Trump’s nominations for U.S. ambassador are hardly draining the swamp

The following article by Dennis Jett was posted on the Washington Post website May 22, 2017:

Former senator Scott Brown speaks in Nashua, N.H., on Jan. 23, 2016. Brown is President Trump’s pick for ambassador to New Zealand. (Matt Rourke/AP)

In his campaign for president, Donald Trump famously promised to “drain the swamp” and do things differently. One way the president can do that is with the people he nominates for key positions in government. And although Trump’s Supreme Court and Cabinet nominees — and, now, the next FBI nominee — have garnered a lot of attention, his nominees for ambassadors have earned far less. But in the initial nominations for ambassador, there is an important lesson: Trump isn’t going to do things differently from his predecessors, and he isn’t draining the swamp.

Presidents love to give ambassadorships to friends and donors

Although the president of the United States is the most powerful man in the world, he actually has few ways to pay off his supporters. Unlike the queen of England, he cannot bestow a royal title on anyone. But being named ambassador comes pretty close. Continue reading “Trump’s nominations for U.S. ambassador are hardly draining the swamp”