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    Los nombramientos temerarios de Trump

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    Donald Trump ha demostrado de innumerables maneras que no es apto para la presidencia, pero una de las más claras es la compañía con la que se rodea: figuras marginales, teóricos de la conspiración y aduladores que anteponen lealtad a él por encima de todo. Esta semana, una serie de nombramientos para el gabinete por parte de Trump mostraron de la forma más cruda posible los peligros potenciales que entraña su dependencia a su círculo de allegados.Para tres de los puestos más importantes y de mayor rango del país, Trump dijo que nombraría a leales sin cualificaciones discernibles para sus trabajos, personas manifiestamente inapropiadas para puestos cruciales de liderazgo en la aplicación de la ley y la seguridad nacional.Lo más irresponsable fue su elección para fiscal general. Para ocupar el puesto de máximo responsable de la aplicación de la ley del país, el presidente electo dijo que nombraría al representante por Florida Matt Gaetz.Sí, ese Matt Gaetz.El mismo que pidió la abolición del FBI y de todo el Departamento de Justicia si no dejaban de investigar a Trump. El que estuvo entre las voces más audibles del Congreso en negar los resultados de las elecciones de 2020, quien dijo que estaba “orgulloso del trabajo” que él y otros negacionistas hicieron el 6 de enero de 2021, y quien elogió a los alborotadores del Capitolio como “estadounidenses patriotas” que no tenían intención de cometer actos de violencia. Aquel cuya maniobra para desbancar al presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Kevin McCarthy, en 2023 paralizó el liderazgo de su propio partido en la Cámara durante casi un mes.Gaetz, quien presentó su carta de renuncia al Congreso el miércoles después de que se anunciara su nominación, fue objeto de una investigación federal sobre tráfico sexual que duró años y que condujo a una condena de 11 años de prisión para uno de sus socios, aunque él negó cualquier participación. El Departamento de Justicia cerró esa investigación, pero el Comité de Ética de la Cámara de Representantes sigue investigando las acusaciones de conducta sexual inapropiada, consumo de drogas ilícitas, aceptación indebida de regalos y obstrucción de las investigaciones gubernamentales sobre su conducta. McCarthy, el expresidente de la Cámara, culpó a Gaetz por su destitución, con el argumento de que Gaetz “quería que detuviera una denuncia de ética porque tuvo relaciones con una joven de 17 años”.

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      Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth: Trump’s Appointments Are a Show of Force

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      President-elect Donald J. Trump’s cabinet picks show that he prizes loyalty over experience and is fueled by retribution.A Fox News ally for defense secretary. A former Democrat-turned-Trump-World-celebrity to oversee 18 spy agencies. A right-wing provocateur for the nation’s top law enforcement job.President-elect Donald J. Trump’s appointments for top government jobs continued to roll in fast and furiously on Wednesday, and his promise to build a presidential administration fueled by retribution quickly came into view.Those plans were perhaps best summarized by Representative Matt Gaetz, who wrote of his enthusiasm for the wholesale elimination of federal law enforcement agencies just hours before Mr. Trump announced he’d chosen the Florida Republican to lead the Justice Department:“We ought to have a full-court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people,” Mr. Gaetz wrote on social media on Wednesday. “And if that means abolishing every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!”Mr. Trump could not have said it better himself. And that is the entire point.The president-elect’s other bombshell picks include Pete Hegseth, a military veteran known for defending Mr. Trump on Fox News, to be his defense secretary; and Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, to be director of national intelligence.President-elect Donald J. Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard as his director of national intelligence. They appeared together at a rally in North Carolina last month.Kenny Holston/The New York Times“These are so appalling they’re a form of performance art,” Michael Waldman, the president of the Brennan Center for Justice, said in an interview, reflecting on Mr. Trump’s choices and their fitness for their jobs.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Trump Allies Push Him to Block Thune From Becoming Senate G.O.P. Leader

