A list of potential Trump appointees?
The fact that this list went to Buzzfeed and TPM FIRST screams major questions about
its validity and credibility. But here we go:
Secretary of State:
John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has expressed interest in the role
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
HELL NO to Corker and Haass. Sessions needs to stay in the Senate. We need him there. I don’t see Newt there at all. Of this list, Bolton makes the most sense. Lefties went batty over him when Bush tried to get him confirmed as UN ambassador.
Treasury Secretary:
Steve Mnunchin, Goldman banker and Trump finance chair
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, though he said he would not be interested
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the House Financial Services committee
Businessman Carl Icahn
HELL NO to Mnunchin or Dimon. No more Wall Street cockroaches. I could live with Hensarling or Icahn. Hopefully, there are other candidates out there.
Secretary of Defense:
Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Stephen Hadley, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs under the George W. Bush Administration
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO)
Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
No hell noes here. Not real thrilled with Hadley, Kyl, or Talent. Again, I’d like to see Sessions stay in the Senate. We need him there. Hunter is a Marine Corps combat vet and Flynn is solid. I could live with either of those two.
Attorney General:
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, pegged as top contender by Politico
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Pam Bondi, Attorney General of Florida
THIS is a good list. (Except for Christie. Nothing for him. Not even Oval Office toilet cleaner.) I could very well live with any of the other three. 
Secretary of the Interior:
Forrest Lucas, oilman
Jan Brewer, former Arizona governor
Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma
Robert Grady, venture capitalist
Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oilman
Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
Donald Trump Jr. reportedly has interest in the job
Not a big fan of this department. I think Lummis or even Palin would be interesting choices. Palin would definitely drive the right people batty. (Hopefully there are other candidates out there.)
Secretary of Agriculture:
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback
Chuck Conner, CEO National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
Dave Heineman, former Governor of Nebraska
Sid Miller, Texas’ Secretary of Agriculture
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue
Mike McCloskey, major dairy executive from Indiana
Bruce Rastetter, major GOP donor in Iowa
Kip Tom, farmer who ran unsuccessful Indiana congressional campaign
Don Villwock, president of Indiana Farm Bureau
Ted McKinney, director of Indiana Department of Agriculture
Again, another department that I’m not a fan of. BIG NO to Sonny Perdue. Too much of a wuss. Hopefully there are other choices.
Secretary of Commerce:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Dan DiMicco, Former Nucor CEO and Trump trade adviser
Businessman Lew Eisenberg
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA)
Former Missouri Sen. Jim Talent
Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor & Trump economic adviser
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry
Dimicco and Ross strike me as interesting. No one else does. (Maybe other choices will emerge here.)
Secretary of Labor:
Victoria Lipnic, EEOC commissioner
Don’t know enough on this one. Hopefully, I’ll learn something positive or we’ll get more choices.
Secretary of Health and Human Services:
Former New Jersey state Sen. Rich Bagger, though Politico calls the suggestion a “longer shot”
Ben Carson
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Florida Gov. Rick Scott
Carson is a slam dunk here. Scott, a former hospital exec, would be interesting. But do we want to risk the Florida governorship?
Secretary of Energy:
Venture Capitalist Robert Grady
Harold Hamm, Continental Resources CEO
Um, more choices PLEASE.
Secretary of Education:
Trump has suggested the Department of Education will be reduced, if not completely dismantled, in his administration, but that has not diminished speculation.
Ben Carson
William Evers, Hoover Institution fellow and senior advisor to Bush Administration’s Secretary of Education
Don’t know about Carson here. Evers, with his Hoover background, could be interesting. Though, more choices would be great.
Veterans Affairs:
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Again, I hate to risk a House seat. It would be great to see more choices here.
Secretary of Homeland Security:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), House Homeland Security chair
If these are the three choices — CLARKE by a long shot.
Chief of Staff:
Reince Priebus, RNC Chairman, considered top contender according to BuzzFeed and NBC
Steve Bannon, Trump’s campaign chief and executive chairman of Breitbart
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and owner of the New York Observer, was seen walking with Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, igniting speculation he might be in the running for the position under a Trump administration.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Rudy Giuliani
Reince Priebus
From this list, Bannon is the clear choice. (Where is KellyAnn Conway? She’d be a great pick, too.)
[…]Press Secretary:
Jason Miller – via CNN
Sean Spicer, RNC communications director
Big NO to Spicer. No RNC cockroaches inside the big white house.
RNC Chair:
Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager and current CNN contributor
David Bossie, Trump’s deputy campaign manager
Hopefully, there are more choices. I could live with either of these two. But Lewandowski edges out Bossie head-to-head.
[…] Environmental Protection Agency Administrator:
Myron Ebell, an official at Competitive Enterprise Institute, who has running Trump’s EPA working group
Robert Grady, venture capitalist
Joe Aiello, director, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Environmental Safety and Quality Assurance
Carol Comer, commissioner, Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Leslie Rutledge, Attorney General of Arkansas
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is VERY GOOD on environmental issues. Ebell could be a real plus here.
HHS. It and it’s subagency, the National Institutes of Health are rife with cronyism and wasteful spending….Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz has been conducting multiple investigations for months. I don’t know about Carson, but I bet Rick Scott would be the better of the two at the housecleaning that’s going to be necessary.
Jack Welch at VA. Let him fire the bottom 10 % immediately.
Secretary of Defense- Alan West
Press Secretary- Michael Savage (and Teddy)
Nothing is more important than the person who will be renegotiating trade deals. If those trade deals are done poorly it could realign the balance of world power. There is going to be a lot riding on whoever he picks for that job.