| IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN YOU THINK What the Trump Administration Is Doing To America David Cay Johnston New York: Simon & Schuster, January 2018 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-1-5011-7416-2 | ||||
| ISBN 1-5011-7416-9 | 306pp. | HC | $28.00 | |
Even a small sample of Trump's misconduct would extend this page beyond a readable length. And as I mentioned, great gobs of information on the subject are out there for the looking — in books, in magazines and newspapers, and on Web sites. However, I think it's important here to include some indication of what Johnston tells us in this book.
There are three possible approaches: to describe Trump's character, as revealed in his tweets and speeches; to list some of his misdeeds1 and policy flubs; or to profile some of the people he associates with, either in his former life or as president. I chose the latter approach.
a selection of the people Trump has chosen for positions in his administration would give an equally [???] impression and be more concise.
| Appointee | Position | Background | See Page(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Mnuchin | Treasury Department Secretary | Former partner at Goldman Sachs. In April 2017, announced a tax plan Johnston describes as a 100-word letter that reads "more like a hastily compiled tax cut shopping list for clients of Goldman Sachs." | 89, 91 |
| Scott Pruitt | EPA Director | Formerly Oklahoma attorney general. In that position he sued the EPA 14 times to block pollution abatement rules, and often copied industry requests directly into official letters. At EPA, kept aloof from scientists and other professionals, leading many to resign. Stonewalled reporters. | 115-121 125-129 |
| Wilbur Ross | Commerce Department Secretary | Former investor known for leveraged buyouts. During confirmation hearing, failed to clearly disclose ties to Russian companies. Purged climate scientists from NOAA, and rolled back limits on fishing. Called Trump's visit to Saudia Arabia a success because of lack of dissent in the Kingdom.2, 3 | 131, 154-56 |
| Ryan Zinke | Interior Department Secretary | Former owner of consulting company On Point Montana. Former board member of an oil pipeline company.4 Promoted coal mining and other development on public lands. Downsized national monuments. Proposed rolling back regulations on fracking and protection for the endangered sage grouse. Expanded offshore oil leases on both coasts. | 133 |
| Mick Mulvaney | OMB Director | Ordered federal agencies to identify research efforts "that could progress more efficiently through private sector R&D.". | 140 |
| Cheryl LaFleur | FERC Commissioner | Former CEO of National Grid USA, a monopoly distributor of electricity owned by British investors. | 144-147 |
| Rob Powelson | FERC Commissioner | A member of the board that regulated Pennsylvania utilities. Consistently hostile to consumer and environmental groups. | 144-147 |
| Neil Chatterjee | FERC Commissioner | Former top energy advisor to Mitch McConnell, and also a fan of fossil fuels. | 144-147 |
| Kevin McIntyre | FERC Chair | An energy industry lawyer with the Jones Day law firm. | 144-147 |
| Betsy DeVos | Education Department Secretary | A wealthy heiress to the Amway fortune and advocate of privatized charter schools in Michigan. Her confirmation hearing showed her lack of knowledge about education. As Secretary, rolled back rules protecting students with loans and Obama area guidelines about LGBT students. Schools she promoted in the Detroit area performed worse than public schools, and her writings suggest she is a Christian dominionist. | 186&etc. 200-203 |
| Jeff Sessions | Attorney General | Formerly Senator for Alabama. Known for racist attitudes and opposition to illegal drugs. (Reportedly had no problem with the KKK until he found they smoked pot.) A hardline law-and-order type, wants to increase private prisons. During confirmation hearings, repeatedly shaded the truth about meetings with Russians. | 218-219 |
| David Shulkin | Secretary for Veterans' Affairs | Defended cuts in Trump's first budget that would end payments to disabled veterans once they start Social Security payments and reduce housing subsidies for homeless veterans. Also supported Trump's hiring freeze that would affect some 70,000 veterans. | 225-227 |
| Rick Perry5 | Energy Department Secretary | Formerly Governor of Texas. Vowed to abolish the Energy Department if confirmed to lead it. As Secretary, announced he had not realized all that the Department does. Still issued rules favoring fossil-fuel development and use for power production, disguised as grid-reliability measures. | None |
In addition, Steven Mnuchin, Scott Pruitt, David Shulkin, Ryan Zinke and Tom Price have come under fire for splurging on travel. (Price, former HHS Secretary, resigned over this.) Trump's cabinet is the wealthiest overall, and some have unresolved conflict of interest issues. Appointees not needing Senate confirmation also have issues, but I'll pass over them.
So much for federal government appointees. I can only scratch the surface with respect to Trump's less formal associates: such as Joseph Weichselbaum, a mobster with two felony convictions whom Trump hired to manage his personal helicopter (pp. 99-100.) Then there was Maurice Woodside (aka Michael the Black Man) who sat behind Trump at his August 2017 rally in Phoenix wearing a T-shirt that proclaimed "TRUMP & Republicans are not racist." Woodside had been a member of the Temple of Love, a Miami cult as vicious as the MS-13 gangs Trump denounces (pp. 214-215.)
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