Rick Green [00:00:07] Welcome to the intersection of faith and culture. It's a popular show taking on the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical and constitutional perspective. And we're sticking with the hot topic of a new federal government. Essentially, I mean, we're getting a real remake of the federal government. At least we could if everything that Donald Trump is saying and his new president is new term comes to pass, it's going to be incredibly interesting. So I'm Rick Green here with David and Tim Barton. And, guys, yesterday we were talking about some of the appointments and we couldn't get through all of them. There's more now, but we'll try to get through as many as we can today. And David, as we were signing off yesterday, you said you had some thoughts that might go a little bit different direction. So let's just also do you man, what were you thinking about those improvements? 

David Barton [00:00:45] Well, you know, we were talking yesterday about secretary of defense and Paige Hegseth is kind of a surprise nomination. As Tim pointed out, he has military credentials, but it's not necessarily really strong. There's National Guard service. And there's no question he loves America. He loves military history. You know, the book he did on the Barbary pirates and Muslims and Christians back in the early days, all that's really good stuff. And with that, here's here's what I think is really important with that. If you have a guy that loves America and if you have a guy that is militarily aware and experienced and you have a guy that that is willing to carry water for the Defense Department, the question I have then becomes, who are who are the people close around you? Because this is one of the lessons Trump learned in his first term that really cost him. He trusted all the military guys around them because they were the experts. And they found out late in his term that just because they're experts doesn't mean that they love America the same. And particularly, I think what surprised him was I think he thought that if you're the Pentagon, you're one, two, three, four star general, you've earned that. And militarily, if you're a 1 or 2 star general, yeah, you earned that. But if you're a 3 or 4 star general, that that's where that that's really at the pleasure of the president. Those are political appointments. You know, Bush moved his three and four star go or moved his 1 or 2 star guys up to three and four, and Obama did the same. And as Obama was going out before Trump came in, Obama asked for the resignation nearly 800 generals, and he got the resignations. So he took them out of the military. They filled it with his guys. And then Trump comes in and figures, Well, they all love America because they're all military. And yet we're finding all these generals that are more woke than some of the college professors are. And that wasn't what he expected. And so if he comes in and you have some of these woke kind of experts talking to him and saying, hey, you really need to do this and we need to provide these social services, The Melder, you know, that's where I think the big danger is going to be for him, because if he's not a Jerry Boykin, who's a three star general who went through all this stuff and, you know, was in combat and Delta Force and everything else, he knows what's good for the military because he's been there and he loves America. And if you're a little more inexperienced like maybe Pete is and he may be the great leader because maybe he's in there because he loves America more than wokeness. And he recognizes. Well, you know, I don't know. But that's I think the one the one question I would have about him is how much can he be swayed by those three and four star generals are going to be pounded on him every day and giving him their reports and giving him their perspective. Will he have enough perspective himself and enough backbone to be able to take on some of those guys, say, no, no, no, that's not what we're going to do. So I think that's a big question is personal for him. And talking about Rubio and you know, to him, you mentioned you, Rick, on that text thread and people are saying why? Rubio I'm just got out a thought. What if Rubio's purpose of being there is not international relations, but rather cleaning out the State Department? And my opinion, there is not a single cabinet level department in Washington, D.C., that hates America more than the State Department. In my opinion. There's not any cabinet level department does more damage to America than the State Department. And we've been, what with our ambassadors overseas who are radically opposed to what most Americans agree with. And they encourage those things. When when Tim and I were over in Poland, we found that the ambassador over there was telling the Polish people, hey, you don't you don't want to reform your judicial system. America wants you to leave it the same. The judicial system they had was a leftover from Cold War, was a relic they were still having. They had judges that cannot be appointed by the government and judges that reappoint themselves. And the judicial branch was allowed to choose people and reappoint them. And it was completely separate from the the Polish government. And it was doing things that was like the old Soviet Union. And so the American ambassadors saying, no, no, America wants you to keep that system. That's not true. And so what they did is they really hurt Poland and Poland trying to get his government under control. And so I just wondered if maybe Rubio is there not because he's going to be dealing with Brazil and dealing with Russia and dealing with Ukraine, which he will. A lot of that's going to be Trump's decision. I wonder if it might be that he is there to help clean out the agency aspect of the State Department. And I think there's no bigger snake pit in American government than what's at the State Department. So those are just thoughts from yesterday. Those guys could be really good or could be. They're not nearly strong enough, but we won't know for a while. But I would say don't think of either of them in the terms of the way we normally think of secretaries of state or normally think of secretaries of defense. They. Could be there for a a systemic kind of a change that might be a little different than what we're looking at, what we're used to seeing. 

