{"id":41560,"date":"2025-05-30T14:59:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T21:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=41560"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T22:00:00","slug":"a-democratic-shadow-cabinet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/a-democratic-shadow-cabinet\/","title":{"rendered":"A Democratic Shadow Cabinet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s who the party should tap to take on Trump and refresh the Democratic brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Illustration by Bill Kuchman\/POLITICO (source images via Getty Images and AP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opinion by BILL SCHER<\/p>\n\n\n\n

05\/27\/2025 (Politico.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Scher is a contributing writer to Politico Magazine, the politics editor for the Washington Monthly and co-host of \u201cThe DMZ,\u201d an online show and podcast with conservative writer Matt Lewis.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Democrats cast about for a strategy to thwart President Donald Trump\u2019s agenda, rebrand their party and take back power, Sen. Elissa Slotkin recently offered one intriguing idea: Build a shadow Cabinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shadow Cabinet, as envisioned by the Michigan Democrat in an interview with POLITICO<\/u><\/a>, could be composed of the ranking members of congressional committees who could then take the lead in challenging the Trump administration. It\u2019s a common feature of opposition politics abroad and could be a way for Democrats to flood the media zone and deliver a coordinated response to Trump\u2019s most wild maneuvers. But \u2026 ranking members?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ranking members have their uses. They\u2019re good at reclaiming their time and making motions to recommit. But they are not the fresh faces who can give the Democratic Party a sleek new look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor are the thirsty crop of presidential wannabes right for a shadow Cabinet. Everything they say would be parsed for self-serving motivation, distracting from the party\u2019s broader task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how best to assemble a shadow Cabinet? Tap accomplished people with the ability to speak plainly and the credibility to puncture the Trump administration\u2019s often Orwellian narratives. Don\u2019t limit members to professional politicians. Pitch a big tent. Don\u2019t draw rigid ideological lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would such a shadow Cabinet look like? If you gave me the power to appoint, here are my fighters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Samantha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Power<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SHADOW SECRETARY OF STATE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Power has long been a powerful voice in American foreign policy, whether she was serving as Barack Obama\u2019s Ambassador to the United Nations or as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development under Joe Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s often spoken persuasively<\/u><\/a> about the wide range of humanitarian assistance USAID has provided to vulnerable people around the world. Of course, I have to say \u201cprovided\u201d and not \u201cprovides\u201d because the Trump administration has effectively shuttered the agency and fired all of its employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the last person to win Senate confirmation to lead USAID, Power knows more than anyone how Trump\u2019s extraordinary foreign policy shifts will harm both lives and America\u2019s long-term interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats need not shy away from defending foreign aid. While some Democratic strategists<\/u><\/a> at the beginning of Trump\u2019s second term cautioned that sending money overseas was too unpopular to merit fighting for, polling since the decimation of USAID has buttressed the opposite argument. According to the Pew Research Center<\/u><\/em><\/a>, 83 percent of Americans support \u201cproviding medicine and medical supplies\u201d and 78 percent support \u201cproviding food and clothing\u201d to people in developing countries. Only 35 percent support ending<\/u><\/a> most USAID programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lina<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lina Khan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SHADOW SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As Federal Trade Commission Chair under the Biden administration, Lina Khan roiled Corporate America with an aggressive antitrust approach that won her plaudits from progressives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some notable populist Republicans were also impressed. Then-Sen. JD Vance<\/u><\/a> said last year that Khan was \u201cone of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is doing a pretty good job.\u201d Shortly after Trump\u2019s inauguration, former Trump adviser and MAGA movement podcaster Steve Bannon<\/u><\/a> said, \u201cI would be a huge supporter of Lina Khan remaining, and I would love to see her given more power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With populist cred that has transcended party lines, Khan is well positioned to go toe-to-toe with the current Treasury secretary, challenge Trump\u2019s close ties to tech oligarchs like Elon Musk and prosecute the case against Trump\u2019s economic policy. She\u2019s already gotten a head start, recently appearing on MSNBC<\/u><\/a> to charge Trump\u2019s tariffs as economic \u201cmalpractice,\u201d which will leave small businesses \u201cdecimated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CQ<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

