Inside D.C.

Talk to us, Mr. President

President Trump was recently asked to grade his administration on its first 40 days in office.  He gave his team an “A” for accomplishments, and a “C” or “C+” on communications.  I can’t argue with the accomplishments grade; that communications grade may be a little generous.

Where the White House could do a much better job of communicating is to explain the status and progress of the presidential nomination process.  Names are announced, and the communications office is distracted by one bright shiny thing or another, and no further information on the status of those nominations is forthcoming.  In Washington, DC, if there’s a lack of information, people make things up, forcing the administration to spend valuable communications efforts putting out fires instead of shaping the messages the public hears.

A good example is the status of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and his road to the USDA secretary’s office.  It’s going on six weeks since Perdue was nominated – perhaps the most popular, least controversial of all Trump’s cabinet picks – yet the Senate Agriculture Committee hasn’t scheduled Perdue’s confirmation hearing.  Both committee chair Sen. Pat Roberts (R, KS) and Sen. David Perdue (R, GA), the nominee’s cousin, affirm the nomination is on track.  This is a message we should hear from the White House, not friends and family of the nominee.

The committee isn’t to blame.  It can’t schedule a hearing until Perdue’s paperwork – FBI background check, ethics review, financial disclosure – is formally transmitted to the committee.  How long could it take to package that package?  We’re talking about a two-term governor who’s survived southern politics and media scrutiny inherent in statewide political campaigns.  If there’s a skeleton, it would have been unearthed by now.

Word is Perdue’s paperwork will be formally conveyed to Roberts’ committee “next week.” I hope so.

Another information gap is progress on who may be the next FDA commissioner.  No matter the federal agency charged with regulating the safety of 70-80% of the food we eat and reviewing/approving life-saving drugs and medical devices is a ship without a captain, some of the names being speculated upon are outright outrageous, including an investment fund manager.  Give us the straight story; spare us the pain, sir.

Then there are the 500 or so subcabinet jobs to be filled and confirmed by the Senate.  These are the deputy, under and assistant secretaries of the various departments whose job it is to administer programs and deliver citizen services.  Trump implied he may leave some of these jobs vacant as part of his “drain the swamp,” reduce federal employment campaigns.  That would be a serious mistake akin to playing the Superbowl with a fine quarterback, but no receivers, blockers or tackles.

The White House needs to move away from the “fake news,” adversarial relationship with the media and use the press for what it was intended – to deliver information.  Hiding, obfuscating, marginalizing or outright ignoring the press or individual members thereof engenders one thing – ugly coverage and, eventually, a public image which begins to erode.  Trust me, I was one of them