Rick Green [00:05:13] Yeah, we're going to pick up on the list and go back around the horn and talk about some of these other folks that got appointed. But I'm curious what you guys think about as you were describing that. David, I was thinking if they if they can't get the job done, is it a quick do you think it's a quick change, you know, for for Trump in this term? Like he doesn't put up with anybody not getting the job done or undermining him in any way And and much more, much more quick on the trigger to say we're going to we're going to go a different direction. We're going to I'm going to replace you. 

David Barton [00:05:39] Well, if you remember, he had four different chief of staff right at the beginning, and he was quick to pull the trigger on riots Priebus and others that were there. And, you know, those are people that had done a lot for him, helped him get elected. And he was. But it didn't show that loyalty to them at his own expense. If you couldn't get the job done and you weren't satisfying what he needed, then he got somebody else. So I think we've seen that that he is not hesitated. You remember back with the FBI and some of the other directors, he asked for their resignation. And so he's already shown in the first term that he is willing to change people midstream if he thinks they're not executing what needs to be done. Yeah, you know, I think that some of these guys are going to have a lot more space like Ratcliffe because he did such a good job when Trump hadn't before, and as they call him. And the same thing that I think Trump really liked them. So they're going to want more space, but thanks. Some of the new guys will be watched a lot more closely and a lot of that's going to go back to Susie Wiles. We haven't really talked about Siouxsie. While I was going. 

Rick Green [00:06:35] To ask you, I'm so glad you brought it up because I was going to ask you about her because I know nothing about her and I love the nickname. What is it like? What do they call her? Ice, not Ice princess. What is it? Something like that. 

David Barton [00:06:44] Anyway, I don't know what it is. Yeah. 

Rick Green [00:06:46] I was wondering what if you knew anything about her? Because, I mean, Chief of staff, you know, huge. I mean. Right? I mean, that's really the gatekeeper. That. That's the one that's going to execute the game plan, basically. 

David Barton [00:06:55] Well, she's executed the game plan for three presidential races now. She was the campaign manager this time for him. She executed the game plan. We saw how well that game plan worked. So how well it worked all across America. And she was the one who executed that game plan. She's been there with the first administration. She was there and the second run, and she's here on the third time. So she's somebody that Trump knows well and can trust. And she executed all the moving pieces part of this campaign. And I really like the fact that when he asked her to speak, she said no and didn't want to be the public face, you know, inauguration night. He wanted to thank her for the win and etc., and gave her the mic and she didn't want to say anything. I think that's great as chief of staff, just stay back and execute the operations. And she knows how to execute what Trump wants and I think that's a real asset for him. 