General Charles Q. (C.Q.) Brown, Jr.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SHADOW SECRETARY OF DEFENSE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

General C.Q. Brown, another casualty of Trump\u2019s axe, would make a fine shadow Defense secretary. The second African American to serve as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brown was marked by current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as the face of diversity, equity and inclusion programs loathed by MAGA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because of what happened in 2020, at the tail end of Trump\u2019s first term when Brown was nominated by Trump to lead the Air Force. Days before his Senate confirmation, and days after the shocking murder of George Floyd, Brown recorded a heartfelt video about racism and military service. When Brown won confirmation, Trump celebrated it as a \u201chistoric day.\u201d<\/u><\/a> Yet The New York Times <\/em>later reported, citing an unnamed presidential adviser, that \u201cin Mr. Trump\u2019s eyes \u2026 there was no coming back<\/u><\/a> for General Brown after he made his video.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hegseth published a book last year which telegraphed his desire to fire Brown. \u201cWas it because of his skin color? Or his skill?\u201d Hegseth asked about Brown\u2019s final promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Hegseth is not exactly the personification of meritocracy, let alone competence. He has been caught sharing classified information on unsecure phone apps. He fired three close aides ostensibly for leaking, though another Pentagon aide who had resigned wrote a POLITICO Magazine op-ed<\/u><\/a> that said the rationale given by Hegseth was untrue and \u201ceasily debunkable.\u201d A New York Times<\/em> expos\u00e9 of Hegeth\u2019s team<\/u><\/a> found \u201cscreaming matches,\u201d \u201cbureaucratic logjams\u201d and \u201ca growing distrust of the thousands of military and civilian personnel who staff the building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a shadow Cabinet member, Brown would be a stark reminder that a true meritocracy doesn\u2019t overlook anyone because of their background, and punishing people for speaking out against racism does not lead to more competence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 MOST READ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\"china-us-tariffs-timeline-95823.jpg\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. The Supreme Court May Not Step in and Save Trump\u2019s Tariffs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
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  5. \u2018Well, we all are going to die’: Joni Ernst spars with town hall crowd over Medicaid<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Letitia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Letitia James<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW ATTORNEY GENERAL<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Perhaps the most effective Democrats in the country right now are the 22 Democratic state attorneys general tying up Trump\u2019s executive orders in the courts. But only one can say she won a civil fraud case against the Trump family business with a $450 million judgement, and that\u2019s New York\u2019s Letitia James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That makes James uniquely qualified to argue that Trump is abusing the office of the president to enrich himself while destabilizing the global economy for everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    James hasn\u2019t stopped tangling with Trump in court. Joining several of her peers, she has filed suit charging that the White House does not have the legal authority to unilaterally impose tariffs<\/u><\/a>, dismantle the Health and Human Services Department<\/u><\/a> or claw back public health funds to state governments<\/u><\/a>. She also is exploring possible insider trading<\/u><\/a> charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Trump administration has responded in seeming retaliatory fashion<\/u><\/a>, opening up a Federal Bureau of Investigation<\/u><\/a> probe into James for suspicion of mortgage fraud. While most presidents would not comment on active investigations, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office<\/u><\/a> that James is \u201ca horrible, horrible human being, and I think she\u2019s a total crook.\u201d Unbowed, James touted<\/u><\/a> her nearly two dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration and dismissed the investigation into her as \u201cnothing more than retribution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Few get under Trump\u2019s skin as well as James. And while so many others have acquiesced after facing threats from Trump, James is a role model of resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Jon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Jon Tester<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Trump\u2019s Interior Department has embarked on a sell-off of public lands<\/u><\/a> to fossil fuel and mining interests, fast-tracking<\/u><\/a> the permitting process<\/u><\/a> in ways that may run afoul of the law, under the dubious guise of a \u201cnational energy emergency.