"Trump chooses Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA director"
As the dust has begun to clear from this recent election, it has started to become more clear who will be the leaders of the country for the next four years. It was announced today that President-Elect Donald Trump plans to choose Alabama senator Jeff Sessions as his Attorney General. Sessions is a hard-line conservative known for his controversial stance on immigration, which includes support of Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the US. Sessions is already on Trump’s transition team, and was one of his close advisors during the election process, so it comes as no surprise Trump is a fan of him.
Connection: We recently studied the executive branch, which the Justice Department, headed by the Attorney General, is a part of.
Questions:
-What do you think of this appointment?
-Do you think this Session’s conservative stances be reflected across the rest of Trump’s cabinet?
-How far to the right do you think Trump will be able to take his policy before being pulled back by the Republican establishment?
With more information coming out about president-elect Trump's possible cabinet members/advisers, I am becoming more and more terrified of a Trump presidency. Many of Trump's new picks, including Jeff Sessions, are not only far-right conservatives, but also racist and intolerant. For instance, Steve Bannon, Trump's pick for White House Chief Strategist has been known to say/post racist and anti-Semitic comments on his website. Trump seems to be surrounding himself with far-right conservatives which is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI agree Trump's cabinet members are making the next four years look scary. They are all conservative and have extreme views both socially and politically. Americans have been tense recently due to racial divides, and president-elect Trump and his cabinet will only worsen this. I believe his cabinet members will negatively influence our country.
DeleteI agree with Priya and Julia's statements. With Trump electing such right-winged conservatives, I worry for the state of our country. Within the last decade or so, America has made major strides to become more progressive and inclusive, however, I worry that during the next four years, we may begin to take strides in the wrong direction. I believe that minorities will be the ones who suffer the most from his presidency. Trump;s cabinet member are only going to encourage this type of discrimination and backwards thinking.
DeleteI find it interesting that a divide has emerged since his election in the conservative extremism of Trump's policies and the individuals he has chosen (or at least looked into) to appoint to positions in his administration. He has moved somewhat to the left since his election in regards to specific policies that he supported/opposed his entire campaign. For example, Trump has said he plans to leave some parts of Obamacare, while on the campaign trail he said he planned to completely repeal it (with one exception when Trump said several months ago that he liked some of Obamacare and then later redacted that statement in response to backlash). In addition, Trump has said the U.S.-Mexico wall would be part "fence." While this is ambiguous to what he specifically means by "fence" or how much of the wall would be a fence, it is clear he has (at least somewhat) begun to pull back on some of his more conservative policies. However, this move to the left has been contrasted to the likely nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General and the appointment of Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist. It will be interesting to see if a Trump administration will be more or less conservative than the public expects. Until the news regarding the nomination of Jeff Sessions came out, I expected it to be less conservative; now, I am not so sure.
ReplyDeleteThe appointment of Jeff Sessions could be the beginning of a disappointing next four years under president-elect Donald Trump. The appointment of Jeff Sessions could prove to be a huge problem for immigrants looking to live in the United States. Jeff Session conservative views are similar to those of Donald Trump and with these two in positions of power could lead to immigrants facing huge number of obstacles.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the appointment of Jeff Sessions is extremely disappointing and concerning. Trump has been appointing more and more hard-line conservatives into his cabinet which serves as a huge concern for the future of the country and what it stands for. Seeing as Congress already has a Republican majority, Trumps presidency has appointed more and more Republicans into his cabinet and as we may see, the Supreme Court.
DeleteAs Justin mentioned, Republicans already have a majority in Congress, and there is a potential that they may overtake the Supreme Court as well. As Trump elects more and more conservatives to his cabinet, we will likely see a huge shift right in the decisions made throughout the entire government. Jeff Sessions is just one extreme example of how the government will change under Trump. Many democrats are optimistic that any changes left made under Trump can be limited and reversed in two years during the next election. However, this is not as truthful as we like to believe. Trump will still have two more years in office after than and even if the Democrats gain power in Congress, he still will have significant power in making national decisions. Also, Trump will likely be able to appoint someone to the Supreme Court during his time in office, someone who will share his values. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, so this could have a long lasting impact on the decisions made in the US. Overall, with the election of Donald Trump and his appointment of left-leaning cabinet members, we may see a far-reaching shift in the government towards being more conservative.
