Some Trump Cabinet picks are testifying they've never spoken to him about their top issues

[DonViejo]

Trump hasn’t talked about immigration with his pick to run Homeland Security — or talked Russia with his would-be secretary of state.

Updated by Dara [e-mail] Jan 12, 2017, 10:34am EST

It's not surprising that Donald Trump's key Cabinet nominees are being asked to defend his most controversial statements at their confirmation hearings. What's surprising is the way some of them are responding: by telling skeptical lawmakers that they hadn't actually discussed the issues with the president-elect.

John Kelly, Trump’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security, says he hasn’t talked to Trump about immigration. Rex Tillerson, nominated for secretary of state, says he hasn’t talked to Trump about Russia.

Given that President-elect Trump has an unconventional managing style (or, to put it less charitably, often appears uninterested in the basic business of running the federal government), the surprising thing would in some ways be if Trump had had substantive policy chats with them.

That’s the real takeaway from the first wave of Trump confirmation hearings: Even with Inauguration Day looming, nominees to top posts don't seem capable of saying what the Trump administration will actually do once in office. And that means the public can’t either.

more
http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/11/14237590/tillerson-russia-trump

[erpowers]

1. Have They Talked To Pence

The fact that they have not talked to Donald Trump might just be another sign that he will not actually be running the country. It is very possible that Donald Trump was not the person who picked these people. Remember, it was stated that Rex Tillerson was picked by Mike Pence, Condi Rice, and Jim Baker. It has been said that Mike Pence is the person running the transition. Finally, it has been said that Pence is the one who is staying in constant contact with Congressional Republicans.

[global1]

2. Wouldn't The Logical Question To Ask These Nominees Be...

if you didn't talk to Trump about this - who did you talk to?

[erpowers]

3. Yes

Yes, that is a question that needs to be asked.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Exactly!

We can see why they were in such a hurry to "bum rush" all of these nominees through. I think that the uncertainty about a Trump Presidency is what is killing me the most because if we knew what his (mis-)Administration is going to do, we could figure out how we're going to fight it (or defend ourselves from it).

[dumbcat]

4. Probably Trump doesn't care about their top issues

In his world, he expects to tell them what their top issues are. Those are the ones that count.

[lark]

5. Either that or the nominees are lying and were told not to share anything said by drumpf.

Either way would fit the profile of what we know so far. Drumpf doesn't want the truth to come out because he knows he would lose some of the Nazis (Alt Right) support he depends on, he wants to be loved while he's putting the shiv in their and our backs.

[Phoenix61]

7. Trump. Has. No. Plan.

None. You don't go bankrupt that many times because you are good at planning. It happens because you suck at planning.