\u201d To make the case against the ravaging of public lands, Democrats don\u2019t need a coastal tree-hugger. They need someone who can speak the language of rural America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How about the Democrat who represented one of the most rural states in America for the last 18 years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Washington is not as much fun since the blunt-talking, seven-fingered, wheat-farming Jon Tester lost his Montana Senate seat. He couldn\u2019t survive the 2024 election (despite, oddly enough, winning more raw votes than he ever did in any prior election). But he did win three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And those wins happened in part because he was a devout defender of public lands who built a strong legislative record of success<\/u><\/a>. One of the reasons why Tester\u2019s record wasn\u2019t enough to secure a fourth win was that Tester\u2019s Republican opponent used rhetoric in defense of public land ownership<\/u><\/a> that tracked closely to his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now in forced retirement, Tester hasn\u2019t lost his edge. Speaking on MSNBC in March about the impact of the Trump trade agenda on rural America, Tester offered, \u201cHe\u2019s trying to pit America against everyone else except for China and Russia and North Korea and Iran, and that\u2019s a bunch of crap<\/u><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That\u2019s the kind of attitude needed in the shadow Cabinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"John<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    John Boyd Jr.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Farmers, many of whom depend on exporting their crops to make a living, have long been cool toward tariffs yet warm toward Trump. One farmer cool to both is John Boyd Jr., the founder of the National Black Farmers Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On CNN in March, Boyd \u2014 in his familiar black cowboy hat \u2014 warned<\/u><\/a> of a \u201cstate of emergency for America\u2019s farmers\u201d because \u201cthe president came right into office and caused a whole lot of chaos. In a separate appearance, Boyd lamented <\/u><\/a>that his children won\u2019t want to continue in the family farming business \u201cif this administration continues to make it more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prior to sounding the alarm about tariffs, Boyd had a four-decade history advocating for financial compensation for Black farmers discriminated against by the Agriculture Department\u2019s loan program. He played a lead role in a 1997 class action lawsuit<\/u><\/a>, which led to a 1999 settlement and multiple legislative remedies in subsequent years, the most recent a provision in Biden\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act that created a $2.2 billion program<\/u><\/a> for farmers who have experienced discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As Democrats aim to reconnect with male voters \u2014 white, Black and Latino \u2014 who have drifted toward MAGA, Boyd\u2019s capacity to speak plainly and colloquially distill the impacts of public policy would come in handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Mark<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Mark Cuban<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF COMMERCE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur and just-departed Shark Tank<\/em> co-host, has been putting a friendlier face on the billionaire class. Last year, he sparred with Elon Musk on X in defense of DEI programs<\/u><\/a>. Now he\u2019s built a one-million-plus following on BlueSky, where lately he has been warning about how Trump\u2019s tariffs will ravage small businesses<\/u><\/a> and how Trump\u2019s undermining of federal emergency assistance will harm rural America<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cuban clearly has no problem mixing it up in partisan politics; he was one of Kamala Harris\u2019 most prominent surrogates during the 2024 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    He does occasionally take positions that rankle some progressives. For example, he\u2019s supportive of Trump\u2019s deregulatory approach to cryptocurrency<\/u><\/a> (but not Trump\u2019s personal profiteering from cryptocurrency) and believes the Federal Reserve should be mandated to reduce the federal debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio.<\/u><\/a> But here\u2019s a case where having a big tent would be beneficial by broadening the range of voices discrediting Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Bobby<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Bobby Olvera Jr.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF LABOR<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The shadow Cabinet\u2019s economic team can\u2019t just be made up of celebrities and former government officials. Democrats need some folks who really work with their hands, especially to counter Trump\u2019s protectionist policies, which retain some appeal in blue-collar communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One union in strong opposition to the tariffs is the International Longshore and Warehouse Union<\/u><\/a>, which represents West Coast dockworkers. In early May, as tariffs on China began to reduce shipping inventory, the union said over 230 of its members were looking but unable to find work.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Enter Bobby Olvera Jr., president of the ILWU, as Democrats\u2019 shadow Labor secretary. Olvera only won election to head the union<\/u><\/a> last fall, so he\u2019s not yet a household name. But he could quickly become the personification of how Trump\u2019s tariffs are harming America\u2019s hard hats and would likely be eager to tussle with the GOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Josh<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Governor Josh Green, M.D.