The worst of the worst.
Ron Filipkowski - Dec 26
#25. JAMES BLAIR. Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff is known as ‘The Enforcer’. It is his job to keep House and Senate Republicans in line by issuing public and private threats and keeping Trump informed about whether someone has been disloyal to him in some way. He has also been the driving force behind mid-decade gerrymandering, which has included threats against state lawmakers who aren’t especially interested. In fact, Trump aides have referred to it as Blairymandering. If any Republican fails to demonstrate sufficient loyalty to Dear Leader, Blair makes it his business to find out about it and initiate retribution - often taking them to the orange malignant narcissist himself before they hit Truth Social.
#24. DOUG BURGUM. The Interior Secretary’s job has been to dismantle renewable energy production and open up federal lands for private development to construction and energy companies. Trump also named him as his ‘Energy Czar’. Burgum revoked the licenses of wind turbine projects, claiming they were a threat to national security. He has pledged to open up protected federal lands to extract trillions of dollars' worth of oil, gas and minerals via mining and drilling. He opened up over 1.5 million acres in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge for that purpose, and advised Trump to use national emergency powers to keep coal plants open. Burgum isn’t protecting the Interior, he’s selling it off to industry like any other commodity.
#23. DOUG COLLINS. Trump’s VA Secretary is in the process of cutting 80,000 employees from the VA system. The cuts have been especially deep in the area of mental health, despite the fact that the suicide rate for veterans is extremely high. Collins is also pushing to privatize VA care by moving more patients to private for-profit providers. A report by the VA’s Inspector General found that there has been a 50% increase in “severe staffing shortages” at VA facilities over the past year.
#22. KEVIN HASSETT. The National Economic Council Chair is a fixture on TV - especially financial channels like Fox Business and CNBC, where he regularly lies about the economy and economic policy with a smile on his face. A once respected economist, he has decided to go all-in spewing admin propaganda on a weekly basis. He has repeatedly refused to acknowledge easily provable economic harms caused by tariffs despite the fact that he knows better. He also claims that poor jobs numbers this year are simply a result of workers becoming more efficient. According to Hassett, everything bad in the economy is Biden’s fault, while the cult leader deserves all the praise for anything halfway decent that he hasn’t screwed up yet.
#21. LINDA MCMAHON. Trump vowed to dismantle the Dept of Ed, and the former professional wrestling CEO was brought in to do just that. She has conducted mass layoffs at the agency and canceled programs, with 50% of the employees of the department terminated this year. Federal student aid is expected to be her next target, and the Trump admin announced that it will now begin garnishing the wages of over 5 million people currently in default on their payments.
#20. BROOKE ROLLINS. Agriculture Secretary Rollins is completely in the pocket of Big Ag, and her primary role this year has been to secure govt funding to bail out farmers hurt by Trump’s tariff policies while claiming on national TV that tariffs have had no negative impact, all while blaming Biden. She has opposed animal welfare laws for years, claiming they are too costly and burdensome for businesses. When egg prices were soaring earlier this year, she advised Americans to raise chickens in their backyards. She also vowed to implement Trump’s plan to cut food stamp (SNAP) benefits, calling it “an extremely corrupt program.”
#19. TULSI GABBARD. It’s probably not a good thing for the US and free world when Russian state media refers to our Director of National Intelligence as “our girl Tulsi.” She has pushed Putin’s talking points for years and her remarks on various subjects have been aired on Russian TV. She even angered Trump earlier this year when she released a video suggesting that he wasn’t going far enough and fast enough to separate the US from Ukraine, claiming he was inviting WWIII by doing so. She has fired senior career analysts for disagreeing with Trump’s claims about Venezuela, and revoked the security clearances of dozens of people for political reasons. She also recently gave a highly inflammatory Islamofobic speech at the big annual Turning Point event, which was condemned by many Muslim-American groups.
#18. BRENDAN CARR. The FCC Chair is Trump’s point man for threatening media companies, networks, reporters, and TV hosts who dare to expose and criticize the worst abuses of the admin. He has also been heavily involved leveraging the sale and mergers of media companies to people like Larry and David Ellison, who acquired CBS and now has his sights on a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. He has been the point man to cancel federal funding for PBS and NPR, and has launched investigations of multiple media companies for a variety of reasons - including ABC, YouTube, Comcast, Disney, EchoStar, Google, T-Mobile and Verizon - while threatening the broadcast licenses of networks.
