{"id":814389,"date":"2024-12-24T01:20:44","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T07:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/24\/surprise-trumps-latest-appointment-has-conflicts-of-interest\/"},"modified":"2024-12-24T01:20:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T07:20:44","slug":"surprise-trumps-latest-appointment-has-conflicts-of-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/24\/surprise-trumps-latest-appointment-has-conflicts-of-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise: Trump\u2019s Latest Appointment Has Conflicts of Interest"},"content":{"rendered":"<article itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\"><span><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Donald Trump\u2019s pick for the number two position in the Department of Defense, Steve Feinberg, is a billionaire with business ties to the defense industry. <\/p>\n<p><i>The Washington Post<\/i>, citing unnamed sources, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2024\/12\/03\/trump-stephen-feinberg-pentagon-hegseth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">reports<\/a> that the president-elect has chosen Feinberg for the post of deputy secretary of defense, which requires confirmation from the Senate. Feinberg is co-CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, which has invested in hypersonic missiles and once owned private military contractor DynCorp. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In Trump\u2019s first term, Feinberg was the head of the President\u2019s Intelligence Advisory Board, which gives advice to the president on intelligence estimates and assessments, as well as counterintelligence. The deputy secretary of defense post comes with much more responsibility, with day-to-day management of the massive department\u2019s three million civilian employees and service members among its duties. <\/p>\n<p>Like Trump\u2019s choice for secretary of defense, <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/188499\/pete-hegseth-trump-defense-pick\">Pete Hegseth<\/a>, Feinberg does not have experience running a large organization or working in the Pentagon. Plus, Feinberg\u2019s investments and business activities would create multiple conflicts of interest if his appointment to the DOD survives the Senate. <\/p>\n<p>Unlike Hegseth, Feinberg doesn\u2019t have a <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188700\/donald-trump-defense-pick-pete-hegseth-police-report\">long list<\/a> of sexual <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188912\/trump-defense-secretary-pick-serious-skeletons\">misconduct<\/a>, as well as scandals running veterans organizations (that we know of). His appointment could convince senators that there\u2019s someone competent actually running things as the deputy to a <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188797\/trump-defense-secretary-hegseth-israel-geneva-convention\">Christian nationalist<\/a> who envisions the military taking sides in a <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188776\/trump-defense-secretary-nominee-pete-hegseth-proposed-civil-war-military\">civil war scenario<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Feinberg is not the only Trump appointee with conflicts of interest: The president-elect\u2019s pick to run Medicare and Medicaid, Mehmet Oz, has multiple ties to the <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188923\/dr-mehmet-oz-medicare-medicaid-medical-conflicts-ozempic-novo-nordisk\">pharmaceutical industry<\/a>. But Feinberg\u2019s defense industry ties could affect his view of the role of the U.S. military, as the Trump administration is already stocked with <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/188517\/trump-neoconservatism-foreign-policy-wars\">pro-war and pro-intervention advisers<\/a>. A man who stands to profit when the U.S. military is deployed doesn\u2019t bode well for peace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz is the first Democrat to join the caucus for Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will join the congressional DOGE caucus, because I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue,\u201d <span>Moskowitz<\/span><span> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JakeSherman\/status\/1863961988948226195\/photo\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">wrote<\/a><span> in a statement. He also noted that the Department of Homeland Security was \u201ctoo big\u201d and that the Secret Service and <\/span><span>Federal Emergency Management Agency<\/span><span> should become independent. Many Republicans\u2014including the authors of Project 2025\u2014are in favor of privatizing key agencies like FEMA.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Moskowitz<\/span> has often gone out of his way to side with Republicans on key issues. He has argued that the debt is too large, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/rep-jared-moskowitz-we-have-to-curtail-our-spending\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">backing devastating cuts<\/a> to the federal government. More recently, he has supported Israel\u2019s war on Gaza and is also one of the largest recipients of AIPAC funding in the House; <span>Moskowitz<\/span><span> was one of a handful of Democrats to recently give Donald Trump <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/11\/26\/nx-s1-5205294\/measure-would-strip-tax-exempt-status-from-nonprofits-deemed-supporters-of-terrorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">extraordinary powers<\/a><span> to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits. These are all decisions that make <\/span><span>Moskowitz<\/span><span>\u2019s enthusiasm for DOGE much less surprising. And, as Slate\u2019s Alex Sammon <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/alex_sammon\/status\/1863983793536634951\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">noted<\/a><span> on Twitter, <\/span><span>Moskowitz<\/span><span> also served as Ron DeSantis\u2019s Covid czar before joining the House of Representatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Loyal DOGE appointees Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have their sights set on cutting massive swaths of the federal government, including but not limited to the <\/span><span>Corporation for Public Broadcasting<\/span><span>, international grants, and funding for \u201cprogressive groups.