Putin's hurting, but he's banked on Trump to rescue him from the quagmire caused by his ill-advised and costly aggression vs Ukraine. Why would Trump save Putin vs Ukraine? Trump's not a brilliant American patriot. He's a calculating transaction-focused gamer. He thinks alliances are great as long as he sees the clear-short term benefit (primarily to him). For Saudi Arabia, it's because the Prince invested $2 billion in Jared's LBO firm. For Russia, its because Putin's bank has lent Trump Inc. hundreds of millions that is still on the books. And because Trump hates Zelensky because Zelensky did not throw Biden's son under the bus and because Trump got impeached as a result of a "perfect" conversation with Zelensky.

So, here's another question. Why is Trump choosing not just ill-prepared & incompetent cabinet nominees, but largely odd-ball characters who will be toxic to the government agencies they have been nominated to control and who, as a whole, will wreck those agencies of national policy and protection and America's National Security Council, which weighs in on any and all situations affecting America's safety and international security? It doesn't take a PhD to recognize a sinister and dangerous pattern.

Putin's been spending $ and FSB efforts to destabilize democracies & NATO. Putin's regime has helped "populist" autocratic movements thrive in Hungary & Slovakia and increasingly contributes to help increasingly stronger autocratic-leaning "populist" movements in Germany, France, and Netherlands. (And America?) Why? Go ahead, think about it.

Before Trump's official nominees come up for confirmation, next year's GOP US Senate's members need to dig deeper into why would their consenting to the creation of an Executive Branch Cabinet (and especially the next National Security Council) nearly fully created to help America's enemy Putin and to create chaos across America's institutions and our alliances with liberal democracies in NATO and around the world be in America's best interest? Is it in America's best interest, or would those senators rather sell out what moral courage they have and the nation just to avoid Trump's ire?

Where is the national interest in the Cabinet & National Security Council that Trump is building? His ingredients are a suicidal recipe for our national security and for America's Constitution.

If Congress gives its consent to Trump's Cabinet picks "recipe", it will create chaos throughout our national intelligence and national defense establishments.

Just ask any former SECDEF or FBI or counter intel agency leader about their feelings about Trump's proposed Cabinet's intent. They'll agree, the creation as a whole will be more destructive than the sum of its parts. Beware.