#17. LEE ZELDIN. A long-time climate science denier is now in charge of the EPA. In March he announced “the largest deregulation in US history,” where he stated that the primary purpose of the EPA was no longer public health and environmental protections but deregulation and energy production. He repealed protections for wetlands, and limits on pollution from tailpipes and smokestacks. He pledged to reduce the EPA's budget by 65%. He granted exemptions to 80 coal plants from pollution restrictions. He rolled back limits on chemicals in drinking water, and declared that greenhouse gases were not a public health threat.
#16. ELBRIDGE COLBY. The Undersecretary of Defense for Policy is one of the primary architects of the new US Strategic Plan, which is far more sympathetic to Russia and overtly hostile to Europe. He is a close ally of JD Vance and Elon Musk. He ordered a pause on the delivery of weapons systems to Ukraine without informing allies or senior members of the admin. He has consistently undermined Ukraine inside the admin and has led the effort to restrict their desire to conduct long-range strikes inside Russia. Republican senators have complained repeatedly that they can’t get Colby to respond to even basic inquiries about things he is doing behind the scenes. Japan has also expressed deep frustration and outrage with Colby’s stances on Asia. Colby would definitely be Secretary of State in a future Vance admin.
#15. KASH PATEL. The tenure of the conspiracy theorist podcaster and merch grifter as FBI Director has been tumultuous to say the least. Keystone Kash bungled the Epstein files, the Charlie Kirk investigation, a major investigation in Michigan, and the mass shooting in RI. Without the relatives of suspects and homeless tipsters solving major crimes for him, they might still be searching for the killers. He conducted mass purges and firings of agents assigned to work J6 cases while flying around the country on a govt jet to watch his girlfriend sing at wrestling events, and provided her with private FBI security details.
#14. SEAN DUFFY. The former reality TV contestant and Fox host now runs the Transportation Dept, where he has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funds appropriated by Congress to blue states and cities if they don’t do what he commands. A constant figure on Fox and social media, he appears primary interested in promoting his personal brand. Trump appointed him briefly as NASA chief which resulted in a tirade by Musk who repeatedly referred to him as ‘Sean Dummy’. His latest proposals to improve air travel include a dress code for passengers and pull-up bars in airport terminals to keep people in shape.
#13. PAM BONDI. The only reason why I don’t have Bondi higher on the list is because Todd Blanche is really running DOJ and most of the truly evil stuff comes from him. Nevertheless, Bondi is wretched as well. She claimed that she had a “list” of Epstein clients “on her desk,” then later said it doesn’t exist. She invited right-wing social media influencers to the WH where they were given Epstein binders that were nothing more than previously released materials. She refused to release additional files despite being compelled by law. Her deputies and assistants have repeatedly lied to federal courts on many issues - most notably deportation cases. The list of abuses by DOJ under Bondi is endless, with fresh outrages committed daily. A straw poll taken at last week’s Turning Point event of MAGA fans ranked Bondi as the most unpopular Trump admin official for her incompetence and lies. Even Trump’s own followers have had enough of Bondi.
#12. STEVE WITKOFF. Trump appointed his real estate investor pal with business ties to Russia as his special envoy to resolve the war in Ukraine, despite no foreign policy or governmental experience. He was reportedly requested by Putin after the Kremlin was dissatisfied with the initial appointment of Keith Kellogg. He has since refused to use secure communications, which resulted in some being leaked to the press. (Most likely by Ukrainian Intelligence, since they proved Witkoff was in Putin’s pocket). At Putin’s request, Witkoff met with him alone without any officials from the State Dept present, and even infamously showed up to one meeting where he embraced Putin and showed up without his own interpreter. Witkoff has made it clear that he views the war as merely an impediment to big business deals that he and other US oligarchs want to launch in Russia when sanctions are fully lifted.
#11. STEVE CHEUNG. Trump looked for the most obnoxious and repugnant person in politics to run communications for his 2024 campaign and landed on Cheung, who is now doing the same in the Trump WH as Comms Director. We have never seen nakedly partisan political attacks and personal insults come directly from WH spokespersons and govt social media accounts in the history of the US, but Cheung orchestrates it daily with zeal. He was fired from a more junior comms job by Chief of Staff John Kelly in 2018, but now he is back as the Big Boss. Legitimate media requests to the WH typically result in insults about a reporter’s physical characteristics or intelligence, as the WH press room conducts business like a group of misfit 8th graders who just hit puberty.