Rick Green [00:07:42] Ice Maiden I looked it up. Ice Maiden I don't work Maiden So that's his nickname for So I like that we want somebody like that, right? They're gonna have to take on the swamp. They got a lot to do. They got to be able to just go in there, do it. So, yeah, I'm glad you mentioned her because there are several names in here that people don't know. I was a familiar with Congressman Waltz. That was one of the first nominees you mentioned. Yet in our program yesterday, two members of the House that had been already chosen, Stefanik from New York and then Walls from Florida. And so I didn't know if those were to the you know, we might at least hit on a little bit. I think people know Stefanik a little bit because she was doing a lot more of the national programs, but not a whole lot about Waltz and Ratcliffe. You did mention as a name, maybe a lot of people don't. We know, of course, because he was a congressman from Texas. And then and then there was another New York name. So So waltz, by the way, National Security advisor, and then another New York named Lee Zeldin, who was a congressman from New York for EPA. So those are just some of the names, maybe not like the three we talked about before with Rubio and Noem and some of the bigger names. But those those that I just rattled off, maybe most people aren't quite as familiar with. 

David Barton [00:08:44] Yeah, Mark was a member of Congress, but he was also Green Beret as well. And so he has extensive military experience at a very high level, high operational level as well. And so having him on national security, I mean, and I'm going to go back to the old term that they came up back with, you know, Truman and back in those days, even before that with progressives, where they had the hawks and the doves and the hawks and the dove, the hawks were those who wanted to attack and wanted to use their talents. And the doves were those who always had an olive branch and their and their big and were, you know, calling for peace all the time. And Trump has some of both of those. I don't think there's any dove in there that's willing to let America get stepped on. But they're not looking to go out and kick somebody in the shins and start a street fight either. So you've got guys that can be a hawk when needed and love America first, and they're going to defend America and they're not going to let you get pushed around. But at the same time, they're not going to go out and kick in heels just to get people mad and start some conflict. And I think that's that's been a really good, in my opinion, what I've seen the people he's chosen that have the good experience also are not not people that trigger easily. They're not people that they get, you know, ticked off and want to retaliate. And I think that that bodes really well for what I think may happen in this second term. We'll see. 

Rick Green [00:09:58] Too many other names so far that jump out. 

Tim Barton [00:10:00] At you. Well, I was just one of the names that y'all mentioned, Ratcliffe for CIA. I think it's really interesting because when I first saw the. Name. I was like, okay, I know the name. Why do I know the name? Went back and looked and I realized, he was actually part of Trump's team and he was in intelligence. And then I got a little nervous. I thought, Wait a second, if he was already there and we're bringing him back where he was director of national intelligence, he oversaw 17 intelligence agencies. In my mind, I was thinking again that this this is not good because those intelligence agencies where we've had so many problems and I realized, it was only in the last couple of months of Trump's presidency. So it's while he was on his way out. So I did think it was an interesting pick just because of the CIA, not initially because of Ratcliffe. I think he'll do a great job. But knowing what Trump wants to do with the CIA, knowing that the last president now it's a little different. I didn't like it. JFK because JFK said he wanted to splinter the CIA so bad that they could never be put back together. And then, you know, mysteriously a matter of a couple of days, weeks later, he is no longer around to dismantle the CIA. I think it's really not to be conspiratorial, but maybe we'll find out. We will find out some details about what did and didn't happen if they actually do release some of that information from the CIA. But with all that being said, I think not even just necessarily. And I think that maybe to your point, not just do the names are like Rubio or whoever else. It's not just that they're the ones in charge, but it's part of what Trump is trying to accomplish inside of it. And maybe strategically there they are there for some of those purposes beyond what is at service level that most of us see. Maybe there's something a little deeper than we see at initial glance that this person is really good at rooting out corruption or whatever it is that you kind of alluded to. So there are so many more names we certainly can go through. And in fact, even we expect more this week As dad, I think you were the one who was pointing out how many thousands of names that we could see rolling out even before the election. So I think for me, those are a couple of the names that stood out. And honestly, guys, I was reading some articles while y'all were going through this, so I'm a little hesitant to mention more names in case you've already said them, but certainly a really unique twist. 

