The political world is abuzz about the possibility Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, is on the outs with Donald Trump. That’s due to a not-so-deep reading of some comments by Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media and a donor and friend to Trump, on CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday.
“The White House is showing not the amount of order that we need to see. I think there’s a lot of weakness coming out of the chief of staff. I think Reince Priebus, good guy, well intentioned, but he clearly doesn’t know how the federal agencies work,” Ruddy told host Brian Stelter. “He doesn’t have a really good system. He doesn’t know how the communications flow.
Ruddy continued: “The president’s not getting the back-up he needs in the operation of the White House and sometimes the pushback he needs to have with a stronger White House counsel, that you would have with a strong White House chief of staff.”
Jonathan Swan at Axios notes that Ruddy met with the president at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, so the Newsmax chief likely gave us “a public glimpse into some of the advice Trump is getting privately.” Whether Trump would be willing to dump his chief of staff so early into his administration—remember, we’re not even a month in—will be a sign about how the new president views his time in the White House so far.
Puzder’s Problems in the Senate
Could Andy Puzder, Donald Trump’s nominee for Labor secretary, be in real trouble for confirmation? Word on Capitol Hill is that Republican senators are shying away from supporting Puzder—and that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell may not have enough votes to deliver. If that’s the case, McConnell will ask the president to withdraw the nomination rather than forcing his members to cast a vote for which they’ll be beat up by unions and others if they vote yes, and by Trump supporters if they vote no.
The CEO of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants, Puzder had liberals howling shortly after his nomination. He’s opposed to raising the minimum wage, and a series of TV ads for his restaurants that featured scantily clad women chomping on burgers have drawn the ire of feminists (not to mention some social conservatives). But these aren’t the reasons Republicans are wary of Puzder. In a context of getting tough on illegal immigration and populist wariness of special treatment for the wealthy and well-connected, GOP senators say in private they find it hard to overcome the revelation that Puzder employed an illegal immigrant as a maid and paid her in cash, paying no employer taxes at the time.
Puzder’s confirmation hearing has been delayed multiple times and is now scheduled for this Thursday. Many observers will be surprised if the hearing happens, and won’t be surprised if Puzder’s nomination is withdrawn beforehand. McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said in an email that the Senate majority leader “has spoken out publicly in support of Mr. Puzder and looks forward to his confirmation.” The White House is also standing by its nominee. “We look forward to Mr. Puzder’s hearing this week and his confirmation following the President’s Day recess,” said deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The Week Ahead: More Confirmations and Official Visits
The Trump cabinet otherwise is beginning to get installed. The Senate will vote Monday night on the confirmation of Steven Mnuchin, the former Goldman Sachs banker and hedge-fund manager, for Treasury secretary. There’s close to no doubt he’ll be easily confirmed. After that, the Senate is scheduled to immediately vote on David Shulkin for Veterans Affairs secretary, with a vote on Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick to lead the Small Business Administration, on Tuesday morning.
The president will also meet with more foreign leaders in Washington, after a fairly uneventful weekend with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will meet with Trump on Monday to discuss trade, while Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu will be at the White House on Wednesday.
Song of the Day
“Every Picture Tells a Story,” Rod Stewart
