CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICEFeb. 14, 2017 Flynn proof Trump must chose merit over loyaltyThomas Pepinsky, associate professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on authoritarianism, says Flynn’s resignation highlights the need to staff Trump’s team based on merit, not loyalty.

Bio: http://government.arts.cornell.edu/faculty/pepinsky/

Pepinsky says:

“Michael Flynn's sudden resignation throws into question the Trump administration's ability to staff its national security bureaucracy with competent and effective personnel.

“It also reveals a pathological feature of the administration's vetting process: by focusing on loyalty rather than competence, the administration needlessly places itself at risk of embarrassment.

“Vetting, like Senate confirmation of cabinet secretaries, is just as much a mechanism for the administration to protect itself as it is an opportunity for its opponents to criticize the administration's choices.”

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