Anthony Weiner named Trump's nominee for new cabinet position

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Following President-elect Donald J. Trump’s announcements of his picks for Secretary of State (current chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobile Corporation, Rex Wayne Tillerson) and Secretary of Energy (former Texas Governor, Rick Perry), the real estate mogul turned politician has announced plans for a new executive department and cabinet position.

Trump made his official announcement for the new Department of Decency in a stream of tweets early Wednesday morning. The tweets introduced the idea as one of “great importance” that has been “needed for a long time.” In his final tweet of the series, President-elect Trump made clear his intention to nominate former New York politician Anthony Weiner as the inaugural Secretary of Decency.

“Mr. Weiner is one of the most misunderstood politicians we’ve ever had in America,” said Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. “Anthony did the American people a great service by bringing important issues to the forefront of discussion and education; and America should feel confident in President Trump’s selection.”

Weiner said he was honored by the nomination.

After two failed New York City mayoral campaigns and his resignation from Congress in 2011 following the first of many sexting scandals, this is a major win for Weiner compared to recent years.

Although President-elect Trump expressed distaste for the disgraced congressman on the campaign trail, many republicans in Congress are calling this move by the soon to be president “brave.” This is the first sign of Trump’s plans to lean across the aisle and bring a Democratic nominee onto his cabinet.

“I mean we could do worse … maybe?” said Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

Weiner made national headlines in 2011 following a scandal the revealed a string of sexually explicit photos of himself shared with young women through the social media site Twitter. Weiner originally denied the claims made by multiple women involved, however eventually confessed to his actions and resigned from his position as Congressman.

Weiner returned to New York politics in 2013 with a run for mayor of New York City. Announcing his candidacy in April of that year, his campaign was marred when another sexting scandal surfaced in July of the same year.

Weiner made headlines once again for sexting in 2016 and was officially under investigation by Child Services after an explicit photo surfaced that showed an erect Weiner in bed next to his toddler son. Wife Huma Abedin announced intentions to separate from her husband the following day.

“Anthony knows what it means to be understood. Locker room talk is locker room talk and what happens behind computer screens in private,” President-elect Trump said in a written statement. “After such a divisive election we need some decency in this country and he’s the perfect candidate. He’s faced adversity, slander, libel from the left-media and whiny pigs. I know his compass will direct our nation in the right direction.”

Some Democrats have expressed concern in response to the nomination, however other cabinet nominees have been fairly supportive of the decision.

“I look forward to working with Anthony,” said Ben Carson, the newly selected nominee for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Though I’m not sure his qualifications. Hell, I’m not even sure of my own qualifications.”

The last time an executive department was created and a cabinet position added to the President’s board of advisors was 2002 after the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Proponents of this department and bill are calling it “An Act of Decency.”