Jonathan Swan of Axios had a bombshell report last night outlining all the ways in which President Trump is fed up with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Ross, a former Wall Street heavyweight and previous financier of the Trump Organization, was supposed to be the President’s right-hand man on taking a harder line toward China. But, it looks like Ross has gotten on Trump’s bad side, through a mix of incompetence and lethargy.
Swan reports that Trump has now put Ross “out to pasture.” He writes: “One problem: Ross’s efforts to wheel and deal with the Chinese have left the president unimpressed. Another problem: He keeps falling asleep in meetings.”
Yikes! That isn’t good. Trump is a high-energy guy who works long hours, and gets minimal sleep at night. He needs Cabinet members who can keep up with him.
One sign that Ross is really on the outs with the Administration is that he was recently kept out of a high-stakes meeting with China representatives over a trade deal. Mike Allen, also of Axios, provides the details in his morning email:
It’s not just U.S. government colleagues that Trump has humiliated Ross in front of. During the state visit to Beijing, Trump had U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer present the U.S. views of the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, which Ross had co-chaired with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Ross was seated outside the room that the principals were meeting in, so U.S. colleagues and Chinese counterparts saw him as they were going into and out of the room.
This makes it seem like Trump may be getting ready to oust Ross, and replace him with someone more capable of promoting the President’s domestic agenda. Trump came into office with a mandate to stand up for the American worker and not allow them to be bested by foreign competition. Ross, so far, doesn’t appear to be enforcing that mandate.
What do you think? Will Trump fire Ross and nominate a new Commerce Secretary? Tell us your thoughts below!
