Cabinet appointments deserve closer scrutiny

President-elect Donald Trump has been nominating Cabinet heads and filling other posts with little vetting of the candidates. Many Republican senators want to forego the usual FBI background checks (“Hegseth faces senators’ concerns not only about his behavior but also his views on women in combat,” Dec. 5).

When I was a practicing attorney, I participated in a committee which evaluated persons applying for admission to the Maryland bar. Our task was to determine if the applicants had fitness and character appropriate to become an attorney, knowing that these person would be entrusted by their clients with confidential information and money.

We obtained every candidate’s driver’s license, employment records, education records, credit reports. We obtained and reviewed court records, both civil and criminal, and each candidate appeared before a committee member for a personal interview where we could ask about any discrepancies and information in the records — and anything else. A lengthy form was completed by each candidate. Much more information was gathered and evaluated.

Although our system wasn’t perfect, it seems we did a heck of a lot more than the incoming administration has done. President-elect Trump has nominated at least three candidates with sexual abuse allegations in their history, several with substance abuse issues and several who have cheated on their spouses repeatedly. Do these people have the moral character to serve in these high positions? Of course, Trump isn’t exactly free of moral frailty either.

— Irwin E. Weiss, Lutherville

Let’s not forget the ‘Golden Arm’ movie

Reader Clinton Macsherry notes in his recent letter to the editor that Jacques Kelly in his column regarding the Thanksgiving of 1974 misidentified the James Bond movie “The Man with the Golden Gun” as “The Man with the Golden Arm” and suggests that Kelly may have had the Golden Arm restaurant in the back of his mind (“Jacques Kelly is gold (aside from the occasional slip),” Dec. 2).

A more likely explanation for the slip is that there actually was a film called “The Man with the Golden Arm.” The film noir about a recovering heroin addict came out in 1955 and starred Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak.

— Jack Ray, Baltimore

Trump plurality falls short of mandate

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris claims Donald Trump has a mandate that he will support (“Maryland’s Andy Harris is giving Trump something he didn’t have in his first term,” Dec. 3).

While Trump certainly won a majority of the electoral college, he finished with 49.9% of the popular vote, compared with 48.3% for Harris. Such a slim win — and not even a majority — cannot be considered a mandate.

— Wes Michael, Towson

State taxpayers forced to underwrite illegal immigration

Illegal immigration was apparently a key issue with voters in the 2024 election, but leaders of Maryland and Baltimore embracing their de facto sanctuary jurisdictions don’t seem to care about the costs to taxpayers (“In Maryland, the stage is set for a battle over immigration,” Dec. 2).

It has been estimated that currently a net annual amount of $150 billion is costing the nation’s taxpayers — much of it for education, welfare and services. I am really curious as to how much we Maryland and local taxpayers are shelling out for those who are not lawfully present as well as illegally working.

Maybe the governor, county executives and Baltimore’s mayor should weigh in to enlighten us taxpayers as to what our “fair share” of these costs are.

— Michael Ernest, Catonsville