Hurricane season began on June 1, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the season will be a busy one, with an above-average range of 5-9 hurricanes likely in the Atlantic.
The United States could be especially vulnerable to hurricane landfalls this year, observers say, but not because of the enhanced activity that is expected.
The two agencies that protect the country’s coast lines and its residents, NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are still without leaders — positions that must be appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate.
“That should scare the hell out of everybody,” retired US Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré told CNN. “These positions help save lives.”
For their part FEMA and NOAA say they are ready, however with nobody competent at the helm there is still concern that the lack of leadership will negatively impact reaction time.
Anybody remember Katrina?
Now for his part Trump of course is blaming the Democrats.
But in fact Trump has been exceedingly slow in appointing the necessary personnel in the first place..@foxandfriends Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors. They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
And why is that? Take a guess:
“In the vetting process there is a lot of scrutiny of social media accounts, Twitter . . . any hint of something negative about Trump as a candidate can be disqualifying, and a lot of people haven’t made it through that filter,” said Christine Wormuth, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official from 2014 to 2016, under former President Barack Obama’s administration.
The investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials is also scaring off people who had been on the fence about joining the administration. Even the opportunity to work under Mattis, who many of the potential picks know and respect, may not be enough.
“With, frankly, the chaos that is happening, people who might have been open to it are asking themselves ‘Do I want to join this administration? How much of an impact will I have? Will I have to get a lawyer?’” Wormuth said.
So what is Trump doing with his time not spent making appointments to his cabinet, besides tweeting of course?
Funny you should ask.
Yeah, if Trump is looking for somebody to blame for the lack of leadership in key government agencies he need only look in the mirror.President Trump is now at his Virginia golf club for the 2nd day in a row. It's his 23rd golf course visit since taking office 19 weeks ago.— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 4, 2017
Though I would advise him to only do so when fully dressed.
Source http://ift.tt/2swy625
