Rumors and Reports of Rumors

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


RUMORS AND REPORTS OF RUMORS….I’m a little torn about whether I should blog more about transition scuttlebutt. On the one hand, this stuff matters a lot for the future course of the administration. If Robert Gates is Secretary of Defense or Tom Vilsack is Secretary of Agriculture, that says a lot about the tone and direction of Obama administration policy.

On the other hand, I’d guess that about 99% of these rumors are completely bogus, just random guesses from people with only a tenuous connection to the transition team. In that sense, reacting to the rumors is just dumb. It’s the kind of thing that makes us all stupider, not better informed.

Still, chatting about who might go where, and what it all means, isn’t such a bad conversation to have, even if the spark is sort of random and poorly sourced. So I dunno. What do you all think of the possibility of Gates staying on as SecDef or Vilsack being appointed Secretary of Agriculture?

THIS IS URGENT! DON’T MISS THE DEADLINE.

Until MIDNIGHT only, every dollar you give goes twice as far to support kickass reporting. This is the moment to make your support count double.

In a climate where journalists face mounting pressure to back down, stay silent, or soften their reporting, Mother Jones refuses to flinch. We’re pushing back against intimidation and delivering fierce, independent journalism that holds power accountable—no matter who’s trying to silence us.

But here’s the reality: We’re a nonprofit newsroom with zero corporate backing and no financial cushion. We depend entirely on readers like you to fund the investigations that matter most. The 2X match deadline is just hours away. We need you on the team right now. Please chip in and double your impact.

THIS IS URGENT! DON’T MISS THE DEADLINE.

Until MIDNIGHT only, every dollar you give goes twice as far to support kickass reporting. This is the moment to make your support count double.

In a climate where journalists face mounting pressure to back down, stay silent, or soften their reporting, Mother Jones refuses to flinch. We’re pushing back against intimidation and delivering fierce, independent journalism that holds power accountable—no matter who’s trying to silence us.

But here’s the reality: We’re a nonprofit newsroom with zero corporate backing and no financial cushion. We depend entirely on readers like you to fund the investigations that matter most. The 2X match deadline is just hours away. We need you on the team right now. Please chip in and double your impact.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate