Photograph Source: Voice of America – Public Domain
Angry and horrified Democrats anxious to stall Donald Trump’s efforts to consolidate his second term in office are rallying their forces to defeat the President-elect’s new cabinet appointments. It makes for great theater – and even allows the defeated and downcast Democrats to feel a sense of power after being humiliated by Trump in the November election.
But the victories, such that they are, are likely to prove pyrrhic. Trump enjoys a deep bench of potential nominees for each cabinet position, and many of those that may succeed those deemed too controversial to serve could well prove to be far more consequential – and dangerous – once they are confirmed in office.
Take, for example, the ignominious withdrawal of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for the position of Attorney General. Gaetz, on his face, was manifestly unqualified for the job, lacking any experience in criminal justice, and indeed himself the target of several criminal probes, for his alleged involvement in sex trafficking, illicit drug activity and sex with an underage woman. Gaetz was a pro-Trump loyalist who first came to public attention for his successful effort to oust Rep Kevin McCarthy as the GOP House speaker back in 2021. Some House Republicans, bitter over his role in McCarthy’s demise and fearing a loss of Trump’s political momentum, were also gunning for Gaetz to withdraw. A few even joined jubilant Democrats in cheering when he did.
But it’s hardly a substantive victory. For one thing, Trump is sure to find a different role for Gaetz in his new administration, one that doesn’t require Senate confirmation. But even more importantly, Trump’s replacement nominee, Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, will likely serve his ambitions far better than Gaetz in the same role. Media outlets have tended to focus on Bondi’s past role as a vocal supporter of Trump during his 2016 campaign (she supported him in the GOP primary over fellow Floridian Sen. Marco Rubio and during his first impeachment trial and more recently, during Trump’s hush money case in New York). As with Gaetz, selecting a prominent figure in the Sunshine State reflects how important Florida has become for Trump – he just won the one–time battleground state by a whopping 14 points, solidifying its status as a Deep Red asset for Republicans moving forward. And as a high-level female appointment, Bondi also gives Trump some badly needed chops for supporting the aspirations of GOP women, offsetting charges – first leveled in 2016 – that his administration lacks senior-level diversity.
Indeed, judging from his appointments thus far, the president elect’s not likely to nominate many other women to top posts – not at the cabinet level at least. So Bondi’s sheer presence surely helps him, image-wise.
But Bondi’s no mere figurehead. What she really bring to Trump’s new administration is her fierce support for the private for-profit prison movement – which mushroomed in size during Trump’s first term in office and which is set for a massive expansion as the new president looks to expand detention facilities for millions of immigrant immigrants he plans to deport during his second term. Bondi was a top lobbyist for GEO Group, one of two companies that received millions of dollars in federal contracts after Trump took office in 2017. Under Trump, GEO and a second company Core Civic managed the detention of immigrants seeking asylum, those awaiting hearings in immigration courts, and those who have been identified for removal. According to a report by the Center for American Progress, for every 100 immigrant detainees, 32 were in GEO Group facilities, and 21 were in CoreCivic facilities. Overall, more than one-half of all private prison industry contracts were awarded to these two companies, mostly for immigrant detention.
Like most privatization arguments, the one in favor of reducing publicly-run prisons – that private entities are more efficient and less subject to corruption and abuse – turns out to be entirely disingenuous. In June 2019, the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that conditions in major private prison facilities were “unsafe and unhealthy” and violated ICE’s own standards. In fact, of the record number of immigrants that died in detention under Trump (27), 80% (or 21) died in prisons run privately for profit. The OIG singled out the GEO Group for “egregious” violations of ICE standards, including spoiled food, mold, peeling paint and unusable toilets. Other government reports have found that inmate violence is 28% higher in privately run facilities than in federally funded and managed ones.
But private prisons sure are profitable: Stock prices for the GEO Group surged in 2017 and have surged again, witn the news of Bondi’s nomination. The logic of private prisons is pernicious: they’re paid based on the number of those incarcerated, so they have an incentive to see more and more prisoners – and immigrants – locked up. But judging from their track record operating on a far smaller scale under Trump’s first administration, a massive expansion of their role in a sweeping and unprecedented detention and deportation scheme bodes extremely poorly for immigrant health and safety. If Trump’s plans are realized, even in part, we’re looking at a potential human rights disaster on the border far beyond the one so many feared during Trump’s first term
Bondi’s nomination should come as no surprise. Both GEO Group and Core Civic have enjoyed close ties to Trump and to the GOP for years. The two groups have donated millions to GOP candidates and to members of Congress responsible for funding the Department of Homeland security. They also donated substantial amounts to Trump’s 2016 Inaugural Committee and plan to do so again for his latest ascension to the White House.
In other words, naming Bondi as AG is hardly a step back for the incoming administration. In all likelihood, Trump’s team was aware that Gaetz was a long shot for the post and had Bondi in mind as AG all along. Her nomination solidifies the alliance between Trump, the private prison movement and the Florida GOP. In fact, opposite a hard-nosed anti-immigration bulldog like Tom Homan at ICE, it’s hard to imagine a more appealing public face for Trump’s upcoming mass deportation campaign.
But don’t expect the mainstream media to take note of Bondi’s role with private prisons, or a pending immigration crackdown for that matter. Not a single news article has mentioned her role with the GEO Group – possibly because the company also donates to top Democrats, just in far smaller amounts. In fact, several articles have noted that she has lobbied on behalf of the Kuwait government in support of expanded visa opportunities for Kuwait nationals, giving a highly misleading impression of how important she might be to the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. And there may be another – far more pernicious reason for the media’s silence on Bondi. The Biden administration while opposing private for profit prisons in principle has waffled on the issue. Biden’s 2021 executive order led the Federal Bureau of Prisons to cancel government contracts for such prisons – but the order bypassed the US Marshall’s service, the very agency responsible for immigration detention. In other words, Democrats for all their fulminations against Trump on immigration, may be far more compromised on this issue than they appear.
The upshot? Canceling Trump’s first round nominees could prove not only self-defeating but in some cases, even disingenuous Letting Democrats fulminate over Trump’s wackiest loyalists gives them a platform to flaunt their post-election rage at Trump while diverting their limited capital to personality sideshows that may occlude the key policy issues at stake. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for DOD Secretary, who’s also on the chopping block and may not survive, is another case in point. Amid the latest charges of sexual misconduct, does anyone really know what Hegseth would likely do at DOD? Would he end the war in Gaza, or halt further military escalation in the Ukraine? No one – least of all Democrats – seems to be asking these vital questions.
