Upcoming Cabinet Nominees

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Tell Your Senators

Upcoming Cabinet Nominees

Must Adhere to the Constitution

(In service to all Americans)

Historically, UUSJ has not voiced opinions about Cabinet Nominees, as each President has the right to their team -- for good or ill -- so long as those nominees are subject to proper vetting and Senate approvals. However, reporting on the intended use of recess appointments and questions about nominee willingness to adhere to the Constitution motivate us to lift a voice of moral concern, asking Senators to play the role our constitutional framers intended.

One of the first things an incoming President of the United States needs to do is to nominate members of his or her Cabinet. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

The members of the President's Cabinet advise the President on all important problems the Office and the President must face. They also lead the departments for the Executive Branch of our government. As appointed officers heading federal agencies, these Cabinet Secretaries are bureaucrats with full administrative control over their respective departments. Many Americans, UUs included, express concern that incoming executive Cabinet nominees are not qualified to perform their duties and, in particular, will not respect our Constitution nor their duty to uphold it.

The Senate must approve the men and women the President appoints before they can take office. It is imperative that all government officials and employees who take an oath to defend the Constitution do so in service of all Americans.

There are two main checks on problematic appointees:

The first is the Advise and Consent clause in the Constitution that specifies these nominees need Senate approval before they can take office.
The second is public opinion that we can amplify by sharing this action alert with everyone we think might be similarly concerned.

Instructions

Please complete the action alert form, edit the message to include your own words, and click on the Take Action button. The message with your name will be sent to your two Senators.

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Note that the message is slightly different for members based on our assessment of whether they are strict or liberal constructionists.

Project 2025 and Cabinet Appointees

Over the past weeks, the President-elect, Donald Trump has been proposing individuals who will make up his cabinet. Many national news outlets have raised concerns about the qualifications of nearly all of his nominees. Despite campaign statements, he seems to be following a process suggested in the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership document. This 922-page document spells out in great detail that Cabinet appointees need to be loyal to Trump and his objectives above all else. It provides great detail about what they need to do once they are in power.

Also, Project 2025 architects are weighing in on Cabinet appointments, and several such architects have a key role in his administration. For example, Vought is one of many contributors to Project 2025, and likely to be confirmed as budget director.

Reviewing Project 2025 materials, one can easily conclude that its architects want to create a top-down authoritarian government with little, or no, protective guard rails of independent judgment. The Authoritarian Playbook has a list of fundamental tactics of aspiring authoritarians that fit well with what what news outlets have reported in the recent election. Establishing a Cabinet of highly loyal followers is the next step to lock in authoritarian power.

For summary information on Project 2025, see the videos:

For a more focused analysis of Project 2025 review the following:

Center for American Progress offers Project 2025: Exposing the Far-Right Assault on America, which is the capstone for a series of articles on the topic
Interfaith Alliance provides a Project 2025 resource page
League of Women Voters & People for the American Way summary of Project 2025.
Brookings Institute offers: Understanding Democratic Decline in the United States which shows why Project 2025 is a threat
AFL-CIO summary Project 2025 and Unions
Accountable.US offers Expose Project 2025
Democracy Forward summary of The People’s Guide to Project 2025
CREW offers Who would help Trump carry out his promised “purge” of the “deep state”?

UU Grounding

As of General Assembly 2024, as Unitarian Universalists, we have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. (Read more on the Article II revision process.)

With these agreed core religious values in mind, we also ground our call for action in support of a healthy democracy in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements:

Stop Voter Suppression and Partner for Voting Rights and a Multiracial Democracy, 2021 AIW
Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 SOC
Our Democracy Uncorrupted, 2019 SOC
Oppose Citizens United—Support Free Speech for People, 2011 AIW
Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society, 2007 SOC
Voting Rights for Communities of Color, 2007 RR

Tell Your Senators
Upcoming Cabinet Nominees
Must Adhere to the Constitution
(In service to all Americans)

The Senate must approve the men and women the President appoints before they can take office. It is imperative that all government officials and employees who take an oath to defend the Constitution do so in service of all Americans.

Liberal constructionists

Subject: Your Advice & Consent responsibility to uphold the Constitution

Message:

I am an American citizen who cares passionately about our democracy and Constitution. I believe in justice, equity, and democratic decision-making. I and those who share my values need your help. I am concerned for our deeply held American values, rights, freedoms, and the rule of law. I am worried that incoming executive Cabinet nominees are not qualified to perform their duties and will not respect our Constitution and their duty to uphold it. All government officials and employees who take an oath to defend the Constitution must do so in service of all Americans. Article 2, Section 2 of our Constitution states that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.” The framers of the Constitution included the requirement of Senate “Advice and Consent” for high-ranking officers for a reason: The requirement protects our freedom, just as the Bill of Rights does, by providing a check on unfettered power. Specifically, it is designed to prevent the placement of unqualified or unsuitable individuals in positions of executive power. I urge you to take this responsibility very seriously. It is critical that you engage with your Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle and reject nominees who are not qualified or not committed to upholding the Constitution. The Senate is the first line of defense for our Constitution. We expect you to work together with your fellow senators to uphold the normal operating procedures, decorum, and traditions that allow our government to function for all the people. Respect for the Constitution should be a primary litmus test. You can be confident that millions of Americans who care about democracy and our Constitution will support your efforts to uphold the Constitution. We will have your back.

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Strict constructionists

Subject: Advice & Consent means responsibility to uphold the Constitution

Message:

I am an American citizen who cares passionately about our democracy and Constitution. I believe in justice and democratic decision-making. I am concerned for our deeply held American values, rights, freedoms, and the rule of law. I also hear similar concerns in my community. I am worried that incoming executive Cabinet nominees will not respect our Constitution and their duty to uphold it. All government officials and employees who take an oath to defend the Constitution must do so in service of all Americans. Article 2, Section 2 of our Constitution states that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.” The Constitution's framers included the requirement of Senate “Advice and Consent” for high-ranking officers for a reason: The provision protects our freedom, just as the Bill of Rights does, by providing a check on unfettered power. Specifically, it is designed to allow Senators to asses, verify and deny unqualified or unsuitable individuals access to federal power. State autonomy can not be preserved if the Senate fails to play its role. I would like you to take this responsibility very seriously. I ask you to reject nominees who are not qualified or not committed to upholding the Constitution. Respect for the Constitution should be a primary litmus test. The Senate is a first line of defense for our Constitution. I expect you to work together with your fellow senators to uphold the normal operating procedures, decorum, and traditions that allow our government to function for all the people. You can be confident that millions of Americans who care about our Constitution will support your efforts to uphold the Constitution.

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