Sometimes the issues go deeper into the core of DC than just the pretense games of Republicans -vs- Democrats.  Every once in a while, you see a specifically nuanced topic arise that tracks to the core of DC.  Intelligence nominations are one such topic.

Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff, appears on NBC Meet the Press to discuss the nominations made by President Trump.  Adam Schiff is the newly elected incoming senator from California and likely also heading to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Intelligence Community, the “Six Ways from Sunday” group, run every aspect of Washington DC.  Almost every politician, representative, staffer and even lobbyist, are dependent on the approval of the Intelligence Community to exist.  The IC is the proverbial eye of Sauron with full access to every facet of life in DC, including communications, emails, phone calls, text messages, all of it.  The IC operate from Penthouse Suites in the fourth branch of government.

You will notice that former Gang of Eight member Adam Schiff has disparaging commentary for every one of President Trump’s nominees, except current Gang of Eight member, Senator Marco Rubio.  The alignment is not only about UniParty, in this example the alignment is the code of Omerta that exists within the IC “oversight” group.  WATCH:

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There’s no comment or confirmation from President Trump, so take things with the proverbial grain of salt, however, what Reuters is reporting here does make a lot of sense.

According to Reuters ‘exclusive’ reporting, President Trump is considering former Acting DNI, former Ambassador to Germany, and former peace negotiator for Serbia/Kosovo, Ric Grenell for the position of Special Envoy to Ukraine. This would position Ric Grenell as the peacemaker in the center of something that is very strategically important to President Trump and the world.

Many people have wondered why we have not heard the name Ric Grenell before for any other position. If the report is accurate, this could indeed explain the void. Remember, Marco Rubio is nominated for State Dept, but Trump appears to be putting guardrails against the neocon tendencies of the Florida Senator and junior McCain.

President Trump has removed the mid-east from Rubio’s portfolio with the appointment of Steven C. Witkoff to be Special Envoy to the Middle East. That appointment stops Secretary Rubio from blocking a restart of the peace process via the Abraham Accords. If President Trump wanted to smartly keep Rubio out of the Ukraine dynamic, appointing Ric Grenell would be a solid option.

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump is considering tapping Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, to be a special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to four sources familiar with the transition plans.

Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and was acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s 2017-2021 term, would play a key role in Trump’s efforts to halt the war if he is ultimately selected for the post.

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Julie Kelly shares the following from her Twitter account:

I just spoke with John Lauro, President Trump’s attorney in the J6 case in Washington, about the nomination of Pam Bondi as the next attorney general.

“Pam is a dear friend of 35 years. She is a friend and a colleague–we grew up together in the law.

I can’t think of a better nominee for the country on every level than Pam. There is no one more honest and who cares about the rule of law more than she does. She is a true patriot and does not have a political agenda. She has core integrity that makes her one of the best attorney general nominees ever.

No other lawyer in the United States has the president’s confidence more than Pam. She cares deeply about the president and the president’s agenda. Pam will do everything lawfully to carry out that agenda.

The president trusts her legal judgement completely and totally. Pam has the president’s complete trust. And she will do what’s best for the country.

Her legal capability is first rate–she will always do the right thing and tell the president the right thing.

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This will not end well.

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Implying that Robert F Kennedy Jr is the guy in charge, is not likely to make President Donald Trump pleased.

It would have been better if Ramaswamy said, “I am impressed with the team President Trump is building to support Robert F Kennedy Jr.”  Not vice-versa.

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Boy howdy, this article by The Associated Press is very telling.

First, it’s worth remembering that in the fine print of the USMCA deal, Mexico and Canada must comply with North American parts origination for anything they want to manufacture for sale into the United States.  Meaning, all trade manufacturers must either create their component parts domestically, or purchase them from the U.S, Mexico and Canada. It’s the core point of the USMCA trade agreement.

Secondly, in an aspect exclusive to the U.S. part of the deal that President Trump and USTR Lighthizer insisted upon, if either Canada or Mexico are deemed to be non-compliant with the agreement, the USA can cancel/override any trade agreement Mexico or Canada have with another nation.  It’s a heavy accountability hammer securing the gate into the massive USA market.

In an AP report today, Mexico is scrambling to find local or North American sources of parts and components, because President Trump is set to come into office and look at USMCA compliance.  Apparently, Mexico has been using excessive amounts of Chinese component parts for goods being sent into the USA and Canada.  Now they are quickly trying to source alternatives.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has been taking a bashing lately for allegedly serving as a conduit for Chinese parts and products into North America, and officials here are afraid a re-elected Donald Trump or politically struggling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could try to leave their country out of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

Mexico’s ruling Morena party is so afraid of losing the trade deal that President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday the government has gone on a campaign to get companies to replace Chinese parts with locally made ones.

“We have a plan with the aim of substituting these imports that come from China, and producing the majority of them in Mexico, either with Mexican companies or primarily North American companies,” Sheinbaum said.

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Apparently the widely circulated rumor of Kelly Loeffler for the job was wrong; or, there was a change of plan.  Regardless, President Trump has just announced Brooke Rollins as the nominee for Secretary of Agriculture.

“From her upbringing in the small and Agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with Future Farmers of America and 4H, to her generational Family Farming background, to guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Brooke has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep Policy credentials in both Nonprofit and Government leadership at the State and National levels.”

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Brooke Rollins served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration. After leaving the administration Rollins co-founded the America First Policy Institute think tank and was the President and CEO of the organization.

Mrs Rollins will predictably play a vital role in protection and support of American farmers as President Trump confronts the global world of trade and tariffs.

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Providing the baselines so the discussion can happen in the comments.  President Trump announced his nominees for Surgeon General, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

More than likely, nominated HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr had a key voice in recommending some of these names.  Perhaps not, but RFK Jr and Elon Musk are currently living in Mar-a-Lago for a reason.  So, here’s the nominees as outlined starting with the Surgeon General.

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FDA Commissioner:

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President Trump has announced the nomination of Teamsters union favorite Lori Chavez-DeRemer for U.S. Labor Secretary. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien backed Chavez-DeRemer for the cabinet position, and the alignment with the blue-collar union base made her a natural fit.

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Look for many pro-labor Democrats to support this nomination.  Several major unions in Oregon endorsed Chavez-DeRemer’s reelection bid this year, but she lost to Democratic state Rep. Janelle Bynum in one of the most competitive house races in 2024.

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President Donald Trump has announced Scott Bessent as nominee for U.S. Treasury Secretary. The Secretary of Treasury implements tax policy, manages the nation’s debt, leads financial regulators, monitors and executes sanctions and conducts economic diplomacy. While the U.S. trade representative takes the lead on tariffs, the Treasury secretary typically plays a key role advising on that issue as well.

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Bessent (62) is a hedge Fund manager, the founder of investment firm Key Square Capital Management.  Despite supporting President Trump early, he has faced criticism for working as the CIO at George Soros’s Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015. He lives in Charleston, S.C.

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President Trump has announced the official nomination of Russ Vought for the position of OMB Director.

Russ Vought ran the Office of Management and Budgets under President Trump in the first administration, and he is now nominated to do so again.

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