When the calendar clicks over to 2025, it will be the beginning of a new year filled with more apprehension and concern than any in recent memory. The chaos promised by the incoming Trump administration could cripple our country.
For comparison, even entering 2021 amid a global pandemic seemed to hold less angst. By the end of January, people and businesses had adjusted to necessary health precautions. Vaccinations promising to curtail the most severe cases were on the horizon. And a new president had been elected to office promising to return the country to stability.
Still nearly three weeks from his comeback inauguration, Donald Trump and his transition team have already re-introduced us to his circus-tent style of governing. His proposed nominees for high-ranking office have been woefully unqualified and unfit for office.
For example, Trump nominated Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general. Gaetz has no experience leading prosecutors and trying significant cases. But that lack of qualifications was not what sank Gaetz’s nomination. Instead, it was an ongoing investigation into Gaetz by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly paying women for drug-fueled sex parties including at least once with an underage girl.
Gaetz had hoped to cover up the potentially criminal and definitely immoral acts by resigning from Congress before the report was issued. That strategy almost worked as only a handful of Republican senators believed such shortcomings disqualified him from being the nation’s top cop and lead attorney.
The report did eventually leak, was subsequently released by the House Ethics Committee and turned out to be even more salacious than promised.
No other president-elect has started his administration with such turmoil. It is difficult to even imagine any other president-elect not taking a huge political hit with such an error. For example, in 1993 it seemed to be an all-encompassing scandal when President Bill Clinton’s attorney general nominee Zoe Baird was forced to withdraw because her babysitter had been an undocumented immigrant. The backlash forced his alleged second choice, federal Judge Kimba M. Wood, to back out as well, despite the legal status of her babysitter.
Yet the Gaetz fiasco has hardly phased the incoming administration.
In fact, once Gaetz withdrew, they moved on to defending other ill-suited nominees. Former Fox News host turned Department of Defense nominee, Pete Hegseth, faces allegations of alcohol misuse and abuse of women. Tulsi Gabbard, nominated to be director of national intelligence, has had close ties with brutal dictators including Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad.
These are the people charged with protecting our country from harm.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., famously anti-vaccine and with a history of addiction issues himself, has been nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Never mind that Trump likely broke laws promising Kennedy the position in exchange for his support during the election, the damage Kennedy may do in a few years might cost millions their lives or health for decades to come.
Kash Patel, nominated to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, gave testimony during Colorado’s Trump ballot-challenge case that led the trial judge to find he “was not a credible witness.” Effectively, Patel would do or say anything for Trump. The same penchant led William Webster — the only person to serve as both FBI and CIA chief — to pen opposition to Patel over his “loyalty to individuals rather than the rule of law.”
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Rather than protecting Americans from hardened criminals, Patel seems set to be the attack dog Trump unleashes on his “enemies within.” Those are the kind of actions that would make Joseph McCarthy proud. Not even his Red Scare tactics ever had the scope and reach Patel would wield in his new role.
That is before we even get to Elon Musk.
The world’s richest man has promised to help slash $2 trillion from the federal budget. He has not offered any specifics; however with programs such as Social Security, Medicare and national defense eating up large chunks of the budget, it seems logical that the cuts will need to start there.
That might come as a shock to many of Trump’s low-income supporters who rely heavily on government subsidies. Having their food stamps cut or losing access to health care could be immediate, life-threatening dangers.
Of course, the Musk-Trump alliance already seems to be on rocky footing. When Musk’s objections killed a bipartisan deal to keep the federal government open, many took the opportunity to label him “President Musk” — the real power behind the throne. Trump has reportedly bristled at such comments.
As the president-elect’s most loyal supporters have begun their own crusade against Musk over immigrant visas, it seems likely Trump will be pushed into a corner. If Musk becomes too much of a headache, he may find himself on the wrong end of a Patel investigation.
That is the reality that awaits America as the countdown to a new year commences. If it were not so disheartening and dangerous, it might almost be humorous.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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