Rick Green [00:12:13] Well, let's take a quick break. Guys will be back. There's obviously more to talk about. And even in terms of what to expect over the next couple of months, so much getting done so fast. It's really impressive. We've always wanted our team to move this fast and the people that were fighting for the Constitution instead of against it and to move aggressively and smart and strategically and just sure feels like that's exactly what's happening right now. Quick break. We'll be right back on The WallBuilders Show. 

Break [00:12:34]  

Rick Green [00:13:42] Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us here on the WallBuilders Show. Normally, our foundation is a Freedom Thursday program. I guess a cabinet is a foundation of freedom, right? I mean, it's the executive branch of the Constitution. So it's Article two being lived out. That's a foundation of our freedom, guys. And we got a lot more of these positions to get to. 

David Barton [00:13:58] So looking back to the things that we really didn't kind of set up, let me just kind of set up what we're looking at. How are we going to know when Trump's kind of done picking his Cabinet choices? Because how many cabinet positions are there? And there's really 26, 27 generally in the modern era. Now, when George Washington did it, you were looking at five. But over the years, we now have ten cabinet level departments and then we have a lot of agencies and things that have come in that the National Security Council, etc., that kind of meet with the Cabinet. So we're looking at really 27 picks that will go with the chief of staff, etc.. And as of now, the folks who are all about we have 11 of those picks that are now note. And as we clarified earlier, these aren't in the position yet. These are just nominations. They still have to go through the Senate and there's going to be some of those that that are going to have a lot of media pressure against them, a lot of Democrat pressure against them. But I think our guys in the Senate, House are going to hold steady and do the voting really kind of as a bloc to make sure these guys get in. We do have a mandate for the president now considering the electoral vote margin of the popular vote, everything else. So I think they're going to try to give him what he's looking for at all things he's looking for. But going back to two, Marco Rubio, before we move on to some of the other cabinet picks, one of the things that that and talk about how that Marco is really not the name that most people thought would be secretary of state because you don't think of him as being the international guy. But let me throw out a thought that I think might be significant. What Marco is very strong is he is he is the voice in the Senate on what has kind of become called the axis of evil, and that is Iran and North Korea and China and Russia. He's a hawk on those nations. He wants to see them lose their power. He wants to see them stop getting special treatment. And that that is consistent with where Trump wants to head. He wants to get those guys rein back in. They've definitely grown in the last four years, their global influence, etc.. And so that may be another reason for choosing Marco Rubio as among all the senators. He's the guy who is really, really strong against those four nations are now becoming the axis of evil. So just throw that out there for more thoughts about some of these picks. May not be because they're necessarily skilled in all areas of foreign diplomacy or whatever the issue is. But he is really good in areas that Trump really wants to hit hard. And that may be a reason for his selection. 

Rick Green [00:16:17] Well, and not as surprising, right? We were a little surprised, maybe, but not as surprising as is Rubio is as Rubio is. Matt Gaetz of Florida for attorney general, that's definitely a shot across the bow of the Deep state. And then Tulsi Gabbard, I guess was it in I say she can be national security advisor, I think is what he said, which again, you know, she was investigated, right? I mean, they they followed her around the country. They listed her as on the terrorist watch list, all that. She's now going to be in charge of them. This is guys, I don't know about you. All of this getting fun. I'm actually enjoying like every 20 minutes looking for another announcement. 