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Hawaii Gov. Josh Green is, in effect, already serving as a shadow HHS secretary, as he often sits for television interviews to counter the vaccine skepticism peddled by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Green was a physician before he was governor. While previously serving as lieutenant governor, he led a medical team to Samoa with vaccines intended to contain a measles outbreak that eventually killed 83 people, mostly children. Green was not shy about pinning the blame for those deaths on misinformation spread in Samoa by Kennedy<\/u><\/a>. Green wasn\u2019t able to block Kennedy\u2019s confirmation, but he hasn\u2019t let up since, mixing medical expertise with plain-speaking in his condemnation of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On CNN earlier this month, Green warned<\/u><\/a> of the impact on annual Covid and flu shots from Kennedy\u2019s plan to administer placebo-controlled trials for new vaccines: \u201cOne of the challenges here is that the viruses change every year. They mutate slightly. And so if they put in new protocols for additional placebo-based protocol and study, you could miss a whole season. It really does smell like they\u2019re trying to delay enough to devastate the vaccination discipline. And it\u2019s insane to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Jeff<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Jeff Speck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The shadow Cabinet can\u2019t only criticize the Trump agenda \u2014 it needs to offer some fresh ideas that speak to the challenges of the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One of those challenges is how the rise of online retail and entertainment is sapping the life out of America\u2019s downtowns. Our screens make it easy to avoid shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, eating at sit-down restaurants and enjoying live entertainment. The upshot is weaker city economies and municipal budgets and destabilized funding for local education, public safety and infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Democrats should give a bigger platform to urban planner Jeff Speck, one of the most prominent proponents of designing cities to promote walkability. The author of Walkable City<\/em>, his work to redesign the downtown of Hammond, Indiana<\/u><\/a> was chronicled in the documentary Walkable USA<\/u><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Speck is also attuned to the potentially tricky politics of promoting walkability. In a podcast interview last year<\/u><\/a>, he noted, \u201cAt the local level, walkability is a great window through which to implement good planning. But I think at the state and the national level \u2026 it\u2019s probably better sold and implemented through other windows like health and economy and sustainability.\u201d He also has talking points that can help:\u201cThe reason why we now have the second generation of American kids who are expected to live shorter lives than their parents \u2026 is because we\u2019ve designed out of our communities the useful walk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Freddie<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Mayor Freddie O\u2019Connell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    While Speck talks up walkability, another red state Democrat flying under the media radar can run point on mass transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That would be Nashville Mayor Freddie O\u2019Connell, who was elected in 2023<\/u><\/a> on a pro-transit platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last year, he leveraged his mandate and overwhelmingly won a city referendum approving a sales tax increase to fund his Choose How You Move<\/u><\/a> program, featuring increased bus service, sidewalk construction and road safety improvements. Last month, he won a court case<\/u><\/a> allowing the program to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As the Trump administration pushes to slash transportation grants to states and cities, O\u2019Connell would be the ideal representative to explain how that would hurt not just coastal cities, but the heartland as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Mary<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Mary Barra<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF ENERGY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    General Motors CEO Mary Barra is a Michigan-based business leader making electric vehicles with union labor. Who better to show that the clean energy future is good for America and American workers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Barra is sticking with GM\u2019s transition to clean cars \u2014 after investing $35 billion over eight years in the project \u2014 despite Trump\u2019s routine disparagement of EVs and his push to repeal tax credits that incentivize their manufacturing and sale. And her bet may be paying off, with the unwitting help of her rival Elon Musk. As Bloomberg<\/em> recently reported, while Tesla sales are down, GM \u201cwent from 6% of EV market share<\/u><\/a> in the US at the beginning of last year to 12% by the end. Its EV sales doubled in 2024 and maintained nearly the same pace in the first quarter of 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Granted, for Democrats to bring Barra on board, it would require looking past a big demerit: General Motors lobbied senators to support a bill that nullified California\u2019s rule banning