You’d be surprised at how many big ambassadorial jobs are still open, one year into Trump’s second term.
In response to today’s Morning Jolt, readers are pointing out that all the underperforming cabinet officials named in the newsletter were selected by President Trump. Yes. That is how all cabinet officials get selected: by the president. It has long since been proven that Trump’s boast that he hires only the best people is absolute nonsense, as Trump himself often finds himself raging that his former cabinet officials and staffers were incompetent and disloyal.
But that’s also moot. Barring some horrible event, illness, or a successful impeachment, Donald J. Trump is going to remain the president until January 20, 2029. Between now and then, I would like him to have the most competent, qualified, and high-performing cabinet officials as possible around him.
I’ve also heard that the problem is that Trump selects his cabinet officials based on his perception of their loyalty. That may well be the case, but the examples of Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, and others indicate that there are Trump loyalists who can run a cabinet department well, and there are Trump loyalists who cannot run a cabinet department well. Once again, I want as many of the former and as few of the latter as possible.
I also heard the argument that Trump should not replace Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Pam Bondi, and/or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. because the cabinet changes would be covered by the media as a sign that the administration is “in chaos,” flailing, etc. But critical coverage of the administration is just about as certain as death and taxes. You can have critical coverage with better replacements for Noem and the rest, or you can have critical coverage with Noem and the others remaining in place and hoping they suddenly get better at their jobs.
As for those cabinet officials who have worn out their welcome, they can enjoy life in the private sector, write their memoirs, become talking heads on cable news, or take other administration jobs that still need to be filled.
According to the updated chart run by the Partnership for Public Service, President Trump has not nominated anyone to be U.S. ambassador to Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, Germany (!), Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Moldova, Nicaragua, Pakistan (!), Paraguay, Qatar (!), Russia (!), Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine (!), or the United Arab Emirates. Hey, the president is a busy man, weighing in on the New York Giants head coaching decisions and meeting with Nicki Minaj. He’s been in office for only . . . a year and a week.
President Trump also has not nominated anyone to be U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan or Libya, but those are, er, some tough posts these days.