Jerry Falwell Jr. emerges as possible Trump cabinet pick

“Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. visited Trump Tower in New York City last Thursday to meet with the president-elect… Falwell declined to confirm or rule out whether he was being vetted as secretary of education but told the newspaper he will ‘definitely play a role’ in the Trump administration.” BNG

Discussion

“President-elect Donald Trump has picked Betsy DeVos, a top Republican donor and school choice activist, to head the Department of Education, the Trump transition team announced Wednesday.


Trump met with the billionaire donor this weekend at his golf club in New Jersey, where he hosted a slew of potential cabinet appointees. Trump offered DeVos the position on Tuesday and she accepted the same day, one of the officials said.”

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/23/politics/betsy-devos-picked-for-education-secretary/index.html?adkey=bn

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“DeVos was educated at the Holland Christian High School. She graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and political science.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_DeVos

I was just joking about that, though …

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

The DeVos family has been a longtime player in Michigan politics, and this connects Trump with mainstream conservatism and a healthy skepticism of the government schools alike. I reckon the Democrats will not be happy, and will make that known.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

I reckon the Democrats will not be happy, and will make that known.

That reminds me of someone’s arrogant advice to Eric Cantor:

“I can go it alone but I want to come together. Look at the polls. The polls are pretty good for me right now. … Elections have consequences and Eric, I won.”

Of course, now that the inhabitant of the White House will have an (R) after their name instead of a (D), it’s no longer ‘advice’. It’s arrogant and hypocritical (or something).

Funny how time changes perspectives, isn’t it?

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

Ben Carson for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
​Nikki Haley for Ambassador to the UN

Not sure how I feel about Ben Carson for HUD. It seems like that’s kind of out of his wheelhouse, and I don’t know if he has the temperament to go to war with people in order to get his policies enacted.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

I would respect these guys a lot more if they did not accept appointments from the man they used to call a despicable human being in the primaries (they were right).

Of Carson is hard to take seriously for many reasons, most notably his insistence that the pyramids were built by Joseph to store grain.

[GregH]

I would respect these guys a lot more if they did not accept appointments from the man they used to call a despicable human being in the primaries (they were right).

Of Carson is hard to take seriously for many reasons, most notably his insistence that the pyramids were built by Joseph to store grain.

I share your cynicism on how politicians get along together after trashing each other in public; remember how Obama and Mrs. Clinton treated each other in 2008?

Just sayin’.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

Apparently Trump actually did offer Falwell the job…I’m glad he turned it down.

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr says President elect-Donald Trump offered him the job of education secretary, but that he turned it down for personal reasons.
Falwell tells The Associated Press that Trump offered him the job last week during a meeting in New York. He says Trump wanted a four- to six-year commitment, but that he couldn’t leave Liberty for more than two years.
Falwell says he couldn’t afford to work at a Cabinet-level job for longer than that and didn’t want to move his family, especially his 16-year-old daughter.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

I really was ​just joking about the Secretary of Education bit. I guess Trump wasn’t …

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

[Jim]

Jay wrote:

Falwell says he couldn’t afford to work at a Cabinet-level job for longer than that and didn’t want to move his family, especially his 16-year-old daughter.

$ 205,000

“In Virginia, the highest-paid private university leader was Jerry Falwell Jr. As president of Liberty University in Lynchburg, his compensation was $900,000.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/12/07/survey-32-private-university-presidents-earned-more-than-1-million-in-2013/

[Jim]

Jay wrote:

Falwell says he couldn’t afford to work at a Cabinet-level job for longer than that and didn’t want to move his family, especially his 16-year-old daughter.

$ 205,000

Obviously, this is a big step down from $900,000, but in all fairness, in Washington D.C., it would be very difficult to afford to raise a family and be there for them. The median price per square foot is $497. So for 1000 square feet, you are talking about half a million. You are either going to pay a fortune to live inside the city in a small home, or you are going to have a very long commute. I would imagine that a cabinet-level position would require a large amount of overtime, and adding a long commute to that would mean not seeing your family much. Actually, even if he lived in the city, it would probably mean not seeing your family much, and with a 16-year-old daughter, it’s not a good time to never be at home. I’m betting the money is not the largest issue here, even though it would mean a temporary drop in salary.

Dave Barnhart

It’s not only the cost of living, but also the cost personally—Vince Foster was, after all, correct when he noted in his last writings that ruining people is considered sport in DC. Really, what needs to happen is for some thick skinned people to go in and figure out some things that DC is really screwing up, and simply stop it—and let a few hundred thousand bureaucrats start looking for private sector employment.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

It’s not only the cost of living, but also the cost personally

Yeah, I agree with that…let’s cut Falwell a little slack here - Trump asked him to not only take a massive pay cut (just under 80%!), but also asked him to uproot his entire life and family (including his 16 year old) to work in a very high stress environment for what could be only 4 years. That’s a lot of stress to put your family under. And then what does he do if he decides to leave in 2020 or if Trump lost that election? He can’t just go back to LU after a four year absence.

Not to mention that DC is significantly more expensive than VA.

I think I’d refuse the offer too…and that’s if I had the desire to try and reform the DOE. Which I don’t.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

I wonder why Falwell felt the need to make the job offer public. You turn it down & don’t say anything. If people ask, graciously & tactfully don’t answer the question.

Wally Morris
Huntington, IN