new gas-powered car and truck sales by 2035<\/u><\/a> (which Republicans rammed through the Senate this month on a mostly party-line vote \u2014 picking up Barra\u2019s senator Slotkin \u2014 by ignoring a parliamentarian ruling that the bill was subject to filibuster). The company had supported the mandate<\/u><\/a> but now deems the timeline too aggressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nevertheless, Democrats still need help to make the case for government support of electric vehicles. Republicans are quick to paint such support as a subsidy for coastal elites at the expense of the working class. As the most prominent American automaker building clean cars \u2014 who isn\u2019t decimating the federal civil service in her spare time \u2014 Barra is uniquely suited to explain how an electric vehicle strategy is necessary for the American automobile industry and its union workforce to withstand the rise of inexpensive Chinese-made clean cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Katie<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Governor Katie Hobbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF EDUCATION<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    One red state governor that Democrats should tap for an assignment is Arizona\u2019s Katie Hobbs, who defied the polls in 2022 and eked out a victory over MAGA sensation Kari Lake. Like some Democrats facing a GOP-controlled legislature, Hobbs spends a lot of her time issuing vetoes \u2014 she holds the Arizona veto record<\/u><\/a>. But since the Arizona legislature is closely divided, Hobbs\u2019 vetoes stick. And they\u2019ve mattered when it comes to education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Again and again throughout her term, education issues have pitted Hobbs against Republican legislators. Just this month, Hobbs vetoed a bill <\/u><\/a>that would have cut off funds<\/u><\/a> to colleges that offer any courses that \u201crelate contemporary American society\u201d to \u201cwhiteness, systemic racism, institutional racism \u2026 gender identity, social justice, cultural competence, allyship\u201d and a host of other concepts that have become conservative bugaboos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hobbs has also engaged in a protracted battle with state Republicans over the state\u2019s universal school voucher program that was first implemented before her term began. The cost of allowing families at any income level to use taxpayer funds for private school tuition has skyrocketed to more than $770 million annually<\/u><\/a>, straining the state budget and diverting money away from public schools. Hobbs wants to cap the eligibility to households earning under $200,000, but Republicans have balked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With the Trump administration waging war on both K-12 public education and higher education, Hobbs can show the on-the-ground impact of the GOP\u2019s education agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Jon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Jon Stewart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The Daily Show <\/em>host and comedian has always been at his righteous best when advocating on behalf of veterans and first responders. In some ways, he\u2019s already a shadow VA secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 2022, Stewart single-handedly shamed Senate Republicans<\/u><\/a> into supporting legislation known as the PACT Act, which was intended to ease health care access for veterans exposed to toxic substances. After 25 Senate Republicans abandoned their prior support and filibustered the bill, Stewart joined veterans outside the Capitol and thundered, \u201cI\u2019m used to the lies. I\u2019m used to the hypocrisy \u2026 I\u2019m not used to the cruelty.\u201d The brutal tirade painted Republicans into a corner, and one month later they dropped the filibuster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a member of Democrats\u2019 shadow Cabinet, Stewart won\u2019t have a hard time finding more hypocrisy. While Trump also portrays himself as a friend to veterans, his Veterans Administration is planning on reducing its workforce by 80,000. The Associated Press noted, \u201cThat would require terminating tens of thousands of employees<\/u><\/a> after the VA expanded during the Biden administration [in part] to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This month ProPublica<\/em> uncovered internal emails that show \u201cdoctors and others at VA hospitals and clinics across the country have been sending often desperate messages to headquarters<\/u><\/a> detailing how cuts will harm veterans\u2019 care\u201d after the VA was \u201cmandated by Congress through the PACT Act to expand care and benefits for veterans facing cancer and other issues after exposure to Agent Orange, burn pits or other toxins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s see if those layoffs still happen after putting Stewart on the shadow Cabinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Gisele<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Gisele Fetterman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Sen. John Fetterman has become a highly controversial figure in the Democratic Party. His militaristic commentary in defense of Israel has alienated progressives. Leaks from former staffers have raised concerns about whether he is fit to serve<\/u><\/a> in the wake of an extended hospital stay to relieve acute depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But his wife, Gisele Fetterman, has none of the baggage and is a compelling figure in her own right. An undocumented immigrant who came from Brazil when she was a child, Gisele married John soon after he became mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania. To help poor Braddock residents she founded Free Store 15104<\/u><\/a>, which provides food and clothes to anyone in need. As her husband\u2019s star rose, she kept a cheeky social media presence. When John was elected lieutenant governor, Gisele dubbed herself SLOP (Second Lady of Pennsylvania.