Latest news with #SenateConfirmation
CNN
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
KFile: Too toxic for Trump's first term, some officials are back in the fold
At least four people from Donald Trump's first term who were deemed too extreme or politically toxic to win Senate confirmation – or even keep their jobs – are now back in the fold and in some cases with more power than before. One attacked women's right to vote. Another spoke at a conference with White nationalists. A third said President Barack Obama was a 'terrorist leader' and said his former CIA director should face a 'firing squad,' commit suicide, or become a 'prison b*tch.' A fourth called Hillary Clinton 'a terrorist with amnesia' and accused Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's wife of plotting to combine the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico. All of them were in some way demoted or removed from their jobs in Trump's first term but have now been reappointed or renominated – part of a pattern in Trump's second term to bring back figures once rejected for promoting conspiracy theories or inflaming racial and gender tensions. In 2025, they're no longer fringe – they're in charge. Their return is further evidence of the Trump administration's willingness to sideline more moderate voices, reshape federal policy along ideological lines and view loyalty as the most important qualification. In Trump's first term, many of these figures were derailed precisely because they were seen as too unprofessional or conspiratorial – even by a Republican-controlled Senate. Now, in his second term, they're not only being welcomed back but are now elevated into positions of real influence with less oversight, fewer checks and, in some cases, greater reach. With few exceptions, Trump has gotten nearly all his nominees through this term – thanks to a Republican Party that has largely fallen in line behind even his most controversial appointees and nominees. Among them is John Gibbs, a top policy official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The powerful policy job gives Gibbs a top leadership spot at HUD overseeing research and data that plays a central role in shaping federal housing strategy. It doesn't require Senate confirmation. In Trump's first term, Gibbs, then a HUD official in a different role, was nominated in 2020 to lead the Office of Personnel Management – the agency that oversees hiring, pay and conduct for the nation's large federal civil servant workforce. The Republican-controlled Senate balked at his nomination though after CNN's KFile reported that he baselessly claimed that Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign chairman participated in a satanic ritual and that Gibbs defended a notorious racist banned from Twitter for antisemitic and Nazi content. Gibbs later unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Michigan in 2022, winning the Republican nomination with Trump's endorsement. That year, CNN's KFile reported that as a student at Stanford University, Gibbs had founded a so-called 'think tank' that argued the US had 'suffered' from women's suffrage and promoted websites that advocated for repealing the 19th Amendment. Gibbs claimed the website was satire to anger feminists on campus, but records on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine show he also left anti-feminist comments across the web – undermining his explanation. Gibbs told CNN in an email, 'Just as President Trump has modeled courage and resilience in the face vicious assaults, attempts to degrade my character with false attacks have not and will not succeed. The best is yet to come.' Gibbs later resurfaced as the administrator of Ottawa County, Michigan, where he was fired after a little more than a year amid allegations of gross misconduct and willful malfeasance. He sued the county and settled in early 2025 for $190,000 and a resignation agreement. Darren Beattie, a former Trump White House speechwriter, was fired in 2018 after it was revealed by CNN he spoke at a conference alongside White nationalists. He went on to launch Revolver News, a far-right site known for publishing false January 6 conspiracy theories, and he has posted racist and misogynistic messages, including that 'competent white men must be in charge.' Now, Beattie is the acting under secretary for public diplomacy at the State Department where he is responsible for helping shape US messaging abroad related to counterterrorism and violent extremism. After Beattie was fired, Trump appointed him in 2020 to a commission overseeing Holocaust memorials. The move prompted backlash from Jewish groups, and President Joe Biden had him removed from the commission. In the years following, Beattie posted racist and misogynistic messages on social media and attacked Black lawmakers and the Black Lives Matter movement saying they needed to 'learn their place' and 'take a knee to MAGA.' He also praised January 6 rioters in real time and attacked his now-boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio – invoking a false rumor that Rubio used to attend LGBTQ+ foam parties. Beattie now serves as one of the administration's leading public voices overseas after Trump appointed him acting under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. The role at the State Department helps shape US messaging abroad. When asked about Beattie's comments, Rubio emphasized that Beattie was at the agency in an 'acting' capacity and did respond to further questions. A West Point graduate and retired Army brigadier general, Anthony Tata was nominated in the spring of 2020 to become the third highest ranking official at the Pentagon, as under secretary of defense for policy. But his history of conspiratorial and inflammatory rhetoric, uncovered by CNN, plus questions about his military record, derailed his nomination, which was later withdrawn. Tata was then installed as the