President-elect Donald Trump has thrown out the rulebook for a peaceful transfer of power, instead undetaking a “hostile takeover” of the federal government, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Having long promised to gut the federal workforce and even eliminate some departments, Trump has foregone many of the norms associated with peacefully taking office. For example, Trump hast yet to meet with the General Services Administration, which is in charge of transferring the control of federal agencies, The Post reported. His transition team also hasn’t met with counterparts at any of the federal agencies in Washington.
Trump has also taken to nominating his Cabinet from Mar-a-Lago, insisting that his controversial picks not be subjected to FBI background checks. He has also excluded the State Department and its officials from his calls with foreign leaders.
Trump’s unusual transition is rooted deep in his distrust of the current government, which he blames for leveling criminal charges against him, sources close to Trump’s transition team told The Post.
Mike David, president of the Article III Project, a nonprofit group that has defended Trump against criminal charges, told The Post that the president-elect is right not to trust “the politicized and weaponized” agencies that “hobbled his presidency the first time.”
“It’s a hostile takeover on behalf of the American people,” David said.
As promised, Trump has tapped a number of loyalists without relevant experience to their corresponding positions, including Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, TV star Mehmet Oz as the head of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and WWE founder Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education.
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