Tim Barton [00:16:52] What is was really funny about this, too, is so many of the people that are now in charge of some of these agencies are people that were targeted by those agencies. It's almost like Trump knew if we if we were to deal with this agency, let's make sure we put someone there who's motivated. And of course, I don't think he's actually what he's doing. I think he's choosing people he thinks are very qualified. But oftentimes some of the people that are the biggest vocal advocates, I get some of the abuse of those organizations, of those institutions. The reason they're so vocal about their abuses is because they've had to deal and navigate with the abuses of those institutions or departments or organizations, whatever it might be. So it really is fascinating when you have Matt Gates, a guy who has been such an outspoken leader against nonsense and corruption against the Deep State. He's one of the guys that for those who have social media, it's not unusual when you see a committee where Matt James is talking to somebody and just scorched earth with them, not necessarily because he's being mean or a jerk or a punk, but because he kind of the way they call it is bringing the receipts. He shows what actually happened and asked him questions and he's now the guy that is going to be over So much that happens in America when we talk about the question with elections and do we have secure federal elections, when you have a guy like Matt Gates who has the ability to navigate lawsuits dealing with American and federal processes of federal issues, it's it's going to make it a lot harder for some of the dishonest, potentially fraudulent, whatever things we might say that have happened in some of these political circles. It's going to make it a lot harder for that to continue on when you have this hawk like Matt Gates, who's watching and that Matt almost is the guy and maybe he is. Maybe. Almost is not correct, but maybe it's almost he's almost the guy that the old adage that he would fight at the drop of a hat and he would drop the hat to start the fights. Now, that's kind of Matt Gates. He's the one looking to go after the dishonest to go after the deep state, to go after the corruption. And so these are just fascinating picks by Trump. And guys, as we've continued to talk about off air phone calls and text. Some of these people are not again, they're not necessarily who we would have chosen when we've had more conversations about Pete Hegseth and he's not necessarily who he would have chosen. But when you have a guy who loves America, who loves the in his case, loves the military, cares about it, and he's not one of these individuals. And more specifically, he's been very vocal against the DEA. He's now been out of that institution long enough that he sees about talks about and writes about the corruption happening inside of that institution, that that's more of the kind of guy you probably want to put there. So, guys, at least from my perspective, the ones that I was not certain about, the more we talk about it, the more these pigs are growing on me. And then, as we've already commented, it's going to be fun to sit back and watch this show. Yeah, I. 

David Barton [00:19:53] Had agreed that they grew on me too, but I had to get out of the mindset of what they normally do. I had to get out the profile of what the attorney general has been since. I don't know if Nixon or since Eisenhower or whoever, I had to get more. And the the perspective of what do we need an attorney general to do right now? Not what they've done, not what what they're used to. Do it right now, America, with all the weaponization we have of garbage. And by the way, the attorney general being the chief law enforcement officer within the administration and the fact that they'll be able to handle the FBI and handled the DOJ and so many other areas, that is significant when you have somebody like Matt Gates who does not put up with that corruption, does not put up with that targeting, does not put up with going after American citizens. I think I think the whole thing in ten you said it well, it's really grown on me because I'm having to kind of reevaluate not the traditional role of these these heads of departments, but what we need right now at this exact moment with all the goofiness we got going on, and I'm like in this more and more now, you know, granted we're only 11 out of 27 at this point while we're taping now and there may be some more. And and by the way, it is nice to see just kind of came across recently. 

Rick Green [00:21:10] But I would actually argue that we would have to be live 24 seven to keep up with all the appointments. 

Tim Barton [00:21:15] So yeah. 

David Barton [00:21:17] We did talk about the fact that the House had nominated Mike Johnson. He's now been voted in as speaker, so that is now confirmed. So that's a done deal. We'll still see who the leader of the Senate is going to be, John Thune, as the one that's chosen. And I think that's a better choice than what John Cornyn would have been. But John Thune in there, I think, works better with what Trump and will do better with Trump and is more open to conservatives and working with conservatives. So we'll see. But, you know, just since even we've been talking over this last day or two, some other things have happened along the way that's worth updating. 