deputy under secretary for policy at the Pentagon, which does not require Senate confirmation, and later served as the acting under secretary for policy for the final two months of Trump's first term. Now, Tata is nominated to become the under secretary of personnel and readiness at the Defense Department, a top civilian role that oversees recruitment, benefits and military readiness that could dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. But social media posts revealed by CNN's KFile found that Tata had a history of using inflammatory and conspiratorial rhetoric. He falsely called Obama a 'terrorist leader' and a Muslim, lamenting that 'Obama normalized Islam for America.' He frequently attacked Islam, calling it the 'most oppressive violent religion I know of,' and he called some Democratic politicians 'violent extremists.' He also pushed conspiracy theories that former CIA director John Brennan tried to overthrow Trump and even have him assassinated through a cryptic tweet. Tata said it 'might be a good time' for Brennan to commit suicide or become a 'prison b*tch.' Senators also expressed concern about Tata's military record. A 2007 Army investigation found he committed adultery with at least two women – a crime under military law – and submitted a falsified legal document during a child support case. The Army declined to penalize Tata and could not determine who created the fake legal document, and Tata retired shortly after. At his confirmation hearing last week, Tata declined to comment to CNN but said his past comments that derailed his previous nomination were 'out of character,' and he regretted making them and pledged to be 'an apolitical leader.' Leandro Rizzuto Jr., an heir to the Conair beauty product fortune, faced bipartisan resistance in 2018 when Trump nominated him to serve as ambassador to Barbados and several Caribbean nations. His nomination stalled over his history of promoting conspiracy theories and using social media to spread baseless attacks on public figures, including Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. He also amplified false claims that Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, was a leading member trying to combine the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico. In a now-deleted tweet, Rizzuto told Cruz to 'go back to Canada,' and in another tweet, he called Hillary Clinton 'a terrorist with amnesia.' His nomination never moved forward, and Rizzuto was then installed as the US consul general to Bermuda. Rizzuto 'retweeted some nonsense,' he later said of his tweets. Rizzuto told CNN in an email, 'Past history is just that and my focus is further contributing towards America's interests.' But this year, Trump nominated Rizzuto to be US Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. The position represents US interests in the premier multilateral forum for countries of the Western Hemisphere, including North, South and Central America; the Caribbean; and Canada.
CNN
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
KFile: Too toxic for Trump's first term, some officials are back in the fold
At least four people from Donald Trump's first term who were deemed too extreme or politically toxic to win Senate confirmation – or even keep their jobs – are now back in the fold and in some cases with more power than before. One attacked women's right to vote. Another spoke at a conference with White nationalists. A third said President Barack Obama was a 'terrorist leader' and said his former CIA director should face a 'firing squad,' commit suicide, or become a 'prison b*tch.' A fourth called Hillary Clinton 'a terrorist with amnesia' and accused Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's wife of plotting to combine the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico. All of them were in some way demoted or removed from their jobs in Trump's first term but have now been reappointed or renominated – part of a pattern in Trump's second term to bring back figures once rejected for promoting conspiracy theories or inflaming racial and gender tensions. In 2025, they're no longer fringe – they're in charge. Their return is further evidence of the Trump administration's willingness to sideline more moderate voices, reshape federal policy along ideological lines and view loyalty as the most important qualification. In Trump's first term, many of these figures were derailed precisely because they were seen as too unprofessional or conspiratorial – even by a Republican-controlled Senate. Now, in his second term, they're not only being welcomed back but are now elevated into positions of real influence with less oversight, fewer checks and, in some cases, greater reach. With few exceptions, Trump has gotten nearly all his nominees through this term – thanks to a Republican Party that has largely fallen in line behind even his most controversial appointees and nominees. Among them is John Gibbs, a top policy official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The powerful policy job gives Gibbs a top leadership spot at HUD overseeing research and data that plays a central role in shaping federal housing strategy. It doesn't require Senate confirmation. In Trump's first term, Gibbs, then a HUD official in a different role, was nominated in 2020 to lead the Office of Personnel Management – the agency that oversees hiring, pay and conduct for the nation's large federal civil servant workforce. The Republican-controlled Senate balked at his nomination though after CNN's KFile reported that he baselessly claimed that Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign chairman participated in a satanic ritual and that Gibbs defended a notorious racist banned from Twitter for antisemitic and Nazi content. Gibbs later unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Michigan in 2022, winning the Republican nomination with Trump's endorsement. That