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since the November election, Gisele\u2019s social media activity has declined. Her last X post was written in February<\/u><\/a>, defending immigrants without directly mentioning Trump\u2019s deportation campaign: \u201cI still hate politics but I [heart emoji] people and I believe all people deserve to feel safe in their homeland. And if your home is a chosen one, then you should also feel safe there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The cheek may be gone but her intrinsic understanding of the immigrant plight remains. As Trump continues on his aggressive deportation campaign, few in America can better personify and articulate what we lose when we vilify people who loved America enough to choose to live here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Bill<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Bill Nye<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    How to convey the urgency of the climate crisis to average Americans has long vexed Democrats and environmental activists. Neither Al Gore\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize-winning wonky earnestness nor Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s energetic utopianism has done the trick. Why not give Bill Nye the Science Guy a try?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bowtied engineer-turned-comedy writer-turned-children\u2019s TV host has long married science and entertainment, and in recent years he has applied his talents to combating climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When Last Week Tonight <\/u><\/em>host John Oliver <\/u><\/a>needed to end a long segment on climate policy on a high note, he turned to Nye for \u201cone of his enjoyable, lighthearted demonstrations.\u201d Nye proceeded to torch a globe and jokingly admonished viewers to \u201cGrow the f*** up. You\u2019re not children anymore. I didn\u2019t mind explaining photosynthesis to you when you were 12, but you\u2019re adults now and this is an actual crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In his docu-series The End is Nye<\/u><\/em><\/a> he observed, \u201cWhy is it that every disaster movie begins with someone in power ignoring a scientist?\u201d He\u2019s now taken to calling himself \u201cBill Nye the Climate Guy\u201d and at a time when the party is bemoaning its ability to reach young voters, it could do worse than turn to a guy with a 10-million strong TikTok following<\/u><\/a>..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Laura<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Governor Laura Kelly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET DIRECTOR<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    National media attention has long been paid to large-state, big-personality Democratic governors who might run for the White House. People like Michigan\u2019s Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois\u2019 J.B. Pritzker and California\u2019s Gavin Newsom. That\u2019s led many to be oblivious to the fact that a Democrat has been running the ruby red state of Kansas since Laura Kelly was elected governor in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Democratic brand has serious problems, but Kelly\u2019s success undercuts the notion that the party is so toxic that it can\u2019t succeed in the heartland. And Kelly would make an ideal messenger on budget policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Last month, she tried to tighten up the budget approved by the Republican-led legislature with a series of line-item vetoes targeting earmarks,<\/u><\/a> though those vetoes were not sustained<\/u><\/a> in the face of a GOP supermajority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As Trump and Republicans in Congress look to balloon federal deficits with their tax cut bill, Kelly would bring sober credibility to any analysis of the federal balance sheet and a keen ability to call out the GOP\u2019s fuzzy math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Mike<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Michael Collins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Michael Collins is suddenly looking for a new gig, and the shadow Director of National Intelligence is a good one for him. Until recently, he was the acting chair of Trump\u2019s National Intelligence Council. But he made the mistake of making an independent, professional intelligence assessment that wasn\u2019t what the president wanted to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Trump argues that when deporting Venezuelans, he doesn\u2019t need to give them due process because the Venezuelan government is using Tren de Aragua gang members to launch an \u201cinvasion.\u201d The NIC assessment produced last month, however, concludes the government likely has not directed any gang activity, which undercut Trump\u2019s legal case and drew the ire of the far-right conspiracy theorist<\/u><\/a> Laura Loomer, who called for NIC heads to roll.<\/u><\/a> Less than a month later, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard obliged, firing Collins and his deputy.