DeleteMany who were hopeful that Trump's liberal side might come out during his presidency, considering that he was once a Democrat. However, the choice of extreme conservative Jeff Sessions as attorney general suggests that Trump will be leading the country with a more conservative faculty around him. Personally, I feel as though my values and beliefs are going to be extremely underrepresented in the next four years. Before Sessions, many said that Trump is only a single person and doesn't have enough power to change anything too much. I fear most for the safety and wellbeing of immigrants and refugees, who may not be able to seek a better life in the US in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sydney because not only will he be able to have a right-winged executive branch, but the legislative branch is majority republican, and he has the power to appoint a conservative judge too, if he chooses. Conservatives will have control of the government for at least the next two year, and presidents get the most policy passed within the first couple years of their presidency. So it is very likely for policy to be passed that affects underrepresented groups such as women and minorities
DeleteAdding on to what Sydney said, not only does Trump have the power to appoint these right wing conservatives, the Senate (which is controlled by the Republicans) has the power to confirm these decisions. Because of the recent Republican control of both the White House and Congress, I believe many people in this country will be underrepresented during this next candidacy. Unless Trump's views on controversy issues begin to change, it appears as if for the next four years our country will be lead by conservative ideals.
DeleteAlthough Trump's pick of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General is concerning, it is not a surprise. Like Drew said, Sessions served as one of Trump's closest advisers throughout his campaign, as well as Sessions is a long time member of the Senate, with beliefs that correlate with those of Trump. We will have to wait and see for what the new presidency will bring with all of the new far- right cabinet members. It will be to see how hard of a stance Trump will actually take on immigration, despite his claims, and new Attorney General.
ReplyDeleteI think Trump's cabinet will be as purely conservative and Republican as it could possibly ever be. Although he may have won the electoral vote, he needs to appeal to the Republican Congress people who are already in the House and the Senate. These politicians are more old school Republican, so Trump will need to put some people in who appeal to their values instead of just the extreme right. He also needs to put in people who will at least put up the impression that he is following up on his, lofty and fairly ridiculous,campaign promises.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not agree with some of his cabinet picks, I do believe he will have no problem getting along with the Republican Party and Congress since many of picks have been approved by them. Also, due to their party allegiance alone, I do not see much internal conflict in the future.
DeleteI think that the conservative stances held by Jeff Sessions can be expected to be seen across the rest of Trump's cabinet members. He will appoint more conservative members into his cabinet in an attempt to prove that he is a true Republican. Given his questionable political record, he will try to balance out his inexperience and doubt as a true Republican by surrounding himself with far-right Republicans and those who are more experienced than he is.
ReplyDeleteI think Jeff Sessions appointment is not really a surprise. Trump has made it clear that he will be surrounding him self with very conservative people based on the rest of his nominations. What bothered me most about the article was that when addressing Session's racist and homophobic comments, Republican National Committee spokesman Spicer said it didn't matter what the viewpoints of the nominees were because they would be serving Trump/Pence. I think that is completely false because the positions these people are being nominated for are very powerful; their viewpoints will certainly have an effect. Their ideologies will be even more impactful considering they are similar to Trumps'. Given that one of the spokesman of the Republican party is not concerned by how far right the cabinet is becoming, I think Trump will be able to go pretty far before being pulled back by the less conservative Republicans.
ReplyDeleteI think that Trump's appointment of Jeff Sessions is not so shocking in the sense that Trump himself may not be so radical, but Sessions' extreme conservative views will appeal to those who are likeminded extremists. I personally think that Sessions is a not the best choice for attorney general because of his truly reactionary beliefs, which could possibly have negative effects on relations within the country.
ReplyDeleteTrump's nomination marked the rise of a large number of somewhat liberal Republicans that did not support him. The appointment of Sessions as Attorney General could be very controversial in Congress, even with a Republican majority. Trump will, in summation, not be able to take the political paradigm much further right, at least in the way of appointments.
ReplyDeleteI find it to be no surprise that Trump elected Sessions as his Attorney General, and I do believe that conservative stances like his will be reflected across Trump's cabinet. As frustrating as it may be for any liberal, it makes sense why Trump is electing the people he is. Any president would do what he is doing, no president wants to have a cabinet whose ideas don't coincide with there own.
ReplyDelete