This week proved two unarguable points:

• Donald Trump wants to burn establishment Washington to the ground.
• He has the mandate to do it.
  • We took you through both items in our Wednesday and Thursday editions of “War Notes.”
• He’s doing it even before taking office with Cabinet picks that defy the establishment Washington of both sides and dare them to stop him. 
• Whether he can burn Washington to the ground is an entirely different question.
• Look back: The resistance to Trump’s first term and his reelection centered around him being “illegitimate” or a “threat to democracy.”
  • More on all of this from a GREAT Atlantic article:
    • “The Case for Treating Trump Like a Normal President,” The Atlantic headlines.

Warning: Trump’s Cabinet picks allow Democrats to fight on home-field advantage

• Even the most Trumpy of folks admit they “don’t know” if Matt Gaetz can get through the Senate confirmation process for attorney general.
  • For a guy with a mandate, that is stunning.
  • It’s clear Gaetz resigned to keep the ethics reports about his colorful bachelorhood (alleged sexual misconduct with minors) from coming out.
    • Now Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., says the report should remain private — that won’t sit well with the Senate. 

Fox News has questioned the pick 

• Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, was once investigated (and cleared) by police for sexual misconduct.
  • This surprises precisely no one who knows Pete Hegseth. 
  • Much like getting a DUI or cheating on your wife, one never gets caught the first time — there will be more. 
• Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faces serious questions from the left and the right.
  • Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, calls him an abortion lover.
  • The left hates RFK Jr.’s questioning of vaccines. Watch last night: Dr. Drew Pinsky defended the position.
    • Yes, there is nuance, but it’s kind of out there. 
  • The Murdoch-owned New York Post editorialized against Kennedy, headlining: “Putting RFK Jr. in charge of health breaks the first rule of medicine.” 
• Even if confirmed: None of these people have experience running and dismantling big organizations.
  • The bureaucracy’s No. 1 mission is to survive and grow.
  • Pete Hegseth is admittedly great on TV, as is Matt Gaetz at a congressional hearing.
    • That is very different from the skills needed to manage, reform or destroy a massive federal bureaucracy.  
    • RFK Jr. has some really interesting ideas; again, management, not so much. 

Just think about the times Trump took on the Washington establishment during his first term and got smacked down — big and small. 

• The government shutdown comes to mind.
• Sharpie-gate when he tried to draw Alabama onto a hurricane map.
• Attempting to repeal Obamacare.

Yes! Trump is now surrounded by loyalists who all learned from Trump 1.0, but the resistance has learned as well. 

Already in trouble: Trump confidant Charlie Kirk is already threatening Senate Majority Leader John Thune over recess appointments.

• Pro tip: U.S. senators with six-year terms do not take well to threats. 

If Trump loses any more than one Cabinet confirmation fight, he will be seen by the establishment of both parties, and D.C., as a paper tiger.

• That’s a very tough place for a lame-duck president. 

Watch tonight: Philip Wegmann will discuss how Trump is singularly organizing the transition. 

The Hammer!

We talk a lot about the normies vs. the crazies in the Republican world.

• The same holds true in Democratic politics. 

It looks like “Team Normal” might be making a comeback.

• Axios reports the hammer, aka Rahm Emanuel, might take over the DNC.
• Thought bubble: The progressives have no idea what is about to hit them.