Another Bad Sign
I’m sorry for repeating myself, but sometimes it seems Republicans just can’t get out of their own way. Lately, I’ve pointed at Congress for that. But now we hear that even when Congress is ready to help the Trump 2.0 Administration succeed…another road block.
Confirmation hearings are beginning this week for cabinet-level nominees made by the incoming president. It’s important to get the team on board quickly; recall the first time Mr. Trump held the office, the last member of his original cabinet was not confirmed until June. But apparently the confirmation hearings for agriculture secretary nominee Brooke Rollins have had to be postponed.
All nominees have to have background checks done on them by federal authorities; it’s standard stuff, and essentially a formality. Should especially be easy for someone like Ms. Rollins, who served in the first Trump Administration and had White House access. But for whatever reason, the paperwork necessary to start such a background check had not been turned in in a timely manner, so the confirmation hearing had to be postponed.
I obviously have no idea where the fault lies, or who dropped the ball—but seriously?
We are two years behind getting the optimistically named “five year farm bill” through Congress, leading to hardship for producers. We have a president who is publicly considering tariffs as a way to get trading partners to act fairly—tariffs which often initially hurt farmers since their goods are perishable and can’t just sit for months in a warehouse. And the immigration issue could adversely affect processing plants and harvests.
In short, if we ever needed an ag secretary to hit the ground running on day one, this is the time.
My guess is that once this situation was first made public, the paperwork scramble was on and things are on path by now.
But again—seriously?
