The White House’s hard week is over and appears to have been a success. Booby traps abounded — plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong (and some did), even before the deadly aviation disaster Wednesday night.
This Friday morning, however, the final three contentious Cabinet nomination hearings are over, another contested nominee has passed out of committee, two more Cabinet posts have been confirmed, and the Office of Management and Budget funding order has been reduced to a public-relations slap-fight. In the end, the White House is primed for a series of victories — instead of the string of defeats Trump’s administration could easily have suffered.
It’s not all clear sailing. Next come the actual confirmation votes.
Earlyintheweek,theWhiteHousethrewthefederalgovernmentintoatizzywhenanOMBmemocuttheoutside-programfundingofftoabroadrangeofprogramsacrosstheworld.Theordergeneratedalotofexcitement(includingrighthere),butwasoverlyvagueandallowedroomforpanicked(andpartisan)administratorsandbureaucratstooverreact,shuttingdownMedicaidportalsandotherimportantgovernmentfunctionsnevermeanttobeto
