Thirty five who have left very important, substantial positions with the Trump Administration in two years: Three chiefs of staff, three national security advisors, a secretary of defense, two secretaries of state, two department of homeland security secretaries, two veteran administration secretaries, two attorneys general, a U.N. ambassador and an interior secretary.

Currently, there are more acting secretaries than I ever remember. Coupled with the federal government’s shut down, it is apparent that our government in Washington is in chaos and lacks leadership and the kind of bipartisanship that existed when leaders such as Bob Michel, George H.W. Bush and John McCain served our country.

Bob Michel worked with President Reagan, President Bush and a Democratic Congress to pass major transportation funding, major tax cuts, strengthen our defenses, and strengthen our standing and leadership in the world.
Last year we saw the passing of President George H.W. Bush and Sen. McCain, and we honored their decades of dedicated and distinguished public service to America.

Sen. McCain worked tirelessly throughout his time in Congress in a bipartisan manner to improve the military, the quality of life for the men and women serving around the world and improve the United States leadership in the world.

I personally worked with Sen. McCain on comprehensive immigration legislation that became known as the “Dreamers Act.“ This legislation that passed the Senate with 67 votes would have provided a legal path to citizenship for the 12-plus million illegal immigrants currently living in America. Many of these immigrants are working, particularly in jobs that Americans don’t want to perform. Sen. McCain also single handily prevented the elimination of Obamacare. We miss Sen. McCain and his extraordinary leadership.

President George H.W. Bush was the last of the “greatest generation” of great presidents. I’d like to quote from a piece written by Jon Meacham in the Dec. 17, 2018 issue of TIME:

“George H.W. Bush was a part of a generation of Americans who stormed beaches, liberated concentration camps and delivered us from evil. It was Bush who quietly but unmistakably laid the foundation for the 21st century. He brought the Cold War to a peaceful conclusion, successfully managed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany and the end of the Soviet Union. In the first Gulf War, Bush established that, on his watch, America would not retreat from the world but would intervene, decisively, when the global balance of power was in jeopardy.”

“On the home front, his 1990 budget agreement controlled spending and created the conditions for the elimination of the federal budget deficit under Bill Clinton. He negotiated NAFTA, signed the American with Disabilities Act and passed historic clean air legislation.”

We miss President Bush’s steady, strong leadership today in our country and the world. To finish, let me say that there is chaos and confusion with the closure of the government and the lack of leadership. We need leaders who are willing to build trust and work in a bipartisan manner to end chaos and put the interests of the American people first and foremost. America has a history of strong bipartisan leadership and has done much better, and we must do better now and in the future.