HHS and MAHA Appointments

Many are disappointed. Welcome to Washington, DC politics.

1892 People's Party campaign poster promoting James Weaver for President of the United States

Let’s take a moment to recalibrate expectations.

Not to be negative, but the history of US populist political movements is littered with stories of unmet high expectations and subversion of those movements by established political power centers.

Just to recap, I personally endorsed the once and future President Donald Trump (before Bobby Kennedy did!) and continue to stand by the logic that I described in an August 2024 Substack essay. But that does not mean I have harbored any illusions that it would be easy to facilitate fundamental changes in the US Bureaucracy (Deep State) or Imperial/War State upon his election. I am very familiar with the rather evil, Machiavellian ways of Washington, DC culture. This culture has deep roots, and is similar to that observed in centers of power across the world, past and present.

The American Exceptionalism argument has some merit in theory, but many dispute this in practice. At the street level, people are people, narcissism and sociopathy abound, and the reason that Machiavelli’s “The Prince” has persisted through time is that it summarizes profound political truths that have withstood the test of time. The same holds true for Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”.

As Steve Bannon put it last night, the only thing that DC political culture and the “Deep State” respect is power. President Trump (and RFK jr) needs to come out hard and fast if there is going to be any chance of implementing significant reform.

To provide some historical context, populist movements have been a recurring phenomenon in modern history, characterized by an emphasis on “the people” versus “the elite.” The MAGA/MAHA movement is not unique. Unfortunately, history teaches that despite promises to address economic and social grievances, Western populist movements usually fail to meet expectations- at least in the short term.

For example, the Populist Party of 1892 and the associated Farmers’ Alliances aimed to address agrarian issues, such as crop failures, poor marketing, and credit facilities. Their demands included unlimited coinage of silver, graduated income tax, government ownership of railroads, and direct election of US Senators. Yet despite significant regional victories, the party failed to achieve national success and eventually dissolved. Similar trends and movements in 20th century Europe also failed, and yet similar politics are once again ascendent across western Europe just as they are here in the USA.

These failures are typically grounded in shared recurring problems. Populist movements often prioritize national interests over international cooperation, frequently leading to protectionist policies that harm global trade, business profitability, and overall national financial stability. Populist movements often lack a clear, comprehensive policy agenda, leading to inconsistent and ineffective governance, and populist leaders frequently employ divisive and inflammatory rhetoric, exacerbating social and political tensions rather than fostering unity and cooperation. This may be useful in firing up the base, but create obstacles to unify a country and its culture around common goals and objectives.

The history of populism is marked by failed expectations, with many movements failing to deliver on their promises to address economic and social grievances. Nevertheless, populist movements often usher in change and reforms that can benefit society and nation-states over the long term, and occasionally lead to the replacement of dysfunctional political structures.

But I am beating around the bush.

Over the last few days, I have been fielding phone calls from disgruntled, disaffected, and increasingly disillusioned “MAHA”/”MAGA” supporters who are coming off of the elation of the Presidential election and wondering what happened to the commitment of their leadership to their populist agenda now that the task has been achieved. And in particular, how to interpret the plum book HHS appointments that they had imagined would be staffed by “medical freedom” and “resistance” leaders, instead of academics, TV personalities, and donors whose track records have not been so, shall we say, confrontational.

A recent posting on “X” by Del Bigtree, a key leader in the HHS transition team, provided an answer to those who are confused by recent nominations and the general thrust of last week’s communications.

Suffice to say, the resulting comments were… instructive.

The optics on this tweet, whether true or false, are not encouraging. Trump was elected with strong support from Robert F Kennedy Jr. Rumor was that there was a meeting between reps from large Pharma to plan response strategy. RFKjr was tapped to lead HHS, and a coordinated PsyWar media campaign to delegitimize him was immediately launched. The RFKjr HHS transition team appears to have been intimidated by this, and has chosen a strategy of nominating “trusted mainstream doctors” and similar who have not been labeled “anti-vaxxers” by the media. Conclusion? The PsyWar campaign was effective, and has moderated the resulting HHS appointments in ways that favor Pharma interests. Sound familiar?

A trusted colleague with close ties to both prior and future administrations privately provided a succinct assessment via text. “Hot Mess”.

Personally, I find this situation difficult, depressing, and very much aligned with the random calls I have been fielding. So much hope and effort from so many have gone into the “medical freedom” and health movements.