year, CNN's KFile reported that as a student at Stanford University, Gibbs had founded a so-called 'think tank' that argued the US had 'suffered' from women's suffrage and promoted websites that advocated for repealing the 19th Amendment. Gibbs claimed the website was satire to anger feminists on campus, but records on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine show he also left anti-feminist comments across the web – undermining his explanation. Gibbs told CNN in an email, 'Just as President Trump has modeled courage and resilience in the face vicious assaults, attempts to degrade my character with false attacks have not and will not succeed. The best is yet to come.' Gibbs later resurfaced as the administrator of Ottawa County, Michigan, where he was fired after a little more than a year amid allegations of gross misconduct and willful malfeasance. He sued the county and settled in early 2025 for $190,000 and a resignation agreement. Darren Beattie, a former Trump White House speechwriter, was fired in 2018 after it was revealed by CNN he spoke at a conference alongside White nationalists. He went on to launch Revolver News, a far-right site known for publishing false January 6 conspiracy theories, and he has posted racist and misogynistic messages, including that 'competent white men must be in charge.' Now, Beattie is the acting under secretary for public diplomacy at the State Department where he is responsible for helping shape US messaging abroad related to counterterrorism and violent extremism. After Beattie was fired, Trump appointed him in 2020 to a commission overseeing Holocaust memorials. The move prompted backlash from Jewish groups, and President Joe Biden had him removed from the commission. In the years following, Beattie posted racist and misogynistic messages on social media and attacked Black lawmakers and the Black Lives Matter movement saying they needed to 'learn their place' and 'take a knee to MAGA.' He also praised January 6 rioters in real time and attacked his now-boss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio – invoking a false rumor that Rubio used to attend LGBTQ+ foam parties. Beattie now serves as one of the administration's leading public voices overseas after Trump appointed him acting under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. The role at the State Department helps shape US messaging abroad. When asked about Beattie's comments, Rubio emphasized that Beattie was at the agency in an 'acting' capacity and did respond to further questions. A West Point graduate and retired Army brigadier general, Anthony Tata was nominated in the spring of 2020 to become the third highest ranking official at the Pentagon, as under secretary of defense for policy. But his history of conspiratorial and inflammatory rhetoric, uncovered by CNN, plus questions about his military record, derailed his nomination, which was later withdrawn. Tata was then installed as the deputy under secretary for policy at the Pentagon, which does not require Senate confirmation, and later served as the acting under secretary for policy for the final two months of Trump's first term. Now, Tata is nominated to become the under secretary of personnel and readiness at the Defense Department, a top civilian role that oversees recruitment, benefits and military readiness that could dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. But social media posts revealed by CNN's KFile found that Tata had a history of using inflammatory and conspiratorial rhetoric. He falsely called Obama a 'terrorist leader' and a Muslim, lamenting that 'Obama normalized Islam for America.' He frequently attacked Islam, calling it the 'most oppressive violent religion I know of,' and he called some Democratic politicians 'violent extremists.' He also pushed conspiracy theories that former CIA director John Brennan tried to overthrow Trump and even have him assassinated through a cryptic tweet. Tata said it 'might be a good time' for Brennan to commit suicide or become a 'prison b*tch.' Senators also expressed concern about Tata's military record. A 2007 Army investigation found he committed adultery with at least two women – a crime under military law – and submitted a falsified legal document during a child support case. The Army declined to penalize Tata and could not determine who created the fake legal document, and Tata retired shortly after. At his confirmation hearing last week, Tata declined to comment to CNN but said his past comments that derailed his previous nomination were 'out of character,' and he regretted making them and pledged to be 'an apolitical leader.' Leandro Rizzuto Jr., an heir to the Conair beauty product fortune, faced bipartisan resistance in 2018 when Trump nominated him to serve as ambassador to Barbados and several Caribbean nations. His nomination stalled over his history of promoting conspiracy theories and using social media to spread baseless attacks on public figures, including Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. He also amplified false claims that Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, was a leading member trying to combine the governments of the US, Canada and Mexico. In a now-deleted tweet, Rizzuto told Cruz to 'go back to Canada,' and in another tweet, he called Hillary Clinton 'a terrorist with amnesia.' His nomination never moved forward, and Rizzuto was then installed as the US consul general to Bermuda. Rizzuto 'retweeted some nonsense,' he later said of his tweets. Rizzuto told CNN in an email, 'Past history is just that and my focus is further contributing towards America's interests.' But this year, Trump nominated Rizzuto to be US Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. The position represents US interests in the premier multilateral forum for countries of the Western Hemisphere, including North, South and Central America; the Caribbean; and Canada.