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      Advisers to the president-elect, who already has a strong hold on congressional Republicans, want him to tighten his grip by torpedoing the bid of the establishment front-runner for the post.Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s closest allies are privately counseling him to try to block a onetime Republican nemesis from becoming the Senate majority leader, pushing him to impose his will more forcefully on an already compliant G.O.P. Congress.Mr. Trump has been considering the counsel of advisers who believe he should join an effort on the right to stop Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Republican, from winning the top post, according to people familiar with the talks who insisted on anonymity to discuss them, though one person close to the president-elect noted that he had not weighed in on the race.Doing so would be an extraordinary move even for Mr. Trump, who during his first term and since he has left office has had an iron grip on congressional Republicans, demanding and almost always receiving loyalty from them on matters of policy and personnel.Intervening in an internal leadership struggle in the Senate, which has at times been more resistant to the former president’s dictates and where members are fiercely protective of their independence, would signal Mr. Trump’s determination to dominate the legislative branch in his second term. The majority leader controls the Senate floor, including what proposals and nominees receive votes — and when.Mr. Trump has already indicated his desire to hold a tighter rein on the Senate in the days since he was elected. He posted an ultimatum on social media on Sunday in which he demanded that any new Senate leader cooperate in his efforts to circumvent the confirmation process by calling recesses during which he could appoint personnel without winning Senate approval. All three candidates vying to lead the Senate next year quickly promised to speed through his choices.Republican senators and senators-elect are set to vote by secret ballot on Wednesday on who should serve as majority leader in the next Congress. Mr. Thune, an establishment Republican who like Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the current leader, is reviled by some on the MAGA right, is competing against Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Senators Vying to Be G.O.P. Leader Vow to Quickly Confirm Trump Nominees

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      Senators Rick Scott, John Thune and John Cornyn quickly responded to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s demand on social media, the latest example of his influence over Republican lawmakers.Senators vying to become the next leader of the Republican conference pledged on Sunday to quickly push through President-elect Donald J. Trump’s appointees after he demanded on social media that they do so.Senator Rick Scott of Florida was the first to make such a vow in an attempt to curry favor with Mr. Trump. Mr. Scott quickly picked up the endorsement of one of the president-elect’s biggest backers, the billionaire Elon Musk.Not to be outdone, Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who is considered a front-runner in the race, released a statement saying that he, too, would push to swiftly staff Mr. Trump’s administration.“One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we’ve been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,” Mr. Thune said.Senator John Cornyn of Texas was not far behind.“It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump’s cabinet appointments,” he wrote on social media on Sunday. “If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent. Additionally, the Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.”Mr. Cornyn’s staff pointed out that he had already been advocating for quick approval of Mr. Trump’s nominees.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Expecting Clemency From Trump, Jan. 6 Defendant Requests Sentencing Delay

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      A federal judge promptly denied Christopher Carnell’s request, which was filed hours after President Donald J. Trump won re-election.A North Carolina man who participated in the 2021 Capitol insurrection requested on Wednesday to have his sentencing delayed because he expects President-elect Donald J. Trump to grant Jan. 6 defendants like him clemency, court records show.The request from the man, Christopher Carnell, 22, of Cary, N.C., was filed hours after Mr. Trump defeated Kamala Harris, and it was promptly denied by Judge Beryl A. Howell of U.S. District Court in Washington, according to court records.In February, Mr. Carnell was convicted of felony obstruction and four misdemeanors for his participation in the insurrection, which included entering the United States Capitol, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Mr. Carnell, who was 18 at the time of the riot, is scheduled to appear in court on Friday so that prosecutors and the defense “can present status arguments,” according to court records.“As of today,” Mr. Carnell’s lawyer, Marina Medvin, wrote, “Mr. Carnell is now awaiting further information from the Office of the President-elect regarding the timing and expected scope of clemency actions relevant to his case.”While campaigning, Mr. Trump repeatedly said that he would pardon people facing charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. Ms Medvin wrote that her client “is expecting to be relieved of the criminal prosecution that he is currently facing when the new administration takes office.”Mr. Carnell entered the Capitol with David Worth Bowman, 23, of Raleigh, N.C. The two men climbed through the scaffolding on the northwest side of the Capitol, entered the building and discussed, photographed and shared images of documents taken off a senator’s desk, prosecutors said.Both men were found guilty of felony obstruction and several misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.Ms. Medvin did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington also did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.A lawyer for Mr. Bowman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday. He is also to be sentenced on Friday.A courtroom deputy for Judge Howell did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment about her decision to deny the delay request. No explanation for the denial of the delay request was immediately accessible in court records.Nearly 1,000 “defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on Jan. 6,” prosecutors said earlier this year. Mr. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2025.Sheelagh McNeill More

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      Alsobrooks Defeats Hogan in Maryland, Keeping a Blue-State Senate Seat