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Donald Trump\u2019s handlers are mum on whether or not the president-elect plans to pardon himself at the onset of his second term.<\/p>\n<p><span>Speaking with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CNNThisMorning\/status\/1863928722958508487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNN Tuesday<\/a><span>, top Trump adviser Jason Miller dodged the point-blank question, skirting any clear answer as to whether or not Trump plans to relieve himself of his federal charges once he\u2019s in office.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cIs he considering\u2014would he consider pardoning himself? Would President-elect Trump consider pardoning himself?\u201d prompted CNN\u2019s Kasie Hunt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat would never be something that I would weigh in on,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThat would be something for the legal team to discuss. And again, President Trump did nothing wrong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHas it been discussed behind the scenes?\u201d Hunt interjected.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cThat\u2019s not something that I would have been a part of. And again, that\u2019s not something for myself to go and comment on because President Trump didn\u2019t do anything wrong,\u201d Miller reiterated, before highlighting some of Trump\u2019s recent selections to lead the nation\u2019s criminal justice systems, including his former attorney Pam Bondi\u2014whom he\u2019s tapped to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188726\/donald-trump-pam-bondi-dangerous-matt-gaetz\">replace<\/a><span> Matt Gaetz as his attorney general nominee\u2014and Kash Patel, whom Trump has selected to front the FBI. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Miller also downplayed the sexual assault allegations against Trump\u2019s nominee for secretary of defense, ex\u2013Fox host Pete Hegseth, whose own mother <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/atrupar\/status\/1863980027865448806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">accused<\/a><span> of \u201cusing women for his own power.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n<blockquote data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Trump senior advisor <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JasonMiller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">@JasonMiller<\/a> does not rule out Donald Trump considering a pardon for himself in the wake of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">@JoeBiden<\/a> pardoning his son, Hunter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That would never be something that I would weigh in on. That&#8217;d be something for the legal team to discuss,&#8221; he tells <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kasie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">@kasie<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OBknIt9lYR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/OBknIt9lYR<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CNNThisMorning\/status\/1863928722958508487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">December 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p><span>But that\u2019s not the only criminal record that\u2019s floating around Trumpworld\u2019s conscience. In the same interview, Miller made note that Trump intends to take a fine-tooth comb to the cases of the January 6 rioters.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cI want to be careful here and make sure I\u2019m being very direct with you. President Trump has said a number of times on the campaign trail that he\u2019s going to look at each of these cases individually, full stop,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThat\u2019s what he said. There\u2019s never been a declaration of some\u2014something bigger, broader. And again, that\u2019s for something for the Department of Justice to go deal with when President Trump takes office again, not for someone who\u2019s a spokesperson from the campaign or transition team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBecause, again, the whole point here is, we have to get politics out of the justice system. Justice should apply to everybody equally,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"ContainerPlacement1\">\n<p>Read about Trump\u2019s legal battles:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Donald Trump\u2019s election has Republicans chomping at the bit at some of their favorite targets: government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. <\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Fox Business Tuesday morning, Representative Richard McCormick complained that \u201c75 percent of the budget is nondiscretionary\u201d and outlined GOP plans to tackle it. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re gonna have to have some hard decisions. We\u2019re gotta bring the Democrats in and talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare,\u201d McCormick <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/atrupar\/status\/1863970489414070299\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">said<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved and we know how to do it. We just have to have the stomach to actually take those challenges on.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure>\n<blockquote data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Rep. Richard McCormick: &#8220;We&#8217;re gonna have to have some hard decisions. We&#8217;re gonna have to bring in the Democrats to talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare. There&#8217;s hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved, we just have to have the stomach to take those challenges on.