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Charles Kushner, father of Trump's son-in-law, confirmed as ambassador to France
The Senate confirmed Charles Kushner — the father of President Donald Trump's son-in-law, and who received a presidential pardon in 2020 — as the U.S. ambassador to France. The nomination passed Monday night with 51 votes to 45. Cory Booker, a senator from Kushner's home state of New Jersey, was the only Democrat to back the nomination, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican to oppose.
CNN
19-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Trump considering former personal attorney Emil Bove for federal judgeship
President Donald Trump is considering nominating Emil Bove, his former personal attorney who currently holds a senior role at the Justice Department, as a federal appeals judge, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN. Bove is under consideration for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit based in New Jersey. He's emerged as one of Trump's most trusted aides at the Justice Department who, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's main principal, has been tasked with carrying out some of the administration's more controversial moves. It's not clear whether Trump has made a final decision. A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. CNN has reached out to Bove. If confirmed by the Senate, Bove would have a lifetime appointment. The New York Times first reported on Trump considering Bove for the judgeship. Bove was tapped hours after Trump was sworn in to assume one of the most powerful positions at the Justice Department – its number two spot, the interim deputy attorney general. He stayed in the job for weeks before the permanent nominee, Todd Blanche, who worked with Bove to defend Trump in his criminal cases, was confirmed by the Senate. In that short time, Bove quickly earned a reputation as Trump's hatchet man. His aggressive campaign began with immigration – he issued a memo just two days after Trump's inauguration that threatened to prosecute state and local officials who resist the administrations federal immigration crackdown. Bove then turned his attention to the FBI, ordering the firing of eight senior officials and demanding details on thousands of employees who worked on investigations related to the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. But his most controversial move was when he and others submitted a filing to dismiss the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, sparking a wave of resignations from career prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department's public integrity section who said it amounted to a 'quid pro quo.' Bove eventually had to appear in court by himself to argue for the dismissal, which a judge granted. Before joining Trump's defense team when he was out of office, Bove worked in the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. As CNN has reported, Bove is also helping to lead a new Justice Department effort called the Weaponization Working Group that is tasked with examining current and former prosecutors and FBI employees. He's often seen inside the West Wing and typically works closely alongside Trump's top aides, including Stephen Miller, on immigration fights.
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Does Trump Have the Power to Install Jeanine Pirro as Interim U.S. Attorney?
President Trump's announcement that he was making the Fox News host Jeanine Pirro the interim U.S. attorney in Washington has raised questions about whether he had legitimate legal authority to do so. Under a federal law, the attorney general can appoint an interim U.S. attorney for up to 120 days. But soon after taking office in January, the Trump administration installed a Republican lawyer and political activist, Ed Martin, in that role. The question is whether presidents are limited to one 120-day window for interim U.S. attorneys, or whether they can continue unilaterally installing such appointees in succession — indefinitely bypassing Senate confirmation as a check on their appointment power. Here is a closer look. What is a U.S. attorney? A U.S. attorney, the chief law enforcement officer in each of the 94 federal judicial districts, wields significant power. That includes the ability to start a criminal prosecution by filing a complaint or by requesting a grand jury indictment. Presidents typically nominate someone to the role who must secure Senate confirmation before taking office. What is an interim U.S. attorney? When the position needs a temporary occupant, a federal statute says the attorney general may appoint an interim U.S. attorney who does not need to undergo Senate confirmation. The statute limits terms to a maximum of 120 days — or fewer, if the Senate confirms a regular U.S. attorney to fill the opening. Is the president limited to one 120-day window? This is unclear. The ambiguity underscores the aggressiveness of Mr. Trump's move in selecting Ms. Pirro. Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Democrats on the panel 'will be looking into this.' 