George Conway ripped into President Donald Trump on Twitter Monday morning following the departure of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who abruptly resigned Sunday night.
This leaves the United States without Cabinet secretaries at the Departments of Defense & Homeland Security, which are being managed by "acting" heads. Trump also lacks a chief of staff. Mick Mulvaney is currently filling the role of "acting" White House chief of staff.
GQ's Julia Ioffe noted that this has occurred under the guise of a national emergency.
"According to the President, we have a national emergency at our southern border," Ioffe tweeted on Sunday. "Yet, because of the President, we do not have a Secretary of Defense or a Secretary of Homeland Security."
Conway replied: "We don't really have a president."
Conway had an even harsher response to NBC's David Gura, who made the same observation as Ioffe.
"In all seriousness, the United States currently has no Secretary of Defense and no Secretary of Homeland Security," Gura wrote.
"In all seriousness, we have no competent, functioning president," quipped Conway.
Hard to argue it.
This is one heck of a reality show.
Sigh.
We have an "acting" president, some say.
People also have questions, such as how and why Trump is getting away with bypassing the confirmation process for Cabinet posts - something Article II of the Constitution mandates.
And on top of that, why Republicans continue to enable him.
The answer is simple: judges. Trump - with the aide of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) - has been filling judicial vacancies at breakneck speed, stacking the judiciary with right-wing jurists. Last week, McConnell invoked the colloquial "nuclear option" to confirm nominees with minimal floor debate.
So long as Trump continues to tap conservative judges to the bench, we can expect Republicans to appease his erratic and unconstitutional behavior.