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NEDbtcuhBq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/NEDbtcuhBq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/atrupar\/status\/1863970489414070299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">December 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>McCormick\u2019s words are not surprising. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump floated the idea of cutting Social Security and Medicare, <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/179744\/trump-gut-social-security-medicare\">saying<\/a> in March that there is \u201ca lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting, and in terms of also\u2014the theft and the bad management of entitlements.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Cutting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security was also floated earlier this year by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who promised to <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/183547\/mike-johnson-exposes-republicans-priorities-trump\">cut the programs<\/a> in favor of boosting the country\u2019s military spending. And the infamous conservative manifesto Project 2025, which Trump and the GOP tried to distance themselves from until Trump\u2019s election victory, also includes <a href=\"https:\/\/ccf.georgetown.edu\/2024\/06\/17\/project-2025-blueprint-also-includes-draconian-cuts-to-medicaid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">drastic cuts<\/a> to the popular programs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>While McCormick pledges to talk to the Democrats about such cuts, the GOP is unlikely to get much traction with the opposing party, especially since Republicans will have a <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188885\/house-republicans-majority-historically-small\">razor-thin majority<\/a> in the House where a single vote or two could tank their legislative agenda. <\/p>\n<p>Even if the GOP manages to win over a couple of Democrats, any plans to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid will get <a href=\"https:\/\/help.aarp.org\/s\/article\/what-is-the-aarp-statement-on-funding-social-security-and-medicare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pushback<\/a> from powerful organizations such as the AARP. Older voters who rely on the programs also make up the base of the Republican Party, and politicians from both parties should be wary of provoking them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>If you turn on Fox News, you won\u2019t see or hear much about Pete Hegseth, the longtime Fox anchor turned Trump nominee to lead the Department of Defense. <\/p>\n<p><span>While Hegseth has been publicly excoriated this month for allegations of rape, sexual harassment, and misconduct and repeated drunkenness on the job, his former employer is trying its best to look the other way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>CNN analyst Brian Stelter reported that the conservative media hegemon that employed Hegseth for more than 10 years has yet to discuss the multiple allegations that its former employee is embroiled in, according to SnapStream and TVEyes database searches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s a media outlet supposed to do when its longtime host is picked to run the Pentagon, and then a series of eyebrow-raising news stories trigger doubts about his appointment?\u201d Stelter <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/brianstelter\/status\/1863952867582771301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">inquired on X<\/a>. \u201cIf you\u2019re Fox News, evidently, you just pretend the stories don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stelter went on to note that there were multiple moments on Fox News programming in which Hegseth\u2019s allegations were raised but then quickly objected to or moved on from. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cOn Monday\u2019s edition of <i>Special Report,<\/i> Chad Pergram said Hegseth\u2019s confirmation \u2018could be a problem\u2019 because \u2018he faces problems about his personal conduct.\u2019 What problems? Pergram didn\u2019t say. Neither has anyone else on Fox,\u201d Stelter said. <\/p>\n<p>This lack of coverage is a blatant attempt at damage control from one of the most biased media conglomerates we have. Hegseth\u2019s team has described the allegations as \u201coutlandish.\u201d Their impact on his nomination remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Many of Donald Trump\u2019s Cabinet nominees are so underqualified for their positions that authoritarianism scholars have called them \u201canti-qualified.\u201d But what they lack in relevant experience is substituted by something that Trump values far more: fealty. <\/p>\n<p><span>With dozens of nominees lined up to lead different agencies, extreme loyalty stands as the one common denominator between whose careers live and die under the MAGA leader\u2019s second term.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Among them stand five billionaires, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom Trump has tapped to lead something he calls the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump\u2019s choice for treasury secretary, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, was also one of his major campaign donors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Thirteen individuals who have a future in the next Trump White House made cameos at Trump\u2019s criminal trials earlier this year, including <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/nov\/23\/john-bolton-sebastian-gorka-counter-terrorism-chief\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Sebastian Gorka<\/a><span> for counterterrorism chief, Kash Patel for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-fbi-kash-patel-what-happens-next-6b2678baba229362d25b468ed2f61f87\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">FBI director<\/a><span>, Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, Dan Scavino as senior adviser, and Vice President-elect JD Vance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Another dozen have been hosts on Fox News or were regular contributors to Trump\u2019s favorite network. They include ex\u2013Fox anchor (and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188666\/donald-trump-defense-pick-pete-hegseth-police-report\">accused rapist<\/a><span>) Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Keith Kellogg to serve as Ukraine-Russia envoy, Representative Michael Waltz as national security adviser, and Sean Duffy for transportation secretary.