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      Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic Prince George’s County executive, has easily defeated former Gov. Larry Hogan to become Maryland’s first Black senator, according to The Associated Press, holding a crucial seat for her party as it grasps to keep the Senate majority.The victory was an important win for Democrats in the first competitive Senate race in deep-blue Maryland in decades.Ms. Alsobrooks, 53, the top official in a majority-Black Maryland county in the D.C. suburbs, will become only the second woman to represent the state in the Senate.Maryland’s congressional delegation is currently all male. Ms. Alsobrooks will succeed Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, who is retiring after three terms at the age of 81.Along with Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who has also won her Senate bid, Ms. Alsobrooks will be part of the first pair of Black female senators to serve in the chamber at the same time. They will be the fourth and fifth Black women to serve there in history, after Carol Moseley Braun, Kamala Harris and Laphonza Butler.Ms. Alsobrooks said her top priority in office would be working to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, and pursuing legislation to try to create economic opportunity for Marylanders.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Republicans Make Early Gain in Push for Control of the Senate

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      Senate Republicans picked up a Senate seat in West Virginia on Tuesday night, winning an expected victory that put them just one seat away from seizing control of the chamber from Democrats after four years.Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia easily won the slot opened up by the retirement of Senator Joe Manchin III, who served most of his career in the Senate as a Democrat before becoming an independent earlier this year. The gain cut into the thin 51-to-49 majority held by Democrats and left Republicans within clear striking distance, though multiple races were yet to be decided.In Indiana, Representative Jim Banks, a Republican and former leader of a House conservative faction, was easily elected to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Senator Mike Braun, a Republican who ran for governor and won. Mr. Banks was considered a rising star in the House but decided to try to join the Senate after he lost an internal G.O.P. election for a leadership post.Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who is seeking to become the Republican Senate leader, was also re-elected, overcoming a Democratic challenge.In Vermont, Senator Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old independent and former presidential candidate aligned with Democrats, was elected to a fourth term.Democrats were always going to be hard-pressed to hold on to their majority, since they were defending many seats in red and swing states. But they continued to hold out hope that they could prevail if they could run the table and defend their embattled incumbents in states beyond West Virginia or score an upset and knock off a Republican incumbent.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares175 Views

      in Elections

      Judge Allows Unusual G.O.P. Strategy to Pump Money Into Senate Races

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      Democrats had claimed that the advertising strategy may have violated federal election laws establishing strict limits on spending by national party committees to aid individual candidates.A federal judge ruled on Friday that Senate Republicans may continue to pump tens of millions of dollars into key swing state races in the final days of the 2024 campaign by employing an unusual advertising strategy that Democrats had claimed was potentially illegal.By reclassifying campaign ads as fund-raising appeals, Republicans have been able to avoid strict limits Congress has placed on spending by national party committees to aid individual candidates, helping to offset a significant fund-raising deficit they face in states with critical Senate races, such as Arizona and Pennsylvania.House Democrats’ campaign arm sued the Federal Election Commission for failing to stop the Republicans and sought to either ban the practice or clear the way to use it themselves.But Judge Randolph D. Moss, of the U.S. District Court in Washington, wrote Friday that he was “unpersuaded” to outlaw a practice that the commission had not. He said Democratic and Republican campaign committees — those that support Senate and House candidates — are “all on an even playing field” and the lack of action taken by the Federal Election Commission had not tilted it.His ruling could give Republicans a last-minute boost in the fierce contest for the Senate, where they are favored to pick up the one or two seats they need to regain control of the chamber, but where polls show that several races are close.Sean Cooksey, the Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission, also welcomed the ruling. “This is a huge win for the rule of law and political speech!” he wrote on social media.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Vulnerable Senate Democrat Promotes Trump Ties in New Ad

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      Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, distances himself from the Biden administration and highlights his support of certain Trump administration policies in a new TV campaign ad that aired in parts of the state on Friday, signaling a last-minute appeal to the former president’s supporters in a crucial battleground state.In the ad, two voters — a married couple made up of a Republican and a Democrat in Old Forge, Pa. — praise Mr. Casey as an independent lawmaker, saying that he “bucked Biden to protect fracking and he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China.”The spot aired nearly 100 times in Pennsylvania on Friday, frequently in heavily Republican areas such as Johnstown and Altoona, according to data provided by the tracking firm AdImpact.The Trump campaign quickly seized on Mr. Casey’s references to Mr. Trump in the commercial, attacking the senator on social media for “desperately trying to embrace President Trump” and saying he was “a shill for Kamala’s deranged, radical left agenda.”An official with Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign in Pennsylvania said that Ms. Harris supports fracking, and that the ad was not an indication that Mr. Casey was separating himself from the vice president. When asked if Mr. Casey’s campaign had informed the Harris campaign about the ad before it aired, the official said that he would not discuss internal communications between the two campaigns.Maddy McDaniel, a spokeswoman for Mr. Casey, said that the senator “always does what’s right for Pennsylvania, regardless of party,” and that “he stands with Pennsylvanians and doesn’t care what any politician has to say about it.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More