Trump Keeps Some Promises
Dear Leading Ladies,
President-elect Trump may be a liar, but he clearly keeps some promises. His cabinet and staff choices show that he keeps promises to some of his friends and some promises to all Americans. He promised a new way of doing business and that’s just what he plans to do. If you’ve missed what’s to come, here it is, all in one frightening array of appointments.
Matt Gaetz, who has been under investigation for sexual misconduct, will be attorney general.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has no medical or public health credentials and seriously questions the validity of vaccinations, will head Health and Human Services.
Tulsi Gabbard, former congresswoman from Hawaii who left the Democratic Party and accused the United States of funding the Islamic State, will be director of national intelligence.
Marco Rubio, the Florida senator and Trump surrogate on the campaign trail, will be secretary of state.
Doug Burgum, the North Dakota governor with longstanding ties to fossil fuel companies, will head the Interior Department.
John Ratcliffe, former Texas congressman and director of national intelligence during Mr. Trump’s first term who pursued Trump’s investigation into Hunter Biden, will head the CIA.
Pete Hegseth, a Fox New host and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, as secretary of defense.
Krisiti Noem, South Dakota governor and immigration hardliner widely known for killing a 14-month-old family dog she thought was “untrainable”, will head the Department of Homeland Security.
Susie Wiles, Trump’s campaign strategist and the only person to survive four years as a campaign manager for him, will be the first woman as chief of staff.
Mike Waltz, a Green Beret veteran and Congressman from Florida and a hawk on China and Iran, will be national national security adviser.
Tom Homan, a senior immigration official in the last Trump administration who is committed to workplace raids as well as “widespread deportations of undocumented immigrants and the tightening of measures that allow some of them to stay in the country legally” (NYT), will be the new “Border czar.”
Elise Stefanik, a strong Trump supporter and representative from upstate New York who has served on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence but has virtually no experience in foreign policy and national security, will be our new UN ambassador.
Stephen Miller, immigration hardliner expected to have vast influence beyond his title, will be deputy chief of staff for policy.
Lee Zeldin, a former representative from Long Island who voted not to certify the 2020 election results and consistently voted against clean water and clean air legislation, will head the Environmental Protection Agency.
Chris Wright, chief executive of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based fracking company, who has no government experience, will head the Department of Energy.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, two billionaires who may oversee agencies that police their own companies, will head the new Department of Government Efficiency.
And there are – and will be – more.
In addition, some very important departments may disappear, such as the Department of Education.
We’ve had our cry. Now it’s time to face the fact that our impact at the federal level is severely limited until the midterm elections of 2026. Matters we might have thought the government should take care of in the past, even if they didn’t – think childhood hunger or universal health care – sure aren’t going to be taken care of now. That’s just the way it is.
But, as we said last week, we can make an impact locally, especially with nonprofit organizations and programs that serve the underserved. If the Department of Education disappears and RFK is in charge of health, what is going to happen to students with learning problems, to funding for free lunch and breakfast programs, to in-school flu shots and other vaccines. With people in charge of energy and environment who don’t believe in climate change or the danger of fossil fuels, what is going to happen to people living in urban hotspots as summer days become dangerously hot? And on and on.
Those in our communities who are food insecure, homeless, in abusive relationships, living in unsafe environments, who need literacy training to succeed in school and work, and legal support to negotiate immigration policies – all of these people will now, more than ever, need help from our local organizations and agencies. And those nonprofits may face a loss of funding from the federal government that we, as private donors, may need to supplement. As the holidays draw near, we will be thinking of donating more than in past years to worthy organizations and also giving money in people’s honor, rather than buying gifts that no one really needs.
And then there’s the ERA
Talking about actionable matters, what ever happened to the Equal Rights Amendment and is there anything we can do about it?
Here’s a bit of history, provided by AI:
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first proposed to Congress in 1923 by Alice Paul, a prominent suffragist aiming to guarantee equal legal rights for women across the United States. However, it wasn't until the resurgence of the feminist movement in the late 1960s that the ERA gained significant traction, finally passing through Congress in 1972 before being sent to the states for ratification. It ultimately failed to reach the required number of states for ratification by the deadline, despite an extension. In 2020, Virginia ratified the measure, bringing the total to 38 states and potentially making it part of the Constitution. Due to a bunch of legal shenanigans, it has never happened.
To review, the three major components of the ERA are:
“Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on
account of sex.
Section 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce,
by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3: This amendment shall take effect two years
after the date of ratification.”
Doesn’t sound too radical, yet remarkably, there are still lawsuits and efforts to prevent the ERA from being added to the Constitution as an amendment.. Not surprisingly, Trump is against the ERA. Consequently, organizations such as the League of Women Voters and the ERA Coalition are urging advocates to write to President Biden and pressure him to have the US Archivist publish the ERA in the Constitution before he leaves office. You can add your name to the list by clicking on the links above.
There are still ways to make a positive impact on our lives and the lives of others. Don’t give up.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team