Are We Seeing The Shape Of A Trump - Israel Lobby Deal Of Some Sort?

Two new announcements are out, and they’re highly interesting. Let me offer this speculation right up front. Is it possible that Trump made a deal with the Israel Lobby: You support my free domestic hand, and I will give you the Foreign Policy positions. IOW, the Israel Lobby gets UN ambassador, National Security Advisor, State, DoD, CIA—perhaps some give and take would occur, but the Israel Lobby would approve. Trump gets, above all, Attorney General (AG). Oh, but also Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Trump will nominate Matt Gaetz as AG, and Tulsi Gabbard as DNI. Again, I’ll say this up front—I totally didn’t see either of these coming. I’ll add that I expect the Dems to fight both confirmations tooth and nail—Gaetz for being Gaetz and Tulsi for being a renegade Dem. Trump has to know this, which is part of why I wonder whether some sort of deal has been made. The Gaetz pick is especially interesting because his Middle East policy positions have been rather mixed, and some would have definitely angered the Israel Lobby. OTOH, Mike Johnson and other RINOs in the House will be happy to see him gone—although probably not so happy to see him get such a powerful post, if confirmed. And then … Will a John Thune Senate accept Gaetz? Has a deal been made in that regard, too? Unless Trump has made some sort of deal, it’s difficult to see Gaetz being confirmed.

Gaetz as AG might be exactly the guy Trump needs to clean house—including at the FBI. If confirmed, I can see him pursuing a payback agenda for Trump. Confirmation would be the hangup I see—unless there’s some sort of deal.

Tulsi as DNI makes a helluva lotta sense. I had heard that she was pushing for SecDef or SecState but, this:

The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). All IC agencies report directly to the DNI. The DNI also serves, upon invitation, as an advisor to the president of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on all intelligence matters. The DNI, supported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), produces the President's Daily Brief (PDB), a classified document including intelligence from all IC agencies, handed each morning to the president of the United States.

Clearly, Trump is looking to ensure the free flow of intelligence to him personally. That’s huge. She has some experience and knowledge of the IC agencies, too, having served on Armed Services, DHS, and Foreign Affairs committees in Congress. It’s an intriguing choice that puts Tulsi over Ratcliffe and whoever is at FBI (assuming Wray bails before being fired). I’m not sure of the details on this aspect, but I believe as DNI she would get a major say in declassification issues. My impression is that she wouldn’t be a pushover for career bureaucrats.

Think about it. Instead of a total surrender by Trump, he makes a deal. Sounds kinda like Trump. Horse trading of this sort wouldn’t be unprecedented by a long shot. But I’m thinking of a more extensive, even somewhat formal, deal that would include Senate leadership. It could prove to be a very contentious deal, but we could see some positive benefits as well if Trump gets his picks as AG and DNI.