Haley camp is still waiting for the vice president to sign off

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Nikki Haley's remarkable performance in the Pennsylvania primary drew attention. The former South Carolina governor received 16.2% of the vote in the state's closed primary. Some even declared that they would consider voting for Joe Biden in November.

One was Rich Kain from Sewickley, a suburb of Pittsburgh. A lifelong Republican, he voted for Ms. Haley and, though he says it hurts, plans to vote for President Joe Biden in November.

“Trump is a demagogue,” says Kain, who owns a PR firm.

“But if Ms. Haley were on the ticket, I would have to strongly consider voting for Mr. Trump.” Kain added. He admitted that the ages of both the former and current presidents were a concern. Last year, Haley predicted that Biden would not see 2028.

The Biden campaign took notice, dropping six figures in a Pennsylvania TV buy after the primary. The message to Haley's supporters was simple: “You have a place here.”

Trump says Haley is “not under consideration.”

“Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the VP position, but I wish her the best!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Still, a GOP strategist who recently visited Mr. Trump in Florida says Ms Haley's name 'has been discussed'. Although the “Make America Great Again” foundation of Mr. Trump “despise her,” says this strategist, they wouldn't ditch the former president for that.

As of this writing, Haley has not endorsed President Trump or acknowledged that she would accept the vice presidential nomination. The smart money suggests that if it came, the donor class would push for it. It comes down to “who” controls the future of the Republican party. The chasm is so deep between Jeffersonism and Trotskyism.

Haley is a determined neoconcertista. He is firmly in the camp of the Bushes, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, Lindsey Graham and Lisa Murkowski. She is a consummate “globalist”. He has never met a pre-emptive war in a distant place he didn't like. She sees the need for “big government in Washington, DC, whose purpose is to advance and facilitate conservatism.” And of course their Neo-con friends define conservatism. Most puzzlingly, neo-globalist controversies see the president as “an ambassador of the administrative state.”

The fight to save the “deep state”

Since World War II, the civil service has comprised about 90% of the federal workforce. Today's 2.2 million officials work on everything from gathering military intelligence to assessing the security of the U.S. food supply. Unlike those who hold the more than 4,000 positions that each new president appoints, they cannot be fired for political reasons, only for dereliction of duty.

Donald Trump's plan would change that. In the fall of 2020, then-President Trump introduced an executive order known as Schedule F that would have eliminated employment protections for tens of thousands of public officials, particularly those involved in policymaking or implementation. Career employees would become, in effect, political officeholders.

This came on the heels of the “Procurement Act,” a 2019 measure introduced by Senators Blackburn and Hawley that would decentralize much of the federal bureaucracy. Forced relocation is believed to lead to thousands of resignations. Jobs would not be filled or filled with loyalists.

The Trump administration said the measure was necessary to address long delays and shoddy work in important agency projects. He cited a 2016 survey that found less than a quarter of federal workers believed their agency was effectively managing “poor outcomes.” “Lack of responsibility” can lead to these results.

The Christian Science Monitor reported: “Trump also took umbrage with unnamed federal employees who proclaimed themselves part of an internal 'resistance' working to undermine or block what they saw as the president's. “wrong impulses”. A May 2023 academic article found that Trump administration officials “largely complied” with policy directives but sometimes “resisted” in ways that “helped mitigate perceived harm to agency missions,” such as with projects to slow going.”

Joe Biden reversed the order as soon as he took office. Biden's new rule “clarifies and strengthens” longstanding protections for officials. However, it could be overridden by a future president.

Reinforcements on the Way

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said eloquently, “The framers of the constitution called for three branches of government. Not four.”

Unlike Haley, Ramaswamy is fully in sync with Trump's goal of “draining the swamp.” So is the Heritage Foundation.

The battle is being waged alongside Project 2025, a conservative initiative organized by The Heritage Foundation to empower a new Republican administration to “rescue the country from the hands of the radical left.” It includes a 920-page policy manual and a database of “vetted” candidates to carry out this agenda. While Heritage has recommended presidential staff in the past, it seems much bigger than previous efforts.

While the donor class may favor Haley, there is another consideration: “Have the Democrats become too attached to Communism to be considered an alternative, even to the staunchest of RINOS?” It goes along with Ronald Reagan's assessment of the 1984 Democratic campaign. “They've gone so far to the left; they've left America.”

For some not all I was surprised that Geoff Duncan's former lieutenant governor endorsed Joe Biden. Duncan and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are the result of an open primary. My prediction is that “half” of Pennsylvania's 16.2% will stick with the GOP. The remaining 8.1% will vote for either Biden or RFK, Jr.

Meanwhile, the “Veep bets” continue. I think Marco Rubio will be the chosen one, IF the residency conundrum can be solved. If not, Trump may take a second look at both Ramaswamy and Tulsi Gabbard, who share Trump's goal of “draining the swamp.” Both would bring new voters to the party. If “loyalty” was the top priority, Sarah Huckabee is the clear choice. He also shares Trump's desire for an administrative overhaul of the state.

Huckabee is also a “natural born” American, which conservative pundit Anne Colter says is a key consideration.

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