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>And, of course, several nominees are directly tied to Project 2025, which Trump briefly tried to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188580\/trump-project-2025-architect-cabinet-russ-vought\">distance<\/a><span> himself from during his campaign after the details of the Christian nationalist agenda proved incredibly unpopular with the American public. They include Russell T. Vought for White House budget director, Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary, Michigan GOP chairman Pete Hoekstra to serve as U.S. ambassador to Canada, former ICE official Tom Homan to serve as border czar, and Brendan Carr\u2014who has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-14098031\/trump-fcc-brendan-carr-warning-snl.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">warned<\/a><span> TV networks that they would face consequences for political bias\u2014to lead the Federal Communications Commission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Trump\u2019s transition team had previously <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/186887\/donald-trump-transition-white-house-employees-loyalty\">promised<\/a><span> that loyalty would be the singular criterion. In October, transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick said that no quality would be more important for incoming staffers than total allegiance to the chief Republican.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While explaining how Trump\u2019s last administration buckled under the weight of staff turnover due to disagreements in \u201cvision,\u201d Lutnick said that the new agenda is to eradicate any internal hostility to the Republican\u2019s plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cThey\u2019re all going to be on the same side, and they\u2019re all going to understand the policies, and we\u2019re going to give people the role based on their capacity\u2014and their fidelity and loyalty to the policy, as well as to the man,\u201d the Wall Street billionaire said at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"ContainerPlacement1\">\n<p>Read more about Trump\u2019s cabinet:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>The government efficiency czars Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy seem to be mulling over a monumental change: eliminating daylight savings time. <\/p>\n<p><span>If anyone was worried that Musk and Ramaswamy would move unilaterally as unelected bureaucrats making sweeping decisions on behalf of the electorate, you can calm your fears: Apparently they\u2019re seeding ideas from polls on X. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cLooks like the people want to abolish the annoying time changes!\u201d Musk <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1861801650383659230\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">posted<\/a><span> on X last week, in response to a poll by X user James Stephenson that found nearly 82 percent of fewer than 38,000 X users would \u201cabolish\u201d the system of changing the clocks forward in the spring and backward in the fall. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Isn\u2019t that what democracy is all about? Acquiescing to the requests of \u201cX users\u201d who are most likely bots? Having a guy who runs a social media service make decisions for the country based on the popular opinion artificially generated by his own website? That kind of thing just makes you feel so patriotic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s inefficient &#038; easy to change,\u201d Ramaswamy replied in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VivekGRamaswamy\/status\/1861808163512627652\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">separate post<\/a><span>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>It\u2019s not clear that the two have seriously considered ending the practice of changing the clocks, but Musk reiterated his intention to \u201cend the semi-annual time changes\u201d in a follow-up post on X. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The U.S. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/history\/2022\/03\/18\/daylight-saving-seventies-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">already tried<\/a><span> to permanently change to daylight savings time in 1974\u2014a briefly popular decision to manage fuel consumption that ended in disaster as reports rolled in of children being killed by cars as they waited to be picked up by school buses in the dark. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While nearly 80 percent of Americans support changing the current system, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/daylight-savings-time-2023-change-clocks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">according<\/a><span> to a 2022 CBS\/YouGov poll, they were less decisive about which way to move the clock. Forty-six percent wanted to shift an hour of daylight to the evening, while 33 percent preferred sticking to standard time. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>It\u2019s unclear whether Musk would advocate moving to daylight savings time or standard time, but either way would require massive infrastructure projects, which the penny-pinching DOGE-ists aren\u2019t likely to fund. Unless, maybe, an X poll told them to. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"ContainerPlacement1\">\n<p>Read more about government efficiency:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Pete Hegseth\u2019s church is just as bigoted and extremist as he is. <\/p>\n<p>The latest scandal facing President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for the Defense Department\u2014who has already been accused of sexual assault, predatory workplace behavior, and showing up to work drunk\u2014revolves around the church that the warmongering, Christian nationalist belongs to. