Trump Cabinet Picks: Pawns to Sacrifice

There are few moves in the game of chess more exciting than sacrifice. This signature maneuver occurs when one player deliberately gives up a piece to achieve a larger goal.

Sacrifices are usually part of a combination of moves that result in a better or more favorable position for the player performing them. One of the most common types of sacrifices occurs in the opening, when a participant decides to offer a pawn to gain an advantage.

All of this begs the question: Will US President-elect Donald Trump sacrifice one or more of his controversial Cabinet picks as pawns for a more generous reward in the future?

Trump’s transition team has sent shockwaves through Washington, Wall Street and beyond with troubling picks for key government positions.

The role of defense secretary, overseeing a $900 billion budget and multiple global conflicts, goes to Fox News anchor and former Army veteran Pete Hegseth; former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will become the nation’s intelligence czar as Director of National Intelligence; Robert Kennedy Jr. selected to lead Health and Human Services; and Congressman Matt Gaetz (now sacrificed) to oversee the Justice Department.

Each of them is burdened with mountains of baggage that threaten their ability to effectively lead soldiers, spies, lawyers and medical professionals. Moreover, each of them is diametrically opposed to the very mission of the respective agency they were chosen to lead. Collectively, they pose a clear and present threat to the security and health of the republic as they vie for a place at the head of the powerful and influential bodies that govern the country.

Since the elections became public, chaos has already begun. Shares of multinational vaccine makers fell sharply after RFK Jr.’s nomination. Gatz’s choice before leaving pitted Republicans against Republicans. The intelligence and defense communities are shocked by the Gabbard and Hesgate nods. Movements inexplicable to the naked eye, but no doubt designed to serve a much greater purpose.

In any new administration, presidents often gauge the temperature of the political environment to gauge the limits of their newfound power. George W. Bush did so by initially nominating his White House lawyer Harriet Meyers to the Supreme Court, and Barack Obama was particularly aggressive in floating the idea of ​​nominating Susan Rice for Secretary of State. In both cases, everyone hit the proverbial wall before deciding on a different course of action.

Trump, now unencumbered by the specter of federal prosecution and emboldened by unqualified immunity granted by the Supreme Court, is also exploring the depths of his presidential power. However, like Obama and Bush, Trump has already reached a dead end. But unlike his predecessors, it is unlikely that the president-elect will correct course.

The candidate performs a “kamikaze mission”

However, each of the remaining options still carries enormous risk, even though there are no more campaigns left. Moreover, each candidate’s loyalty remains solely with Trump, not with the party, not with the members of the Senate, and certainly not with its decorum, traditions and standards.

Perhaps this is precisely what is important for Trump. Each random candidate is called upon to push the norms of political excellence to the brink. Each Manchurian candidate is tasked with weakening the independent branch of government (and beyond), one blow at a time – all as part of a kamikaze mission to destroy the system from within.

One or two may eventually pass, but none like former Congressman Gaetz will ultimately survive. After all, in chess, sacrifices are useful in the endgame, and here the endgame for Trump is to become more powerful, more influential than the system itself.

However, to achieve this goal, he must destabilize the foundations of democracy. Attack the system of checks and balances, law and order, and ultimately the very protections that underlie its strength.

Ironically, the steps Trump is taking now are prophetic; they were set forth in detail by one of America’s greatest enemies. The late Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev declared: “We will take America without firing a shot… we will bury you! We don’t have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within.”

Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet prime minister and first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, speaks to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, 1960 (AP Photo/File)

These haunting words have returned with a vengeance, and they are not perpetrated by an external enemy, but from within. A Putin supporter who seeks to undermine the country’s intelligence apparatus. The most ardent anti-vaxxer has been sent to destabilize the government’s health care ecosystem. Until recently, an accused sex trafficker intended to paralyze the administration of justice. Finally, to the suspected white nationalist who will turn the world’s most advanced fighting machine against himself.

Trump’s destructive impulses have now been unleashed, the remnants of a system that “harassed” him, “unlawfully attacked” him, and sought to imprison him for the cavalcade of misdeeds he seeks to overthrow. This brazen attack is Trump’s vile retaliation for holding him accountable to democracy.

The aggressive opening salvos of an all-powerful, vengeful ruler seeking to eradicate this great experiment. The system of checks and balances is now faltering, and the only restraining force left for the future most powerful man in the world is within his own party. They have already shown a willingness to stand up to their leader, but it remains unclear whether that courage will continue.

Like moves on a chessboard, the president-elect started with four pawns and one of them has already been sacrificed, but even more ominous is the possibility that Gatz’s departure will lead to the emergence of an even more dangerous candidate who will actually achieve Trump’s ultimate goal. Checkmate.

Eric Ham is a best-selling author and former US Congressional staffer. He has written for TheHill.com and The Washington Diplomat. He resides in Washington, DC.