Dumb and Crazy...

Trump packing government with Fox News stars and loyal companions

The president, newly confident in the job, is putting high value on personal chemistry as he restocks his Cabinet.

By MATTHEW NUSSBAUM

Personal chemistry and Fox News panache can take you a long way with President Donald Trump.

That may have once meant handwritten notes and surprise phone calls to praise a performance. But now, for some, it means positions of power at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

A weeks-long administration shake-up, which on Wednesday saw the ouster of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, has been marked by the elevation of figures who enjoy warm personal chemistry with Trump or are regular defenders of the president on his favorite television network — or both.

“Now that he’s been in the job for over a year and has his sea legs, he feels much more confident to bring in people that he likes and that he trusts,” said Ron Bonjean, who served as a communications adviser to Trump’s transition team and helped guide Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch through confirmation process. “Some personnel choices don’t have as much experience as previous administration officials have had, but that’s because Trump feels comfortable with them, likes them and thinks that they can do the job and is willing to take a chance on them.”

Trump’s selection Wednesday of White House physician Ronny Jackson to lead the VA was just the latest example. Jackson has never led a large organization, but he enjoys a warm relationship with Trump and famously defended the president’s health at length in the White House briefing room, saying he had “incredibly good genes.”

His nomination follows Trump’s selection of CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow to be his top economic adviser, Fox News pundit and former UN ambassador John Bolton as his national security adviser, and CIA director Mike Pompeo, who regularly travelled to the White House to deliver the daily briefing in person, to be secretary of state. Among the finalists for the VA nod was Pete Hegseth, another prominent Fox News pundit.

The moves show Trump is seizing on his natural inclination to surround himself with those he’s already comfortable with, even if their qualifications appear lacking. He has, for example, floated his personal pilot to lead the Federal Aviation Administration and placed his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a real estate executive, in charge of forging peace in the Middle East.

“I'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want,” Trump quipped recently after removing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The television personalities bring another skill Trump values: brevity. The ability to tick through need-to-know points in a straightforward way — delivering soundbites, essentially — works well on Fox & Friends and is effective in the Oval Office. Trump has bristled at aides who have taken a more pedantic approach, like H.R. McMaster, the ousted national security adviser.

Trump is fond of utilizing aides whose positions do not usually involve television appearances as regular surrogates. The legislative affairs director, Marc Short, has become something of a regular on cable news and Sunday shows.

“The cherry on top is these guys are good communicators,” said one former White House official. “He sees the importance of the ability of officials to communicate publicly in 2018. It has grown into an outsized importance.”

“If he had his way he would have a Cabinet full of people who, when the situation called for it, he could send them on TV and trust them to do a good job out there,” the former official added.

Trump’s affinity for the familiar certainly has pitfalls. While Kudlow and Bolton do not require Senate confirmation, Pompeo and Jackson will. Already, Jackson seems to be attracting wariness from senators about his experience.

“I look forward to meeting Admiral Jackson and learning more about him,” Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a tepid statement Wednesday evening.

“I look forward to meeting Admiral Jackson soon and seeing if he is up to the job,” echoed Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the top Democrat on the committee.