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Salon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2024\/12\/03\/pete-hegseths-mother-begged-him-to-get-some-help---he-joined-a-misogynist-church-instead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">reports<\/a> that Hegseth made a dramatic, spiritual about-face after his 2017 rape allegation, as faith conveniently became \u201creal\u201d to him during that time. He moved to Tennessee and saddled up with Christ Church and the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches and sent his children to its affiliated schools, the Association of Classical Christian Schools, or ACCS. This group is led by pastor Doug Wilson, an unordained minister who preaches right-wing extremism from the pulpit. <\/p>\n<p>Wilson believes men have a sexual right to women, and has written that unsubmissive women are at fault for sexual violence committed against them. \u201cThe sexual act cannot be made into an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2012\/07\/marital-rape-doug-wilson-on-dominance-and-submission-in-the-marriage-bed.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">egalitarian pleasuring party<\/a> \u2026 a man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts.\u201d Wilson also believes that God created women \u201cto make the sandwiches\u201d and thinks that giving women the right to vote led to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zpI5Pc1AtnI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201ca long, sustained war on the family.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWilson holds the most extreme views of women\u2019s submission found in any form of Christianity,\u201d Julie Ingersoll, a religious studies professor at the University of North Florida, told Salon. \u201cWomen are <a href=\"https:\/\/canonpress.com\/products\/the-fruit-of-her-hands?srsltid=AfmBOorUFJtM5ac1Ak9THr3_MsCaISuw_h9cfBHNIiM4k50KLDzaTQDY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">taught<\/a> that submission to their husbands (and other male authorities) is submission to God. Independence of any kind is cast as sin.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Hegseth isn\u2019t just an Easter-Christmas member of Wilson\u2019s church: He\u2019s a staunch public advocate. He <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PeteHegseth\/status\/1696246038972022855\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">posted<\/a> in support of its schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamatters.org\/fox-friends\/fox-friends-hosts-christian-nationalist-tied-podcaster-and-champions-his-settlement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">commended<\/a> Wilson for not masking during the pandemic, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2024\/11\/26\/opens-up-a-new-on-public-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">went on<\/a> the ACCS affiliated <i>CrossPolitic<\/i> podcast shortly after his nomination for Defense Secretary. It makes sense that a man with multiple allegations of mistreating women would feel right at home in Doug Wilson\u2019s Christ Church. And if confirmed, Hegseth will be sure not to leave a single degree of separation between his fanatical church and our state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Justin Sun, a Chinese national accused of fraud, sent Donald Trump $18 million last week. <\/p>\n<p>The newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/popular.info\/p\/a-chinese-national-charged-with-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Popular Information<\/a> reports that Sun, most recently famous for spending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/20\/arts\/design\/cattelan-banana-sothebys-auction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">$6.2 million on a banana<\/a> and then eating it, paid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2024-11-25\/trump-crypto-project-gets-30-million-investment-from-justin-sun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">$30 million<\/a> for cryptocurrency tokens from World Liberty Financial, which is backed by Trump. In a pinned post on his X profile, Sun <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/justinsuntron\/status\/1861121947372773545\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">bragged<\/a> about the purchase, saying his own blockchain start-up, TRON, was \u201ccommitted to making America great again and leading innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<figure contenteditable=\"false\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/justinsuntron\/status\/1861121947372773545\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.newrepublic.com\/be65d851d6774441f392d5ba5f69b34a9630ff52.png?w=934\" alt=\"A screenshot of a tweet from Justin Sun announcing his investment in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture backed by Donald Trump. \" data-serialized=\"{\"id\":\"4bc87ed9-e8d5-45bb-a2a1-c9e4edb5afc9\",\"hash\":\"be65d851d6774441f392d5ba5f69b34a9630ff52\",\"width\":934,\"height\":1308,\"format\":\"PNG\",\"isAnimated\":false,\"baseUrl\":\"\/\/images.newrepublic.com\/\",\"src\":\"\/\/images.newrepublic.com\/be65d851d6774441f392d5ba5f69b34a9630ff52.png\",\"alt\":null,\"meta\":{\"assetBase\":\"\/\/images.newrepublic.com\/\"}}\" width=\"934\"><\/a><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Until Sun\u2019s purchase, Trump\u2019s crypto start-up appeared headed for failure with only $22 million in tokens sold, far short of its goal of $300 million in sales. The purchase not only keeps the WLF going, but also guarantees a windfall for Trump. A filing from the venture in October states that \u201c$30 million of initial net protocol revenues\u201d will be \u201cheld in a reserve \u2026 to cover operating expenses, indemnities, and obligations.