'Naming yet another interim U.S. attorney for D.C. is an untested and unprecedented use of the interim appointment authority that is contrary to congressional intent, undermines the Senate's constitutional advice and consent role and could subject the interim appointee's actions to legal challenge,' he said in a statement on Friday. There are two conventional understandings of what might happen 120 days after the appointment of an interim U.S. attorney if the Senate still has not confirmed anyone. Each carries potential limits for Mr. Trump. The installation of Ms. Pirro suggests he is trying to establish a third option that would give him broader power. What's the judicial option? According to the law, if an interim appointment expires after 120 days, the district court can appoint a U.S. attorney until the vacancy is filled. This option could result in the appointment of a U.S. attorney the president does not like. That, in turn, raises the question of whether the president could fire that person, a topic that is somewhat contested. Normally in the law, the official who appoints is the one who can fire. But the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, in a 1979 opinion, concluded that while an attorney general may not remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney, the president does have that power. In 2018, the Trump administration ousted the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, who had first been appointed on an interim basis by the administration before being reappointed by a court. Attorney General William P. Barr tried to fire him, but Mr. Berman balked until Mr. Trump himself removed him. Mr. Berman did not challenge his firing in court. What's the acting option? The Vacancies Reform Act generally addresses how presidents may temporarily fill open positions that normally require Senate confirmation. It allows the president to designate certain people as acting officials. It is not clear whether a president who installed an interim U.S. attorney can follow that move by appointing an acting one, further avoiding a judicial appointment or Senate confirmation. But in a 2003 opinion, the Office of Legal Counsel concluded that Congress gave presidents the power to do so. Still, Mr. Trump's choices would be constrained. Someone selected for an acting role must already be serving in another Senate-confirmed role, or have been in a senior position at the same agency for 90 days before a vacancy. As a result, Mr. Trump cannot install outsiders like Ms. Pirro as acting U.S. attorneys. What's the third option Ms. Pirro appointment raises? By naming Ms. Pirro, Mr. Trump appears to be trying to establish that he has the power to make successive interim appointments for U.S. attorneys, indefinitely bypassing the Senate confirmation process. The administration has not explained its legal theory. But legal experts have pointed to a likely argument that would support its action. It relies on a potential loophole in the law's text. For one, the law does not expressly forbid successive interim appointments. For another, it says the court's power to name the next temporary U.S. attorney is triggered when an interim appointment 'expires' after 120 days. But Mr. Trump ousted Mr. Martin shortly before he reached his 120th day, so his term never expired. A literal interpretation of the text, which arguably disregards the purpose and intent of Congress, could conclude that it permits successive appointments of interim U.S. attorneys who could each get a fresh 120-day window if they leave before their terms expire. Are there any legal guideposts? Since the 19th century, courts could temporarily fill vacant U.S. attorney positions. But the attorney general's ability to first appoint an interim one dates only to a November 1986 law. There is no definitive Supreme Court ruling interpreting the law, but it has occasionally drawn attention. A footnote in an Office of Legal Counsel opinion about interim U.S. marshals says that in November 1986, Samuel A. Alito, then a lawyer in the office, wrote an opinion 'suggesting that the attorney general may not make successive interim appointments.' That opinion by the future Supreme Court justice does not appear to be public. It is not clear whether the office ever revisited the topic in other opinions the Justice Department has kept private. A passing comment in a 1987 opinion by a federal judge in Massachusetts — in a case involving acting U.S. attorneys, not interim ones — cuts the other way. 'Although the drafters appeared to envision that the district court would act at the expiration of an interim appointment,' the judge wrote, 'it is not clear from this court's reading of the statute that the attorney general himself would be foreclosed from making a second interim appointment.' There appear to have been a few successive interim appointments in the past, but they did not seem to attract much attention or lead to precedent-setting court tests. In 2007, when Congress last altered the interim U.S. attorney law, the Congressional Research Service told lawmakers that it had identified several instances of successive interim appointments, including one person who 'received a total of four successive interim appointments,' according to a House report about that bill. The report did not contain specific details. What's the risk? For one, Mr. Trump is opening the door to a scenario in which the enforcement of criminal law in Washington — and in any other district where he repeats this move — could be disrupted. People who are indicted for crimes in cases that Ms. Pirro approves could challenge their charges on the grounds that she was improperly appointed. Should the Supreme Court rule against the administration, the result would call into question every case she signed off on. A similar situation happened last year, when a federal judge in Florida threw out a criminal case against Mr. Trump on the grounds that the special counsel prosecuting him, Jack Smith, had been improperly appointed. In 2020, a court struck down certain actions by the Department of Homeland Security, ruling that Mr. Trump had unlawfully appointed Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Should the Supreme Court side with the administration, presidents would face no clear limit on their ability to bypass Senate confirmation and serially install such prosecutors — not just in Washington, but across the country.
