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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - January 9, 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 9, 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.
Confirmation hearings at a glance
This week, various committees in the U.S. Senate will hold initial hearings for nine of President-elect Trump’s nominees for Cabinet positions. Below is the schedule along with the committees responsible for the hearings. You can read more about the confirmation process here.
Tuesday, January 10
Time: 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Attorney General
Nominee: Jeff Sessions
Committee: Judiciary
Time: 3:30 p.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of Homeland Security
Nominee: John Kelly
Committee: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Wednesday, January 11
Time: 9:15 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of State
Nominee: Rex Tillerson
Committee: Foreign Relations
Time: 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of Education
Nominee: Betsy DeVos
Committee: Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Time: 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: CIA Director
Nominee: Mike Pompeo
Committee: Intelligence
Time: 10:15 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of Transportation
Nominee: Elaine Chao
Committee: Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Thursday, January 12
Time: 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of Defense
Nominee: James Mattis
Committee: Armed Services
Time: 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Nominee: Ben Carson
Committee: Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Time: 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time
Position: Secretary of Commerce
Nominee: Wilbur Ross
Committee: Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Three nonprofits to watch
With the new session of Congress beginning and a new administration about to begin, both chambers will likely take up a number of key legislative priorities, including healthcare, infrastructure, and the Supreme Court vacancy. As we discussed last week, defunding the Affordable Care Act has already begun in Congress, and Trump’s pick to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court is reportedly coming any day. When these kinds of decisions are made—whether it’s who to nominate for the vacancy or which plans could replace Obamacare—a number of outside groups weigh in on the decision.
Today, we highlight three nonprofit advocacy organizations that aim to influence legislation, appointments, and public opinion of them. These groups are registered as 501(c)(4) nonprofits, which are also called “social welfare organizations.” They can engage in the electoral process to a certain degree, and these groups can legally engage in an unlimited amount of lobbying so long as the lobbying is related to the organization's exempt purpose.
Read on for more on 501(c)(4) nonprofits.
Judicial Crisis Network
The Judicial Crisis Network is an advocacy organization that supports limited government and the selection of judicial nominees who also support limited government. During the 2016 election cycle, the conservative organization ran an ad campaign that thanked Republican members of the U.S. Senate who opposed hearings for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. The campaign, called “Let the People Decide,” defended a handful of senators up for re-election, including Republicans Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Ron Johnson (Wis.), John McCain (Ariz.), Rob Portman (Ohio), and Pat Toomey (Pa.).
The organization is now planning a $10 million ad campaign aimed at Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018. The Judicial Crisis Network’s chief counsel, Carrie Severino, explained their approach, saying, “We are preparing to launch the most robust campaign for a Supreme Court nominee in history and we will force vulnerable Senators up for re-election in 2018 like Joe Donnelly and Claire McCaskill to decide between keeping their Senate seats or following Chuck Schumer's liberal, obstructionist agenda.”
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress was founded by John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and campaign chair for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. The group, called “the preeminent liberal think tank in Washington” by The Washington Post, has largely focused on environmental and social issues since its founding in 2003. It has two related nonprofits, a 501(c)(3) policy research think tank and a 501(c)(4) political advocacy organization, called the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
In December, Neera Tanden, the group’s president and CEO, explained their approach toward the incoming Trump administration. She said, “Our goal is to be the central hub of the Trump resistance, to hold Trump accountable for the promises he made. Our overarching theory of the case is that he promised to ‘drain the swamp’ and improve the lives of middle-class Americans, and where he betrays those promises, we want to make it clear to the public that he’s done so.” The organization’s advocacy arm has already hired a longtime staffer to former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) to run its anti-Trump operation.
Yet-to-be-named Trump nonprofit
Four top Trump campaign aides are reportedly setting up a nonprofit advocacy group in support of Trump’s agenda. According to media reports, the group will be headed by Trump campaign digital director Brad Parscale, with former Mike Pence aides Nick Ayers and Marty Obst taking senior policy advisory roles. Katrina Pierson, Trump’s campaign spokesperson and a staple of cable news during the election cycle, is expected to be the group’s communications director.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
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