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>After that reserve is met, a company owned by Trump is then entitled to 75 percent of WLF\u2019s revenues from the sale of all other tokens. As of Sunday, WLF has sold $24 million in tokens, giving Trump a solid $18 million payoff. Sun\u2019s purchase has also gotten him an advisory position in Trump\u2019s venture, making him business partners with the president-elect. <\/p>\n<p>And influence with Trump may be the only benefit to Sun\u2019s transaction. Right now, Sun\u2019s tokens don\u2019t have any monetary value unless they \u201care unlocked through protocol governance procedures in a fashion that does not contravene applicable law.\u201d Plus, Sun is also under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In March 2023, the SEC charged Sun, as well as three of his companies, for marketing unregistered securities and \u201cfraudulently manipulating the secondary market\u201d for a cryptocurrency token \u201cthrough extensive wash trading.\u201d Wash trading is \u201cthe simultaneous or near-simultaneous purchase and sale of a security to make it appear actively traded without an actual change in beneficial ownership,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/popular.info\/p\/a-chinese-national-charged-with-fraud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Popular Information<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Sun was also charged with \u201corchestrating a scheme to pay celebrities to tout\u201d cryptocurrency \u201cwithout disclosing their compensation.\u201d Under federal law, people who endorse securities have to disclose their compensation as well as how much money they received. Sun apparently got Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, and Lindsey Lohan to endorse his crypto tokens. <\/p>\n<p>The charges against Sun took place under the current SEC chair, Gary Gensler, who will be gone after Trump is sworn in next year. Trump\u2019s new SEC chair, whoever that may be, could easily make those charges disappear. Trump stands to rake in much more money from <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/185778\/donald-trump-plan-election-crypto\">cryptocurrency<\/a>, and the industry spent a whopping <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188836\/donald-trump-crypto-industry-election-money\">$180 million<\/a> on political campaigns during the 2024 election cycle. The president-elect is almost certain to help the crypto industry, his new benefactor Sun, and himself make more money in his second term as president. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Article\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has advocated to remove all fluoride from public water within the first month of Donald Trump\u2019s presidency, once sold bottled water flush with the very stuff he imagines is toxic. <\/p>\n<p><span>Kennedy, whom Trump nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/11\/03\/health\/rfk-jr-fluoride-science\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">claims<\/a><span> that fluoride is \u201can industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>In fact, fluoridation helps prevent teeth from rotting out of our heads and children from getting deadly infections in their mouths. It\u2019s been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/preview\/mmwrhtml\/mm4850bx.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">lauded<\/a><span> as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the twentieth century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2014which Kennedy will soon oversee! (Can probably expect that statement to disappear from its website soon.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For as much as Kennedy seems to fear the effects of fluoridated water, he seemed to have no qualms about bottling and selling it for years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2024\/12\/09\/rfk-jr-wants-to-eliminate-fluoridated-water-he-used-to-bottle-and-sell-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">according<\/a> to a story published Monday by <i>The New Yorker<\/i>. <\/p>\n<p><span>In 1999, Kennedy co-founded Keeper Springs bottled water to help fund his Waterkeeper Alliance\u2014a strangely hypocritical venture, as his plastic-packaged product was meant to aid the preservation of public clean water.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>In any case, Keeper Springs bottled water contained up to 1.3 milligrams of fluoride per liter, according to a 2009 chemical analysis. That\u2019s a significantly higher concentration of the mineral than what\u2019s found in most tap water\u2014for example, New York City\u2019s tap water contains only <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancer.org\/cancer\/risk-prevention\/chemicals\/water-fluoridation-and-cancer-risk.html#:~:text=Natural%20drinking%20water%20sources%20in,some%20places%20than%20in%20others.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">0.2 milligrams<\/a><span> of fluoride per liter. Keeper Springs stopped production in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Chris Bartle, a Keeper Springs co-founder, told <i>The New Yorker<\/i> that Kennedy wasn\u2019t always the fluoride skeptic he is now, and that he\u2019d \u201cnever heard it mentioned.\u201d Bartle said that the fact that there was so much fluoride in their bottled water was \u201chilarious.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/post\/188973\/surprise-trumps-latest-appointment-conflicts-interest\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump\u2019s pick for the number two position in the Department of Defense, Steve Feinberg, is a billionaire with business ties to the defense industry. The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, reports that the president-elect has chosen Feinberg for the post of deputy secretary of defense, which requires confirmation from the Senate. Feinberg is co-CEO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":814390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1628,163],"tags":[5265,5123],"class_list":{"0":"post-814389","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-surprise","8":"category-trumps","9":"tag-surprise","10":"tag-trumps"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}