Congress member-elect Josh Gottheimer sent out a plea to the president-elect to reconsider Stephen Bannon as a top adviser.
Gottheimer posted on his Facebook page: "I am deeply concerned by President-elect Trump's appointment of Stephen Bannon as Chief Strategist. As someone who was once privileged to serve in the White House, I believe the men and women who work there must represent our country's highest ideals, not its basest prejudices."
In his previous job, as leader of Brietbart News, Mr. Bannon frequently used his perch to attack women and people of virtually every race and religion, including conservative columnist Bill Kristol, whom Bannon's site called a "Renegade Jew" for not supporting Donald Trump. Bigotry, misogyny, and anti-Semitism have no place in the West Wing.
"I urge the President-elect to reconsider his appointment of Mr. Bannon.”
With that plea Gottheimer is allying himself with the swelling chorus of Americans alarmed by the appointment of Bannon, the former head of Breitbart News, a platform for white supremacists, white nationalists, Islamaphobics, anti-Semites and misogynists.
That concern is escalating as Trump announces new appointments such as that of Jeff Sessions—who was considered too racist to be a federal judge during the Reagan Administration—as attorney general, and his camp cites one of the most shameful episodes in modern American history, the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, as a precedent for the registration of Americans whose religion is Islam.
Republican Scott Garrett, whom Gottheimer will be replacing in Congress, essentially shrugged off concern about Team Trump as sour grapes, telling the New Jersey Herald, “Democrats and the status quo in Washington are still upset about Clinton's loss and are desperate to undermine the president-elect any way they can.”
In contrast, said the Wantage resident, "I support President-elect Trump and his transition team to put people. Place who understand what needs to be done to fix Washington."
Kellyanne Conway, the top Trump campaign strategist, was a major contributor to Garrett’s war chest over the past decade.