Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin wants to serve in a President Trump cabinet, and wouldn't you know it, Trump says he would seriously consider it.
Palin has her eyes on the Energy Secretary slot. It is there that the one-time GOP vice presidential nominee could implement her policy of coast-to-coast oil drilling in opposition to the fossil fuel phase-out needed to save the planet. Thumbing one's nose at global warming doesn't seem to faze Trump, so maybe the stars are aligned between him and Palin.
Who else is waiting in the wings to fill environmentally-related posts in a Trump Administration?
Let your imagination run wild on the candidate's appointments, or maybe not so wild.
Trump was quoted as saying his sons would make excellent heads of the Interior Department because they were avid hunters and anglers as well as stalwart defenders of gun rights. Was this sentiment delivered "tongue-in-cheek"? You never know with Trump.
For the sake of argument, let's say he was serious about putting a nepotistic novice in charge of the nation's public lands and wide range of other natural resources. The Trump son who did not get the Interior appointment would be an ideal candidate for head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That agency after all, oversees the National Wildlife Refuge System, where hunting is allowed (unlike national parks). The son would just have to be reminded that the refuges' primary function was wildlife preservation, not a milieu for trophy hunters.
How about the Environmental Protection Agency? Why not bury the hatchet and foster party unity by appointing Texas Senator and presidential rival Ted Cruz? After all, Cruz shares Trump's avowed intention to reduce the agency to an anemic bare bones entity.
Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, a major scourge to environmental activists, would make a dandy head of the National Park Service or Bureau of Land Management. In either place, he could no doubt carry out a policy of privatizing as much public land as possible with the approval of Mr. Trump, a self-styled champion of free enterprise.
In that vein, why not nominate one of the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers to run the U.S. Forest Service? Yes, Trump was at odds with the brothers during the presidential campaign. But they hail from the same donor genre and share the same rapacious inclination to exploit natural resources no-holds- barred. If not enough timber was being harvested on federal forest land, Koch would put an end to that.
Another presidential rival, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, would be an ideal choice to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its oversight of the marine environment. He fits perfectly into Trump's scheme of things with his opposition to any costly regulations to address "naturally occurring" rising sea levels.
Finally, who would Trump select for his presidential special assistant on energy and environmental policy? That would be a tape recorder, enabling Donald J. Trump to take marching orders from Donald J. Trump -and no Senate confirmation required.