By way of disclosure, I have been asked to submit a CV and supporting documentation to this transition team, and have no interest in criticizing the same team as it is working through very challenging strategic and tactical decisions. In other words, I acknowledge a conflict of interest. And I am most definitely an outspoken doctor who was critical of the vaccine program and has been labeled as an “anti-vaxxer” by legacy media. So there is that.

The truth is that I am personally ambivalent about the prospects of my taking some administrative line position, but I don’t want to undercut others who are seeking these slots. Someone is going to have to do these jobs, bless their heart. And there are some jobs on the line that I think I would enjoy and could be effective in. But, like so many, I have poured my heart and soul into promoting resistance to current policies regarding many of the issues addressed by the MAHA/MAGA movement.

I have a reputation for speaking truth to power, while calmly maintaining personal and professional integrity. Not addressing the appearance of appeasement and compromise would betray this history and those who have placed their faith and trust in my commitment to integrity, dignity, and community.

Steve Bannon makes a compelling case that this is not the time to pull punches, but rather is the time to drive harder to overcome bureaucratic inertia and resistance to change. Frankly, the US Government has run out of time for incrementalism, and the National Debt threatens to overcome all efforts to adapt to the new multilateral reality of modern geopolitics. There must be major budget cuts to HHS.

So, here are my two cents on this situation, which are worth no more than what you have paid.

First, these current nominees should be allowed to demonstrate their commitment and capabilities. They will now be subjected to daily attacks, by press, Uniparty and bureaucracy for the foreseeable future. Perhaps these attacks will even continue after the final chapters of the administration are written, as was the case with those supporting the first Trump term- referring to the insidious and pervasive lawfare. There is no upside at this point to adding fuel to the fire. President Trump has earned the right to appoint whomever he wishes, and the Senate will most assuredly subject appointees to a big dose of oversight and consent, administered with prejudice.

Second, I wish to address those persons who place their faith in God. We cannot see into the future, and we cannot know the plan. There is a season for all things, and this is a season of testing. There will be a winnowing, and by their actions, (good or bad) we shall know them. Take solace in these truths, and allow time for things to declare themselves. I counsel that we should strive to act in a mature fashion, avoid overreaction, watch carefully, and stay true to ourselves, our ethics, our principles, and our souls.

Third, Rome was not built in a day. Stay focused on long-term objectives. Be strong and firm in your resolve. The MAGA/MAHA movements are broad-based and grounded in solid logic. These movements are not one person, or one administration. They arise from and address human fundamentals. Integrity, dignity, community. Personal sovereignty. Autonomy. Ability to speak your mind and think for yourself. Faith, ethics, family. The principle of subsidiarity. Decentralized decision-making. The primacy of the individual rather than the corporation. Pro-human, not pro-transhumanism. The value of Nationalism. And freedom, dammit.

Fourth, there is a strong case for acting swiftly and boldly, but with clear thinking and awareness of potential blowback. Going forward, if we are truly committed to reforming the entitled monster that the HHS bureaucracy has become, we need to act, not temporize and negotiate.

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

G. Michael Hopf

Political leaders and their administrations come and go. One thing I can guarantee is that this administration will not be perfect and will not fulfill all of our hopes and dreams. But it may move the ball down the field towards a more perfect union and away from globalism, transhumanism, gender reassignment surgery, wokeism, DEI, ESG, and socialism. As to corporatism, it is too soon to predict. I will have to wait and see how that plays out. We might see the collapse of the “mainstream” corporate media business model, but that will probably be their own doing, with a “nudge” here and there by Trump and Elon.

I can guarantee this new administration will not eliminate government corruption. It will not end the power of the US Federal “deep state.” It will not end all wars. It will probably not even end the Senior Executive Service. It will not break the back of the pharmaceutical/industrial complex, military/industrial complex, censorship/industrial complex, or even stop the deployment of psychological warfare on Western citizens by their own governments. It will probably not stop Silicon Valley from practicing surveillance capitalism or colluding with the US, EU governments, and UN/WHO/WEF to censor speech. And it will not stop the weaponization of fear of infectious disease to control populations. But it might set these things back if it acts from a position of strength and courage. And makes no small plans.

This new administration will give us a fighting chance to take back America, but completing this task will require decades of sustained effort. And I am pretty sure that Trump will act to set back the globalist plans of the UN/WHO/WEF and their allies.

And it will most certainly be better than the alternative would have been.

That is enough for me, for now.

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