1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

It is deeply alarming that individuals who do not understand or respect the basic tenets of American governance are being entrusted with leading critical federal departments. If someone like Gov. Kristi Noem publicly misrepresents what habeas corpus is—a core constitutional protection—she has no place anywhere near the Department of Homeland Security. Misunderstanding such a fundamental concept is not a harmless gaffe; it's a disqualifying failure in civic literacy and legal comprehension. Likewise, when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. loudly proclaims his support for ALS research, then later claims ignorance after that very funding is gutted under his watch, it becomes clear that he either lacks the competence or the honesty to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Neither is acceptable. If you did not support these individuals' appointments, your job is not done. You must speak up louder, apply real political pressure, and shame those who continue to enable this erosion of governance. Silence is complicity, and a quiet “no” vote followed by business as usual isn't enough when lives, rights, and the country’s institutional integrity are at stake. If you did vote to confirm these appointments, then you are directly contributing to the decline in our quality of life. You are helping install leaders who are either dangerously uninformed or openly dishonest, and the public will suffer the consequences. And to those who opposed these cabinet nominees but still allowed their confirmation by unanimous consent: shame on you. Your allegiance to “decorum” and procedural niceties is not a virtue—it is a shield behind which cowardice hides. The people suffering under negligent leadership cannot afford your obsession with politeness. America deserves leaders who are competent, honest, and committed to the principles they swear to uphold. This is not a game. Lives are on the line. Stop treating it like theater. Do better.