Donald Trump is hoping you won’t notice he’s trying to sneak Sheriff David Clarke into his administration
One of the biggest, if most overlooked, surprises of Donald Trump’s initial White House staff appointments is that they didn’t include Milwaukee Sheriff David A. Clarke. He had been one of the most vocal of Trump’s campaign surrogates. But he’s also highly controversial, both due to his controversial extremist record and because of his strange ties to Russia. But now it turns out Trump may have simply been waiting for the right time to sneak Clarke in the door.
There’s a new report today from Politico that says Donald Trump is considering appointing Clarke as the Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security Office of Partnership and Engagement (link). That’s a long and convoluted title for the highest ranking position Trump can sneak Clarke into without needing Senate confirmation. So now we see what Trump’s strategy appears to have been with Clarke all along.
First Trump waits a few months into the administration in the hope that fewer people will still be paying attention. Then he quietly appoints Clarke to his administration and hopes the public won’t notice or care. The notable part here is that the Trump administration is publicly floating the idea today, on a Friday afternoon when only the most political die-hards are paying attention to the news, to try to gauge how much or little pushback there is likely to be. In other words, Trump has at least some concern about making the move. If you object to Sheriff Clarke joining the Trump administration, now’s the time to make as much noise as possible. And here’s why you should object.
For one thing, Clarke is running such deplorable prison camps in Milwaukee that several people, including a baby, have died while in custody (source). If you listened to Clarke’s speech at the Republican National Convention, you know he’s an extremist who doesn’t belong anywhere near the White House. And as Palmer Report has previously reported, David A. Clarke was suspiciously in Moscow on the same day that Vladimir Putin had dinner with Michael Flynn (link). Although Congress doesn’t get to vote on Clarke’s appointment, you can call your favorite Democrats in the Senate and House at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to speak out against Clarke now, before Trump can appoint him. Contribute to Palmer Report
