Democrat Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) is so bereaved by Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss and President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks that he is suggesting Democrats take action and form a “shadow government,” operating to oppose the Trump agenda that the majority if the country voted for.
Nickel put forth his idea in an op-ed in the Washington Post, asserting that it is time for America to “borrow from our British friends and appoint a shadow cabinet to fight back against the worst excesses of a second Trump administration.”
He laid out his vision on the House floor, asserting that “new times call for new solutions.”
“Last week stung. As Democrats, we simply failed to convince the American people we have better ideas to solve their problems, but we do. Now we need to dust ourselves off and get ready to fight,” he said. “We can’t let Donald Trump’s extreme MAGA agenda go unanswered or unopposed,” he continued, walking through his pitch to “borrow from our British friends and appoint a shadow cabinet to fight back against the worst abuses of a second Trump administration.”
Schumer said:
The special relationship between the United States and Britain extends not just to our strength on the global stage, but also to our shared commitment to democracy. Across the Atlantic, the British have something we don’t: A team from the opposition that mirrors the government’s own Cabinet members. They watch the Cabinet closely, publicly, challenging, scrutinizing and offering new ideas.
He described this as “another form of checks and balances.”
“It’s democracy’s insurance policy, and it strengthens the government, too. There’s no room for lazy ideas when rivals stand ready to step in,” he claimed.
Nickel provided specific examples of who he believes should fill some of these shadow cabinet positions, beginning with infamous Russia collusion hoax spreader and Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA).
“If Trump attempts to weaponize the justice system against his political opponents with Matt Gaetz at the helm, we can see incoming Senator Adam Schiff as our shadow Attorney General, arguing against replacing our independent prosecutors with Trump loyalists,” he said, ignoring the great irony that Democrats have used the justice system to target their political opponents — Trump and his supporters — throughout the entirety of the Biden-Harris administration.
“If Trump seeks to eliminate the Department of Education, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, a former teacher of the year, could step up as shadow Education Secretary to loudly defend public education the United States,” he said.
“If Trump orders Marco Rubio to hand Ukraine and much of eastern Europe to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Congressman Greg Meeks as Shadow Secretary of State [could] be a strong voice in support of maintaining international relationships and protecting democracy at home and abroad,” he continued, pitching Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) as shadow Treasury Secretary, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WI) as shadow Commerce Secretary, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) as shadow Defense Secretary. He believes Smith could “counter Trump’s threat to use military force against his political opponents and work to ensure that the Department of Defense stays loyal to the Constitution and not some wannabe dictator.”
Nickel also sounded the alarm over former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) leading the EPA, pitching Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) to “protect the air we breathe and the water we drink.”
“And if Trump pushes to ban abortion nationwide, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro could step in as shadow Secretary of Health and Human Services to defend women’s right to choose,” Nickel continued, despite the fact that Trump has made it very clear he agrees with allowing the states to decide, as they now can do thanks to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Democrat congressman made it abundantly clear that the shadow Cabinet is for “opposing extreme MAGA attacks on our government” as well as “making clear what we stand for — not just what we’re against.”
