I. A Cabinet of "Racist, Sexist, Climate-Denying Extremists"
SierraRise claims that despite campaign promises to "drain the swamp," Donald Trump picked nominees who comprise "the most extremist and unqualified slate of cabinet picks imaginable." The list includes:
*A Labor Secretary who has promoted low wages, automating workers, and the objectification of women.
*A Housing and Urban Development Secretary with no relevant experience.
*A Commerce Secretary who owned a dangerous coal mine where twelve miners died in an explosion.
*A Secretary pf State who ran ExxonMobil.
*An EPA administrator who has sued the agency on behalf of fossil fuel companies.
*An Energy Secretary who wants to get rid of the department (and might not know what it does).
*A Health and Human Services Secretary who has attacked policies that protect women's health.
*An Interior Secretary who has a League of Conservation Voters' score of 3%.
*An Attorney General who opposes civil and voting rights and was denied a federal judgeship due to racist remarks.
II. The Big Business Ties of Trump's Major Appointees
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to purge the wealthy interests that wield power in D.C. At a rally in Akron, Ohio, Trump said: "I don't need them. I don't want them."
Hillary Clinton was harshly criticized for a speech she gave to Goldman Sachs executives. As identified by TIME magazine, three of Trump's major appointees have Goldman Sachs ties:
Steve Bannon, chief strategist: The former chairman of the right-wing media group Breitbart is also a Goldman Sachs veteran who later formed his own boutique investment firm.
Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council: The former options trader eventually became the second in command at Goldman Sachs.
Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary: Trump's top campaign fundraiser was a Goldman Sachs executive who later ran a bank, OneWest, which hired a former aide to Senator Chris Dodd to lobby on financial regulations.
Besides Steve Mnuchin, who hired lobbyists as head of OneWest, three other top appointees of Trump[ had strong lobbying ties:
Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation: The former Labor Secretary and wife of the Senate majority leader serves on multiple corporate boards, including Wells Fargo, with a significant lobbying presence in D.C.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State: Oil giant ExxonMobil has spent more than $170 million on lobbying since Tillerson became its CEO in 2006.
Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor: The CEO of the parent company of fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's hired D.C. lobbyists, and was a top Trump campaign donor.
Including Puzder, three other Trump nominees made their bones as major donors:
Linda McMahon, Small Business Administrator: The World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder shelled out $6 million to a Trump super PAC in August and September alone.
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education: The billionaire philanthropist and her husband, the former president of Amway, forked over nearly $2.9 million to GOP candidates and causes in 2016. [1]
ADDENDUMS:
*Wind power has increased from about 5% to 23.9% as a U.S. renewable energy source, while solar has increased from about 3% to 7.4% as a similar source. As leaders in U.S. installed wind-power capacity (megawatts), Texas has 18,531; Iowa has 6,365; California has 5,662; and Oklahoma has 5,453. (Sources: EIA; American Wind Energy Association)
*"A total of 560 major regulations -- those having an economic impact of $100 million or more -- were published in the first seven years of the Obama administration, according to the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, compared with 494 for his predecessor, George W. Bush."
*The EPA calculates that gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment (GLGE) in the United States emits a total of 20.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
*The International Energy Agency expects that as early as 2021, renewable energy will grow by as much as 42% globally.
Footnote
[1] Zeke J. Miller, "How Trump is restocking the Washington swamp," TIME, December 26, 2016-January 2, 2017.
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