A very floppy clown shoe, as the first — and almost certainly not the last — of Our Once-and-Future Dear Leader's nominees1 for Senate-confirmable offices of the United States2 ignominiously, and rather ungracefully, withdraws before there's even a schedule for a potentially embarrassing Senate committee hearing. This leaves the rather frightening question of whether the next DoJ clown nominated will be Pennywise. Who, at least, dressed the part.
This is even worse than last time around. That (IMNSHO eminently unsuitable) individual actually went through the hearings, actually got confirmed, and actually served a whole 22 days in office! Which beat my prediction by about 75 days or so.3
It almost certainly won't be the last utter "failed nomination." I bet that some casino in Vegas already has a betting pool with multiple side bets equivalent to whether the first kickoff of the game will be run back for a touchdown. Fortunately, Teh Orange One has already telegraphed one potential replacement; if the current nominee for HHS withdraws, or fails of confirmation, or resigns quickly, there's already been mention of an eminently suitable replacement. Plus, as a bonus, Boomers and Pre-Boomers probably remember mom's demand to "eat your liver, it's good for you," so there's already an "improve public health" aspect of that nomination! Unfortunately, the appropriate accompanying wine would be subject to the promised tariffs on imported goods; nobody really likes fava beans; and if we tried to avoid import duties, extra rare is usually a poor choice with American lamb chops (which generally are best between rare and medium rare).
One wonders how many floppy clown shoes dropping will begin to echo like the heels of jackboots; we'll probably get a hint when we see who is actually nominated in Gaetz's place. For the present, though, one wonders if Herr Garbitsch is in charge of vetting nominees…
- Technically only "designees" because no nomination can actually be submitted until at earliest Congress reconvenes on 03 January 2025, and arguably not until 20 January 2025. But everyone is using the shorthand "nominee," so objecting is a lost battle; and however fond of those I've been over the years, I have to prioritize them and this one just isn't important enough. Besides, "windmills" are themselves non-fossil-fuel alternative energy, and thus disfavored by the incoming administration…
- Cf. 5 U.S.C. § 3331.
- I have witnesses to my reaction upon the announcement of his designation that he wouldn't make it past April; I had my reasons…