Tim Barton [00:21:51] Well, and that, I think, is worth pointing out, too, there's a lot of people talking about Thune in the Senate and why he's not the best in. And this is where certainly we would not argue that he is the best. But if he's someone who's willing to work with the Trump administration, it's you don't have to be the best if you're going to be a team player and if he's willing to be a team player can make a difference. But he was a guy at a time that was very pro Zelensky, very pro Ukraine. Let's send more money that direction. He was from that camp, which is certainly not part of the America First thought. That's been the growing MAGA movement. But again, if he's willing to be a team player and maybe even more importantly, if he's going to assign the right people to the right committees, there's a lot more than just how vocally conservative are you if you're going to help the the side that you're on, if you're going to help them advance and succeed, then you might end up being okay in that position, even if you're not the most conservative senator there is. So it will be very interesting to see how that unfolds and if that's if he's going to be a help and support to President Trump or if he's going to create more obstacles. But I have no doubt that President Trump's going to make some phone calls, that they're going to work to already start having that conversation, talk through things, see what they can do to make sure it is as smooth as possible, and if it's not going the right direction. I also have no doubt that Trump and his allies will let the American people know. And at this point, what we know from the election and President Trump winning the popular vote, first time it's happened in, you know, 20 years, whatever it is, for a Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote. The American people are pretty strong on this one. And when there have been moments and President Trump occurs in America able to do something, they did. And if he said, hey, I want every American call the, you know, Senate board and write them up, let them know that. We don't want this. Call your senator. I think that will make a major difference. And I don't think he needs to do that. But I think if he has problems, there are ways that he can help put pressure and solve those problems. But at this point, I don't know that there's a reason I think there would be problems other than Thune is not necessarily the most conservative, but there's no reason to think that he might not be a team player. 

David Barton [00:24:01] And I think we'll know pretty well right after the swearing in, because Trump is gonna lay down the gantlet that I want these guys confirmed and I want him confirmed. Quick. I want to hit the ground running. And that means recess appointments. That means if you guys need to stay extra days over the weekend, let's get this done. And I think that'll be the first thing that we see. Then go along with that and try to move this stuff really through fast and not slow it down and not try to, you know, Mitch McConnell get along the way, then I think that that probably says something really good about the relationship he expects to have with Trump. And because, Tim, as you said, he Trump is the one with the power and he decides to light up the Senate and calls on the people to do that. I think I think he'd get a lot more response now. And I think part of that is we were talking even yesterday, he hasn't done the retaliation. Revenge thing is looking out for the best of America. Now, people are surprised at that or kind of on both sides of the aisle that he's not looking for revenge. He's looking for just getting getting things going. So I think it's a real healthy tone to come out and with and I think expecting the best of Thune is is where we start. But I think we'll know really quick after after everyone's sworn in come you know, come the first week of January when Congress meets, we'll know really properly what's going to happen with the House and Senate. 

Rick Green [00:25:17] Yet I think to to your point, David, the the pressure is the momentum is there and the pressure will be much quicker and easier to apply than maybe we've even seen in our entire lifetimes. I mean, there's just there's a mobilized we the people movement out there and and and the willingness of President Trump to move quickly on these massive changes, it's going to be hard for them to resist. And normally it's easy for them to resist because they hide behind each other. And, you know, just the molasses kind of slow moving of the legislative process. But that's just going to be different, man. This is just going to be a very, very different season. And these appointees that the Trump has put it in place, that just tells you how different it is. There's a lot of surprises in here. 

David Barton [00:25:57] And Rick, I think he really has changed the Republican Party. I see more and more Republicans that are less Republican now and more pro-America. It's not about the party and it's not about it's about getting stuff done. And that's a really healthy change that I've seen, including grassroots and local Republicans are usually party loyalists. They're now no, no, no, let's get the right stuff done. And I think that's a refreshing tone to have from the state level all the way to the federal level, which is what looks like it's happening at the federal level as well. 

Rick Green [00:26:25] Looks like we're finally going to get tired of winning, guys. I was wondering when that was going to happen, but maybe now we're going to get get tired of winning. I know it feels like it's been good news Friday, every day this week with the things that we've been talking about. But tomorrow is actually good news Friday, so be sure to tune in again for The WallBuilders Show tomorrow. Visit our websites today wallbuilders.com and WallBuilders.show. You've been listening to the WallBuilders Show