#10. ED MARTIN. Trump put Martin in charge of pardon recommendations after he washed out as DC US Attorney with Republican senators refusing to vote for his confirmation, and the result has been corruption on an unprecedented scale. Some of the world’s worst criminals have walked free after paying big bucks to people to lobby Martin. During his brief tenure as US Attorney, he fired every prosecutor who was assigned in any way to work on any J6 cases. He threatened to prosecute any civil servant who stood up to illegal conduct being committed by Musk’s DOGE. Over 100 former prosecutors with the office signed a letter stating that Martin "has butchered the position, effectively destroying it as a vehicle by which to pursue justice and turning it into a political arm of the current admin." Someday we will find out how Martin is personally benefitting from these corrupt pardons, besides the social media clout he seems to crave insatiably. Trump has pardoned multiple drug traffickers, politicians and wealthy fraudsters, all orchestrated by Martin. And there are a lot more to come that will be even worse.
#9. TOM HOMAN. Homan told everyone for years that he was going to be Trump’s Deportation Czar if he won the election, and he set up a consulting business with private prison companies to profit off that possibility. That led to an FBI investigation where he was credibly accused of accepting a $50,000 cash bribe, only to have it dropped by Trump’s DOJ after the inauguration. Homan seems to derive great joy from the suffering of others, and his racism has been obvious in public statements about immigrants and profiling. Masking agents, arresting US citizens, raiding businesses, terrorizing communities, lying to courts, people dying in custody, concentration camps - Homan revels in it all as the member of the Trump admin who has made the most TV appearances in 2025 by far.
#8. KRISTI NOEM. Noem is also responsible for the worst abuses of the current deportation regime, and so much more. She spent many millions in taxpayer money hiring a consulting firm run by the husband of her spokesperson to make Noem hype videos as she traveled the world, seemingly designed to set her up for a 2028 presidential run. The most infamous was her trip to El Salvador, where she filmed herself inside the prison where migrants from the US were sent - some without criminal records. She implemented onerous FEMA rules that mandated she personally approve emergency aid, which has resulted in costly and painful delays as she plays politics with it - favoring red states over blue ones for disaster relief. She moved into the Coast Guard Commandant’s house rent-free while her alleged boyfriend, travel companion, and de-facto chief-of-staff Corey Lewandowski lived nearby. The list of her abuses is endless.
#7. KAROLINE LEAVITT. It was difficult to imagine a sycophant Trump could come up with this term who would lie more shamelessly on daily basis to the American people than the press secretaries from his previous one, but he definitely found her in the ambitious young Leavitt. She led the effort to deny WH and govt agency access to mainstream press outlets while inviting in right-wing lunatic social media influencers to briefing rooms. She constantly makes up things that can easily be debunked by a 5-second Google search. She has 3 responses to questions she doesn’t want to answer truthfully: 1) Says she doesn’t know anything about it. 2) Lie about it. 3) Insult the reporter. Despite wearing a giant cross around her neck and posting Bible verses online, her official conduct and statements in no way resemble the teachings of Jesus.
#6. RFK JR. The anti-vax conspiracy theorist, former long-time heroin dealer, and serial philanderer cashed in his failing presidential campaign to endorse Trump in exchange for the HHS secretary gig. 75 Nobel Laureates wrote to senators pleading with them to vote against his confirmation, stating he would “put the public’s health in jeopardy.” He has done exactly that, undermining health recommendations and replacing them with crackpot theories which has resulted in diseases like measles making a comeback in the US. He recommended cod liver oil and Vitamin A to prevent measles, and instructed the CDC to stop making vaccine recommendations. He held a press conference in the Oval Office with Trump to announce his belief that Tylenol is the cause of autism, and later cited a debunked Danish study that claimed autism was caused by circumcision.
#5. TODD BLANCHE. Most of the worst abuses in multiple areas by DOJ are orchestrated by Blanche. While Bondi and Patel have gotten most of the public blame and scrutiny, Blanche is the architect of it all. Blanche was Trump’s criminal defense lawyer before he became president, and has acted as his criminal defense lawyer while running DOJ. He met privately with Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, then had her moved to a minimum security Club Fed. He has repeated lies about the contents of the Epstein files and is the point person for covering them up with delays and redactions. He ended investigations and dropped charges against some of America’s worst criminals for political reasons. While Bondi and Patel are bad, Blanche is even worse.
