he thought climate change was a hoax, Zinke said, “Climate is changing. Man is an influence. I think where there’s debate on it is what that influence is and what can we do about. As the [head of] the Department of the Interior, I will inherit, if confirmed, the USGS (United States Geological Survey). We have great scientists there. I’m not a climate scientist (sic) expert, but I can tell you I’m going to become a lot more familiar with it. And it will be based on objective science.”
- On federally protected land. Zinke’s stance on federal lands was questioned during his 2016 campaign for re-election to the U.S. House. In the past, he Zinke has opposed selling federal lands to the states for management. He has, however, supported efforts to transfer some management of public lands to individual states. During his hearing, Zinke stated, “I am absolutely against transfer or sale of public land.”
- On Smokey the Bear. In a response to Jeff Flake’s (R-Ariz.) questions on coordination between federal enforcement agencies and local residents, Zinke said, “I grew up where Smokey the Bear was revered. Who could not like Smokey the Bear? And now, in some parts of our great nation, it’s feared. When they see Smokey the Bear, they think law enforcement rather than managing our forests. … We have to come together to make sure our team out there is viewed as helpful.” Later, when Al Franken (D-Minn.) jokingly asked Zinke if Smokey is real, Zinke affirmed, “He’s real to me.”
Ballotpedia has fact checked Zinke’s positions on public land, including his stances on the sale of public lands and on state control of energy development on federal land.
Today’s hearings
Wilbur Ross, nominee for Secretary of Labor
Trump’s nominee for secretary of labor, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, appeared before the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Ross has been a supporter of Trump’s key policy stances, including Trump’s call to renegotiate certain trade deals. In August 2016, Ross criticized current U.S. trade policies, a cornerstone of Trump’s candidacy: “Free trade is like free lunch, there is no free lunch. Somebody wins and somebody loses and unfortunately we’ve been losing with these stupid agreements that we’ve made.” The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has 14 Republicans and 11 Democrats and is chaired by John Thune (R-S.D.). The highest ranking Democrat on the committee is Bill Nelson (Fla.).
Scott Pruitt, nominee for EPA Administrator
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) appeared before the Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Pruitt has been a critic of environmental policy under the Obama administration, calling himself a “leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda,” and has questioned the idea of human-made climate change. The Committee on the Environment and Public Works has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats and is chaired by John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Thomas Carper (Del.) is the committee’s highest ranking Democrat.
Nikki Haley, nominee for U.N. Ambassador
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Haley’s experience with international relations comes largely from her economic and environmental initiatives as governor of South Carolina. The Committee on Foreign Relations has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats and is chaired by Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). Ben Cardin (Md.) is the committee’s highest ranking Democrat.
Tom Price, nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services
Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Price, an orthopedic surgeon and six-term member of Congress, has been an outspoken critic of Obamacare and began offering alternatives to the law as early as 2009, when Obamacare was first being debated in Congress. The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) chairs the committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is the highest ranking Democrat.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
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