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Former NIC officer Jonathan Panikoff defended the two<\/u><\/a> as \u201cunbelievable leaders and IC professionals, not political actors,\u201d and said of the Gabbard-Loomer hit job, \u201cAnything that reduces [the NIC\u2019s] independence because policymakers don\u2019t like the independent conclusions it reaches, is the definition of politicization they are decrying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Collins can not only bring his nearly 30 years of intelligence experience to the shadow Cabinet role, he can share intimate details of how the Trump administration is treating the intelligence community and suppressing honest analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Abigail<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Abigail Spanberger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The shadow Cabinet should avoid sitting congresspeople marinating in the Beltway soup, so it\u2019s helpful that Abigail Spanberger recently departed Congress as she makes her bid for governor of Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Spanberger is a rising star in the party and has a good chance at victory in November. The Center for Politics<\/u><\/a>, based at the University of Virginia, rates the race as \u201cLeans Democratic\u201d and credits the former swing-district congresswoman as a \u201cveteran of competitive elections.\u201d During her six years in Congress, Spanberger was seen as a serious lawmaker who could work with members on both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most importantly for shadow Cabinet purposes, Spanberger was an undercover CIA officer before entering public office and is deeply familiar with the world of espionage. \u201cI know the lingo. I know the language. I know the culture,\u201d<\/u><\/a> Spanberger said in an interview with the Associated Press after she was appointed to the House Intelligence Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She also knows politics and would be able to speak to how Trump\u2019s politicized approach to national security will impact the CIA\u2019s ability to function on the ground across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Ben<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Ben Stein<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    For a dose of real economic starpower, Democrats should do all they can to recruit the most famous opponent of tariffs out there: longtime Trump supporter Ben Stein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You know Stein from, among other things, Ferris Bueller\u2019s Day Off <\/em>as the monotone high school economics teacher asking \u201canyone \u2026 anyone\u201d<\/u><\/a> if they know about the Smoot-Hawley tariff that failed to end the Great Depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But that wasn\u2019t just acting. Stein, a former White House speechwriter for Richard Nixon, has long been a conservative commentator who promotes free market economics. In 2018, the National Retail Federation featured Stein in TV ads <\/u><\/a>reprising his most famous role, pressuring Trump to abandon tariffs. \u201cTariffs raise prices on things Americans buy every day,\u201d Stein lectures the class. \u201cTrade wars don\u2019t work. They never work.\u201d The messenger and the message should meet this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Nikki<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Nikki Glaser<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    SHADOW ADMINISTRATOR OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    OK, hear me out on this one. What is a comedian but a small business entrepreneur and traveling content salesperson?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, Nikki Glaser\u2019s value to a Democratic shadow Cabinet is not her deep knowledge of how government regulations impact small businesses. It\u2019s that she has become America\u2019s Roaster-in-Chief, who can fearlessly pick apart the biggest celebrities from Tom Brady to Alec Baldwin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And while her sex-positive comedy has feminist overtones, she is a welcome guest on the biggest testosterone-laden podcasts like the Joe Rogan Experience<\/u><\/a> and Theo Von<\/u><\/a> that are consumed by the young males whom Democrats are eager to reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She\u2019s not known for political humor, but when she goes there, she cuts deep. Looking directly at Ann Coulter she once declared, \u201cThe only person you will ever make happy is the Mexican who digs your grave.\u201d Discussing why she needs to wear makeup to \u201clook like a woman,\u201d in her Someday You\u2019ll Die<\/em> stand-up special, she observed, \u201cIf I asked you to draw a smiley face, and I was, like, \u2018Now make it a girl,\u201d \u2026 you wouldn\u2019t make it, like, holding less money. You would just draw eyelashes on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If Democrats want someone who can whoop Trump or any of his surrogates \u2014 on small business policy or anything else \u2014 they\u2019d be hard pressed to find a better warrior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Here\u2019s who the party should tap to take on Trump and refresh the Democratic brand. Illustration by Bill Kuchman\/POLITICO (source images via Getty Images and AP) Opinion by BILL SCHER 05\/27\/2025 (Politico.com) Bill Scher is a contributing writer to Politico Magazine, the politics editor for the Washington Monthly and co-host of… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41560"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41561,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41560\/revisions\/41561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}