The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog.

Nebraska Senator Roman Hruska once defended Richard Nixon’s ultimately failed nomination of G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court by stating, “Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they?” Some of those whom Donald Trump has named for his incoming administration go well beyond mediocre. They are unfit to the point of recklessness.

Take Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. Please. This pick for Attorney General has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for possible violation of sex trafficking laws and use of illicit drugs. Known more for his outrageous antics than any responsible leadership, he has often called for demolishing the Justice Department, the CIA and other agencies overseeing justice. A friend who knows him suggested that the nomination could be a false flag, orchestrated to make an alternative terrible choice appear less awful. Clearly, resigning his seat now stops the House from voting to censure or expel him. But I have doubts. Trump also plans to lard DOJ with his personal team of criminal defense attorneys. This nomination may be the most jaw-dropping of Trump’s selections, but it is not alone.

Trump’s choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has no large organization administrative experience other than serving two tours of duty with the Army National Guard. Trump likely picked him because he looked good on TV defending him, as a Fox commentator and most recently as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend. He has written a book attacking “woke” generals and the military establishment. He looks with disdain on NATO, with whom any Defense Secretary must collaborate. This resume proclaims him manifestly unfit to lead the nation and the world through the global crises we face. ( Check out Bill Kristol’s knowledgeable assessment.)

With no scientific experience, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. atop the Department of Health and Human Services is an ominous development. A prominent anti-vaxxer and conspiracy promoter, he has said he wants to overhaul the public health system, including the “corrupt” Food and Drug administration, the Center for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health. He opposes fluoridation of water and advocates less restrictions on unvaccinated kids in schools. Candidate Trump has promised that RFK, Jr. could “go wild on health,” “go wild on the food” and “go wild on medicines.” This is scary stuff.

Immigration policies, which surely do need a thoughtful overhaul, will be an important part of the portfolio of Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning, the reprehensible white nationalist Stephen Miller. Trump’s “Border Czar” designate is Tom Homan, the family separation official in Trump One who has already said that, if some members of the family of undocumented immigrants are legal, they are free to leave with the deported members if they don’t want to break up their families. Private prison companies are already salivating over the business they expect to reap from building huge detention centers.

John Ratcliffe, who as Director of National Intelligence in Trump One got a deserved reputation for politicizing the office, is slated to be head of the CIA. Tulsi Gabbard, who was picked for his old job as DNI, has little to no relevant experience. She’ll be overseeing 18 agencies, including the CIA and FBI, and does not inspire confidence either at home or abroad. She has bonded with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and blames the Ukrainian war not on Russian invasion but on the expansion of NATO. And South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, runner up as Trump’s V.P. choice, is even more out of her league as head of Homeland Security. Maybe she’ll give everyone a dog for protection.

Are you ready for former NY Congressman Lee Zeldin as head of the EPA, with explicit directions to roll back or eliminate environmental regulations deemed potentially to interfere with business growth? Ready for a world of “unintended” consequences?

Don’t get me started on Elon Musk, who is likely to be a prime beneficiary of unbridled de-regulatory behavior. Musk seems to think of himself as a shadow president and may well become one. What? No post for pillow man Mike Lindell?

And this is only the beginning. About the most credible selection is Florida Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State. The three-term Senator served as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and was a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations. He takes a realistic view of the dangers of China, Russia and Iran. Campaign manager Susie Wiles, the Florida political operative who has been with Trump in all his campaigns, brings managerial experience to her Chief of Staff role. Given the history of others in that position, I don’t know how long she’ll last. If she falters, there’s always loyal deputy chief-of-staff-to-be Dan Scavino, who handled Trump communications in 2024 and started out with him as a 16-year-old caddy in 1990 and then advanced to managing Trump’s Hudson Valley Golf Club.

There’s a lot more, including diplomacy-inexperienced Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador and former Governor Mike Huckabee, who passionately believes in the rapture and Armageddon, as ambassador to Israel. (How many Israelis and Palestinians know about this part of his End-of-Times agenda?)

Frighteningly, every day brings another shocking announcement. One can only hope that the Senate, under new Majority Leader John Thune, will assert its right and responsibility to approve Trump’s nominees and not bow to Trump’s announced strategy of seeking to make recess appointments, thereby circumventing Congressional scrutiny through a conventional confirmation process.

Trump clearly sees himself as a king, or dictator, naming to his administration inadequate people whose only credential is loyalty to him. His vengeance campaign has begun. His choices of people like Matt Gaetz and Robert Kennedy would be funny if they weren’t so dangerous. But they are dangerous and horrifying. I wish it were April first, but it’s November, and elections have consequences.