20-something Eagle Scout hired for top Trump trade post

[Tanuki]

https://amp.thedailybeast.com/how-a-20-something-eagle-scout-became-one-of-donald-trumps-top-trade-hands?ref=wrap&__twitter_impression=true

".....Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, is relying on a small group of relatively unseasoned officials to advance a complex agenda, including renegotiating landmark free trade deals and cracking down on allegedly unfair practices by China, Mexico, and other major global economic partners. None have drawn more scrutiny and attention within the trade policy community than G. Payne Griffin, Lighthizer’s deputy chief of staff.

......His first job out of college was as a staff assistant for Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL). By January 2015, he was a legislative correspondent for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a job that typically involves corresponding with constituents and helping senior staff craft policy.

Typically, a stint as an LC lends itself to higher-ranking jobs within a congressional office. But in Griffin’s case, those next steps were skipped. Sessions was the first and most prominent Senate endorser of then presidential candidate Donald Trump, which meant that once Trump won the election, he had heavy influence over staffing the administration.

In September 2016, a month before the campaign ended, Griffin was placed on the Trump presidential transition team’s “landing team” at the office of the United States Trade Representative. Shortly thereafter, Griffin—not even three years out of college—was appointed deputy chief of staff at USTR, one of the more powerful perches in U.S. trade policy.

As part of the resume he submitted to the USTR—a resume obtained by the progressive watchdog group American Oversight and sent to The Daily Beast—he noted among his leadership skills that he was an Eagle Scout. The work experience portion included his stint as an “executive intern” at the College Republican National Committee.

That Griffin was tapped for the job says more about the Trump administration than it does about Griffin himself. A year into the Trump administration, a high-level leadership vacuum exists at numerous agencies, forcing Trump to rely on young, inexperienced officials to fill important positions in the federal government. As The Washington Post reported, the president is relying on a 24-year-old former campaign staffer to help run the White House’s top drug policy job, despite the staffer’s own dubious professional qualifications.

Part of the staffing issues Trump has confronted are of his own making. A good chunk of the GOP’s political professional class has scoffed at joining the administration out of disgust with the president. But in the case of trade policy, the difficulties also have to do with the unorthodox agenda that Trump has pushed.
......

“Donald Trump promised the American public he would hire the ‘best people,’ but everywhere you look, he’s filled key jobs with under-qualified and inexperienced political loyalists,” said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight. “There are thousands of jobs at stake at the NAFTA negotiating table and you can be sure that Canada and Mexico aren’t sending their B teams."
........

Prior deputy chief of staffs at USTR have certainly had far more experience. Griffin’s immediate predecessor, Benhaz Kibria, served as an associate at the firm Hogan and Hartson, then as an assistant general counsel at the USTR, and then as trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, before becoming taking on that position. And those who’ve worked with Griffin say it appears he is in over his head.
......

“Other nations’ top negotiators might not want to negotiate with our underlings,” he said. “They need assurances that the person at the table is speaking for the president, and speaking for the United States. So when you put a low level functionary at the table with a high level negotiator, that negotiator might not be willing to put forth his country’s best offer because he can’t be guaranteed that whatever’s put on the table will remain on the table."...

[not fooled]

1. Hey magaotts

Enjoy watching more jobs go away as the dump admin and its Eagle Scout trade representative get rolled at the negotiating table.

And just remember, your idol owes his stolen presidency to billionaire backers like the scummy loonytunes government-hating mercers.


It will take the country a decade to dig out of the shithole the dumpsters have put us into.

[rsdsharp]

2. Ryan Zinke is an Eagle Scout.

How's that working out?

[Initech]

3. Kiss enough GOP ass and you can get to the top! No experience necessary!

[RandomAccess]

4. Kakistocracy

Kakistocracy is a term meaning a state or country run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens. The word was first coined by English author Thomas Love Peacock in 1829, but was rarely used until the 21st century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy

[procon]

5. No one with any legitimate experience and qualifications will work for Trump.

Its not just the experts who might trend left, who won't be a part of the Trump administration, but when even the Republican aligned pros won't work for him, they're down to robbing the cradle with these neophytes and rank amateurs.

Or... Maybe it's by design. Trump staffs up government agencies with skeleton crews of incompetent amateurs who are incapable of managing the responsibilities of the job, allowing critical tasks to fall by the wayside. With luck, less work is accomplished, as opposed to really screwing up something vital, and either way Republicans get another opportunity to scream about how bad the government is so lets get rid of it.