Trump’s RFK Jr nomination condemned as ‘public health catastrophe’ – US politics dwell

Fears that Donald Trump’s second presidency might be extra excessive than his first have intensified amid a flurry of senior nominations that opponents have criticised as going from unhealthy to worse.

Dismay over among the president-elect’s early picks escalated to outrage after the far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz was unveiled as his choice to be lawyer basic – a place Trump has beforehand mentioned he views as an important in his administration.

The selection provoked disbelief, even amongst Republicans, and has fueled issues that Trump is intent on finishing up mass firings on the Division of Justice in retribution for legal investigations it instigated towards him.

Trump reportedly selected Gaetz, 42, after the congressman – who himself was topic to a two-year justice division investigation into suspected sex-trafficking that ended with out prices – instructed Trump: “Yeah, I’ll go over there and start cuttin’ fuckin’ heads.”

Others thought of for the publish had been dismissed as too involved with authorized ideas or constitutional niceties.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are asking People who’re “high-IQ small-government revolutionaries” and prepared to work over 80 hours every week to affix their new Division of Authorities Effectivity – at zero pay.

In a brand new X publish on Thursday that doubled as a job announcement and one other certainly one of Musk’s trolling makes an attempt, the account for the newly shaped Doge wrote: “We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.”

The identify of the division, which isn’t a part of the federal authorities, harkens again to a meme of an expressive shiba inu canine.

“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants,” the assertion added.

In a separate publish, Musk chimed in on the callout, saying: “Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lots of enemies & compensation is zero.”

“What a great deal!” Musk, the richest man on the planet, wrote with a laughing emoji. He has promised to cut back federal paperwork by a 3rd and reduce $2tn from US authorities spending, an endeavor he mentioned “necessarily involves some temporary hardship”.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump introduced the appointment of Musk and Ramaswamy to Doge, saying: “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies – essential to the ‘Save America’ movement.”

Trump went on to explain the newly shaped division because the “‘Manhattan Project’ of our time,” referring to the US-led analysis program throughout the second world conflict that sought to create the nuclear bomb, which killed an estimated 214,000 folks in Japan in 1945.

Hey and welcome to the US politics dwell weblog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the newest information from Washington over the following few hours.

We begin with the information that Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr as US secretary of well being and human providers has prompted widespread criticisms in the direction of Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist who has embraced a slew of different debunked health-related conspiracy theories.

In a Fact Social publish on Thursday, Trump claimed that People have been “crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies” and that Kennedy “will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

In response to Kennedy’s nomination, Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group specializing in shopper advocacy, mentioned: “Robert F Kennedy Jr is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health. He shouldn’t be allowed in the building at the department of health and human services (HHS), let alone be placed in charge of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s bungling of public health policy during the Covid pandemic cost hundreds of thousands of lives. By appointing Kennedy as his secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another, policy-driven public health catastrophe,” the group added.

For extra on that, see our full report right here:

In different information:

• The FBI ought to examine each Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard earlier than they’re confirmed for his or her cupboard posts, Trump’s former nationwide safety adviser John Bolton has mentioned. Gabbard, who Trump nominated as director of nationwide intelligence, is thought for her tolerant view of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

• Elon Musk reportedly met Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, and mentioned learn how to defuse tensions between Iran and the US, two Iranian officers instructed the New York Occasions. As Trump prepares to deal with conflicts in Ukraine and the Center East, Musk, the world’s richest man, has been helping in discussions with international officers, establishing himself because the nation’s most influential civilian come January.

• Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are in search of People who’re “high-IQ small-government revolutionaries” and prepared to work over 80 hours every week to be part of their new division, at zero pay. Trump named Musk to co-lead the newly created authorities effectivity division that sits outdoors the federal authorities.

• Advocates have urged state governments to seek out new methods to defend immigrants and block Trump’s mass deportation plan. California shielded many non-citizen residents from elimination in Trump’s first time period however immigrants rights teams warn an aggressive, multi-pronged response might be wanted.

• A Democratic lawmaker will file a movement particularly mentioning Trump can solely serve two phrases, after the president-elect joked he can be prepared to serve an unconstitutional third time period as president whereas assembly with Home Republicans on Wednesday.

• Trump introduced his former Georgia congressman Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs. Collins ran for Senate in 2020, ending third within the major. He additionally “provided counsel to Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election as Trump sought to challenge Georgia’s election results”.