The Sunday Subject: November 17, 2024
Donald Trump began assembling loyalists to fill top administration posts.
Trump’s nominations for Cabinet positions suggest his second term will be more radical than the first. Following conflict with Cabinet members in his first term – such as former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who called Trump a threat to the Constitution; former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who described him as “fascist” and “authoritarian”; and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who fell out with Trump after insisting on the independence of the DOJ – Trump is surrounding himself with people who will support his vision of remaking the executive branch. His nominations include Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, who was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist; former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, who has promoted Russian propaganda and cast doubt on US intelligence; and Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to run a new Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with dismantling government bureaucracy.
Republicans secured a majority in the House of Representatives, giving them a governing trifecta.
Tallies from outstanding elections showed Republicans will retain control of the House, in addition to control of the Senate, presidency, and Supreme Court. Trump is likely to have support for his far-right initiatives, which have radicalized since 2016. The President-Elect has explicitly promised a “bloody” mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, who he said are “poisoning the blood of our country,”; the persecution of his political opponents; and the purging of the “enemy within,” who he has described as “radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” He has also threatened to use the military to suppress protests.
The United States announced it will continue to send military aid to Israel amidst dire conditions in Gaza.
The Biden administration had set a 30-day deadline for Israel to increase access to humanitarian aid in Gaza, warning it would rethink its military support if Israel continued to block aid supplies from entering the besieged strip. After the deadline passed, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters the decision to continue sending weapons came as “Israel has taken a number of steps.” The UN’s aid agency for Palestinians said Israel failed to meet America’s demands for aid and that Gaza is on the brink of famine.
UN leaders and climate experts have called for an urgent overhaul of the UN climate talks process, calling COP summits “no longer fit for purpose.”
Midway through the COP29 UN climate conference in Azerbaijan, global leaders including former UN climate head Christiana Figueres and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued an open letter urging action to move away from negotiation and to implementation. The letter states that COP’s “current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity.” It comes amidst controversy surrounding this year’s COP host, Azerbaijan, which is the second petrostate in a row to host the talks. Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, told delegates that oil and gas are a “gift of God” and nations “should not be blamed” for having fossil fuel reserves. Meanwhile, the conference’s chairman, Mukhtar Babayev, is a former oil executive. Azerbaijani officials have additionally sparked concerns for allegedly using COP29 to boost investment in the country’s national oil and gas company.
