In a recent development, Susie Wiles, the incoming White House chief-of-staff, has urged President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees to exercise restraint on social media as Senate confirmation hearings loom following the winter recess.
Wiles, in a memo that The New York Post managed to obtain, recommended that nominees seek approval from the incoming White House counsel before making any public posts on social media platforms.
Wiles emphasized in the memo, "While this instruction has been delivered previously, I am reiterating that no member of the incoming administration or Transition speaks for the United States or the President-elect himself." She further added, "Accordingly, all intended nominees should refrain from any public social media posts without prior approval of the incoming White House counsel."
According to The Post Millennial, this directive comes in the wake of a social media dispute involving Elon Musk, the owner of X, and various proponents of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. The disagreement centered around Musk's advocacy for H-1B visas for highly educated foreign nationals. However, a source from Trump's transition team clarified to The New York Post that Wiles' memo was not a direct result of the ideological discord that pervaded independent media over the weekend.
Notably, Trump's nominees, including Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Kristi Noem, and others, have maintained silence over the holiday season. The incoming White House counsel, David Warrington, was announced for the role by Trump last month.
The Senate confirmation hearings for the cabinet nominees are set to commence in January, which may be another reason for Trump's insistence on his team's silence. The hearings will require near-total unity from Republicans in the upper chamber, given the slim GOP majority. Some of Trump's choices have been met with lukewarm reception from liberal Republican senators.
Kash Patel, Trump's nominee for FBI director, has been a target for some Democrats due to his past remarks about pursuing Trump's political adversaries. However, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has stated that after conversing with Patel, he is convinced that the nominee has no intention of doing so. This development underscores the importance of maintaining a united front and the potential pitfalls of social media in the political arena.
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