HHS chief nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (far right) shows loyalty to President-elect Trump by eating a McDonald’s Big Mac. Also in this “viral” picture on Trump's jet (L-R): Elon Musk, Trump, Donald Trump Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

By Todd Lassa

Was Donald J. Trump joking when he said earlier this year he would be a dictator only on Day One of his second administration? There are pretty clear signs that the president-elect’s plans to transform our democratic republic into something different already is underway. Consider his four most controversial proposed appointments, announced rapid-fire only in the week after Vice President Kamala Harris’ decisive defeat. 

The president-elect wants (Ex-) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one of the most loyal Trumpists in Congress these last four years to be his attorney general, knowing he will investigate politicians and government officials Trump feels have aggrieved him. 

Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a key reason he lost his first re-election campaign. Anti-vaxxer/conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is his choice for secretary of Health & Human Services. 

Pete Hesgeth is a Fox News weekend host and an Army National Guard officer who is not a general who would resist any attempt to politicize the military. He is Trump’s choice for Defense secretary. 

After a private meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki six years ago, Trump told a press conference he trusted the dictator more than US intelligence about whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s choice for national intelligence director is former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who has been supportive of Russia and has visited Syria’s strongman-president, Bashar Assad. 

‘Warrior Board’

Whether or not he will, officially, implement key planks in The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, Trump has made it clear he plans to dismantle pillars of the federal government, beginning with firing four-star generals and admirals he wants to purge from the military. Trump’s transition team is considering a draft executive order, which The Wall Street Journal has reviewed, that would establish a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel with power to review three- and four-star officers and recommend removing those deemed unfit – i.e., those devoted to diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump has in the past made a vow to fire “woke generals.”

As commander-in-chief, Trump already will have the ability to “fire at will,” but such an outside board as outlined in the draft EO would bypass the Pentagon’s regular promotional system, and hints at a wide-scale purge, according to the WSJ.

Two purges Trump might have wanted to make years ago are his former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his first term, Gen. Mark Milley. Both publicly warned prior to the November 5 election they believe Trump is a fascist.

A progressive military group, VoteVets, warns that the “warrior board” in the proposed executive order would “politicize” the military, according to Newsweek, which dubs the potential plan in its headline, “MAGA Military.”

Musk and Ramaswamy

Then there’s the proposal for a Department of Government Efficiency to be led by Tesla/SpaceX/Starlink CEO Elon Musk (who apparently has become a perennial guest at Mar-a-Lago) and his fellow billionaire, pharmaceutical exec and former candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy. The department would not be a government entity so to avoid Musk and Ramaswamy having to divest themselves of any corporate holdings or interest, and has been compared with President Reagan’s Grace Commission, which got nothing substantial accomplished. Musk says he wants to use the Efficiency Department to cut $2 trillion out from the $6.75 trillion federal budget. 

That sort of cut is widely considered impossible, but even managing a small fraction would have a profound effect on the federal government, not to mention on the unemployment rate and overall economy.

The Fourth Senator

Three Republican senators likely to push back against at least some of Trump’s nominees are Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, Susan Collins, of Maine, and Todd Young, of Indiana, each of whom did not vote for their party’s leader November 5. If these three plus 47 Democratic senators vote against any Trump nominees, the incoming vice president, JD Vance, will cast the tiebreaker on a 50-50 vote. 

The Trump team also has floated the possibility of recess appointments, which the former and future president used extensively in his first term in order to fill key positions.

Meanwhile … One of the 53 Republicans making up the Senate majority is freshman Sen.-elect David McCormick. The Associated Press called the Pennsylvania senate race for McCormick over three-time incumbent Democrat Bob Casey after it concluded there weren’t enough remaining ballots left to be counted in precincts where Casey was leading. McCormick’s 29,000-vote lead is well within the 0.5% margin that triggers an automatic recount, which Casey has refused to waive. 

Pennsylvania counties have until Wednesday, November 20, to begin the recount and must finish by noon on Tuesday, November 26.