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Notes -
Kristi Noem is out as DHS Secretary
Noem is the first Cabinet Secretary to shuffle out of Trump's second admin. Notably, the first Trump admin set records for modern cabinet turnover, and of course Trump is looking to beat those numbers.
Noem faced a number of controversies during her tenure, most of which we argued about at some point, from ICE tactics to ad campaigns given sweetheart deals. Recently she was grilled on a $143mm contract given no-bid to a firm recently created by people tied to the secretary; and allegations she was schtupping her second in command Lewandowski.
Trump says he's appointing her to some kind of sinecure at some new international organization he's creating next weekend.
Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will replace her. I have to admit, if you had asked me who Markwayne Mullin was, I would have bet $1000 he was a black kid who played defensive line in the SEC, what kind of name is Markwayne anyway?
So what does this tell us about the state of the Trump administration? Turnover is generally bad, but I don't really see why Trump is firing her at this time. I suppose that "When we talk about fraud, we just mean that it should be HERITAGE AMERICANS stealing from the treasury, not Somalis..." is a tough sell? Does this indicate, along with Bovino's ouster, that ICE enforcement is going to take a step back, or change tactics? Combined with the war in Iran, which now will likely last until September according to the Pentagon, does Noem's firing indicate a reshuffling of priorities away from purging immigration domestically and towards classic neocon internationalism
Dogs across the country are very satisfied with this result.
“I have to admit, if you had asked me who Markwayne Mullin was, I would have bet $1000 he was a black kid who played defensive line in the SEC, what kind of name is Markwayne anyway?”
“Turnover is generally bad…”
If he was a defensive lineman, it would be good.
Hopefully he's got strong nuclear football security, given that he's taking over DHS in the middle of an active conflict with a country well known for sponsoring terrorism. Especially given that the DNI appears to be frozen out because of an accusation so bad they don't even know how to talk about it.
How is Gabbard still employed at this point? The administration seems to have frozen her out of everything, her pacifist wing has lost the battle of influence within the administration, and she doesn't placate any voter base except Rogan listeners. And now there's this, which is probably nothing but is still something. I'm not sure what Trump gains by keeping her.
If nothing else she's useful to keep around in a visible role rhetorically, as she can be paraded as an example of Democrats moving so far left they're leaving their own behind.
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