#4. RUSS VOUGHT. The man who orchestrated the comprehensive right-wing policy blueprint for this admin called ‘Project 2025’, this zealot keeps a lower profile than others - preferring tangible results with ruthless efficiency behind the scenes as OMB Director. Vought is the brains behind Stephen Miller’s evil bombast, organizing the policy agenda that controls the administration. During the 4 years Trump was out of office, Vought organized and drafted 350 different executive orders and regulations to implement if Trump got a second term - most of the ones he issued came from Vought - including the plan to invoke emergency powers and national security to justify bypassing Congress in a variety of areas. In fact, most of the agenda Vought devised was specifically intended to find ways an authoritarian-minded president could implements things while ignoring Congress, or reversing legislative acts by executive order.
#3. PETE HEGSETH. Chaos ensued almost immediately after the drunken fool former Fox host took over an office that he was unfit and unqualified for. He divulged war plans and classified info in a Signal chat which included a reporter, but then tried to cover himself by claiming he declassified it. He fired his own senior advisors because of his paranoia over press leaks, then ousted the Pentagon press corps with onerous rules that abused their first amendment rights. He gleefully released videos of nearly 100 people on boats he has murdered, without providing any evidence of their guilt or due process. He alienated allies with an insane speech in Europe that resulted in the admin sidelining him from giving any more. He ousted seasoned career officers and made it clear he has no use for women serving in the military in any role other than support positions, or for rules of engagement designed to minimize collateral damage and civilian casualties. He summoned hundred of Generals and Admirals from their commands from around the world to DC so he could give them a deranged speech they found utterly ridiculous and juvenile. He constantly gives partisan political speeches to active-duty troops in violation of laws and regulations, which he mixes with a healthy dose of christian nationalism. It is hard to imagine how Trump could have found a worse person for one of the most important jobs on the planet.
#2. HOWARD LUTNICK. The architect of so many corrupt, shady and misguided policies of the Trump admin while serving as Commerce Secretary - including tariffs and selling citizenship in the form of ‘Trump Gold Cards’. Lutnick is a shameless habitual liar and flip-flam huckster, constantly hyping his policies with fantastical claims while moving the goalposts weekly on his predictions. In a different century he’d be selling miracle cures out of tent at a carnival. In this century, he’s a billionaire. Lutnick is the prime mover behind the admin’s embrace of data centers, AI, and Stalinist moves like the government ownership of companies. Even Trump has grumbled behind the scenes to aides that Lutnick is a “manipulator”, but despite that he continues to adopt each of his worst ideas. Trump constantly had to reverse himself on catastrophic tariff announcements after disastrous consequences ensued - which resulted in the moniker ‘TACO’ for caving so much. All of those disastrous announcements came directly from Lutnick, with Bessent, Musk and others seeking reversal from Trump.
Note - I fully realize Bessent should probably be in this Top 25 somewhere, but I left him off simply because there is a lot of reporting that he has reversed some of the worst ideas behind the scenes despite his repugnant public persona. Go ahead and yell at me if you want - I personally can’t stand the guy either. But I have read comments from a lot of people I respect who say that without Bessent pushing back on some things behind the scenes we would be far worse off economically than we already are because everyone else is much worse. I guess I will buy that he might be the voice of reason behind the scenes, but time will tell.
#1. STEPHEN MILLER. This was the easiest selection, and there was probably never any doubt from most of you that he would be first. He is the WH policy director who is really running the US govt while Trump plays golf, receives awards, puts gold of everything, trolls social media, and builds his ballroom. Most of the policies aren’t Miller’s original ideas because he really isn’t that smart, but he knows how to implement them with a ruthlessness not seen since 1930s Germany. He has made the 2nd most TV appearances this year after Homan, much to the chagrin of Republicans running for election in swing districts. We know all the things that make Miller the worst person to ever serve in a senior position in US history, so there is no point in cataloguing them or this column would go on forever. The hate, the racism and bigotry, the phobias - he’s the personification of political evil. Trump is the only person who would even consider putting this twisted misfit in a position of authority. But he has, and as dementia takes hold and the old man plays with this trophies, ballrooms and golden baubles, Stephen Miller is running the country. Trump is President In Name Only.
