If you know anything about Washington, D.C., you know that lying and backstabbing are routine. Your enemies lie, and, often, your friends lie -- or those you assume are friends. In Washington, hidden motives are a given. Sleight of hand is a card shark’s trick perfected in D.C.

When it comes to confirming Matt Gaetz as attorney general, Pete Hegseth as DoJ chief, Tulsi Gabbard as national security director, Kristi Noem at Homeland Security, and John Ratcliffe at CIA, it’s a given that hyperpartisan Democrats are going to fight their nominations. That’s as sure as it gets. But then there are establishment Republicans and pliable conservatives with hidden agendas, too. They have reasons to see Trump fail.

Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk will head the “Department of Government Efficiency” or DOGE. DOGE is meant to swoop in to compel swift and dramatic overhaul of executive departments and agencies. That includes slashing Uncle Sam’s workforce in the tens of thousands.

Said Ramaswamy to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo:

"The people who we elect to run the government -- they're NOT the ones who actually run the government. It's the unelected bureaucrats in the administrative state -- that was CREATED through executive action... it's gonna be FIXED through executive action."

Part of DOGE’s success hinges on Trump having his nominees confirmed. Ideally, they’ll be in place to work hand-in-glove with Ramaswamy and Musk.

The nominees mentioned are particularly critical (the FBI nomination is vacant as of this writing). Law, defense, and security and intelligence portfolios are the muscle and sinew of big government and underpin the incipient tyranny we’ve experienced for four long years. It’s imperative to overhaul those key departments and agencies. Forever wars and military adventurism need to end. Our liberties require greater safeguards. The confirmation fights involving those offices are the makings of an epic struggle. The struggle is about to get intense and nasty.

Republicans enjoy a modest Senate majority. There are enough RINOs in the GOP caucus to make trouble for........

© American Thinker