Donald Trump has had a notoriously difficult time keeping staff in his cabinet and White House. As of the beginning of this year, a record-breaking 65 percent of his staff has turned over. And that doesn't include the number of positions he just has opted not to fill. Per Wikipedia (I know, I know), of the approximately 4,000 positions that Trump must find people for, there are approximately 2,000 left unfilled, a number of which Trump has said he has no intention of filling.
But then there are those that he just can't get away with not filling, like Attorney General and Chief of Staff. Those positions require senate confirmation and that's just another of those pesky constitutional limits and "co-equal branches" nonsense that Donald Trump just doesn't have time for. As best as I can tell, a full 25 percent of those have an "Acting" placeholder in position rather than an actual Senate-confirmed officer, which is just the way Trump likes it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Cause you have an acting AG until you get Barr confirmed--
DONALD TRUMP: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: An acting defense secretary. An acting chief of staff. An acting interior secretary.
DONALD TRUMP. It's OK. It's easier to make moves when they're acting.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you are going to shake up--
DONALD TRUMP: Some, and some not.
MARGARET BRENNAN: --positions.
DONALD TRUMP: Some are doing a fantastic job. Really- I like acting because I can move so quickly. It gives me more flexibility.
Who cares that the Founding Fathers insisted that the Senate have the duty and responsibility to confirm these positions? Who cares that most of these people in these "acting" positions are so problematic that they probably couldn't be confirmed, even with the lapdog Republican majority? Who cares that, ONCE AGAIN, the norms and institutions that every other president manage to respect and uphold are tossed aside?
Donald Trump wants flexibility. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown no indication that he's even aware that he could hold Trump accountable. No consequences, no problems.
After all, it's not like deflecting the Mueller investigation and terrorizing women and minorities happens by itself.
