Keeping Donald Trump in power was Mark Meadows' focus in short stint at White House
The U.S. House, based on the unanimous recommendation of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, voted Tuesday to hold Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff, in criminal contempt of Congress and urged the Department of Justice to prosecute. While Meadows initially cooperated with the committee subpoena and submitted some emails and documents, he subsequently claimed these documents and others requested fall within the former president’s executive privilege and is now suing the committee to block additional subpoenas and delay the investigation well into 2022.
Meadows began his brief term as Donald Trump’s chief of staff on March 31, 2020, the last in a line of unsuccessful chiefs battered and neutered by their mercurial boss until they had outlived their usefulness and were dispatched unceremoniously by tweet. Reince Priebus had a shorter tenure than any inaugural chief for a new president — just 192 days before he was run out of the administration. John Kelly and Mick Mulvaney fared little better — they discovered quickly that Trump was the boss, would not be handled in any way, and that he preferred to operate as his own chief of staff. Once a chief had lost his confidence, Trump would show them the door after a few months of public humiliation in the West Wing, having had their authority and influence stripped from them.
Knowing all this, Meadows still wanted the job. He wanted the job so badly that he willingly relinquished his safe North Carolina congressional seat — a place where he had co-founded the Freedom Caucus and had become a celebrity in conservative circles. That Meadows was desperate to become chief of staff should have been a harbinger that he might not be a good fit.
The hiring of Meadows coincided with the beginning of the greatest crisis facing the Trump presidency, the country, and the world at the time — the COVID-19 pandemic —which played out amid the backdrop of the 2020 presidential campaign. This was a recipe for disaster as public health decisions affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans were made in the context of a looming election.
Meadows’ advice to Trump not to issue a federal mask mandate for fear he would lose his base voters illustrates that public health decisions were being politicized, and that Meadows cared most about Trump’s reelection, even if it meant putting the public at risk.
Research tells us that chiefs of staff perform several critical roles in the White House, ranging from being an administrator overseeing the policy and political processes, to advising the president on matters of policy and politics, to being a proxy representing the president by speaking to the media and negotiating with Congress. But perhaps the most important role for any modern chief is to act as a guardian of the president’s time and interests. Chiefs of staff must protect the president from an intrusive news media, the Congress (especially one that is controlled by the opposition party), ineffectual administration members and even from decisions that the president, himself, may make in haste, anger, or simply with terrible judgment.
Even H.R. Haldeman, President Richard Nixon’s first chief of staff, who was convicted on five counts related to the Watergate scandal, including conspiracy, lying under oath, and obstruction of justice, frequently protected Nixon by not carrying out orders that would have harmed the president and his presidency.
Meadows, however, demonstrated he had no interest in being a guardian of Trump. In fact, Meadows’ actions reveal a Trump adviser willing to encourage his boss and others to violate the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. Among others, Meadows pushed the DOJ to investigate a number of baseless conspiracy theories, including one that became known as “Italygate” in which an Italian defense contractor, aided by the CIA, used satellites to remotely switch votes from Trump to Joe Biden in voting machines.
Meadows also held discussions with various officials on sending alternate slates of electors to Congress as part of a scheme to switch states' electoral votes from Biden to Trump. Meadows was also instrumental in arranging the infamous Jan. 2 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his team where, for over one hour, Trump pressured Raffensperger to “find 11,779” votes so he could win the state.
In addition, Meadows sent memos from Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis telling former Vice President Mike Pence of so-called options to object to the election results on Jan. 6, all of which were unconstitutional. Finally, it was revealed that Meadows had in his possession a multi-slide PowerPoint that included such suggested actions as having Trump declare a national emergency to delay certification of the 2020 presidential election.
What we have detailed is just the tip of the iceberg of actions Meadows took to try to keep Trump in power. Meadows was no stooge in this scandal — he was a willing participant in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and he enabled Trump’s worst instincts. Like Haldeman 45 years ago, Meadows must be held accountable for his actions and prosecuted, not only on contempt of Congress charges, but also for his alleged role in efforts to undermine the constitutional process of certifying the 2020 presidential election.
That Meadows — or any chief of staff — was actively engaged in a conspiracy to overturn the presidential election is incomprehensible. He ignored his duty to be Trump’s guardian and failed to prevent him from making repugnant and seditious decisions that would put his boss in political and legal jeopardy and endanger the U.S. constitutional system of government. Meadows betrayed the significant position he was entrusted with and should be prosecuted. After all, Haldeman went to prison for arguably less serious legal transgressions.
Meadows’ 10-month tenure as Donald Trump’s last chief of staff was the most disastrous in history and his actions have forever harmed the American republic. This is not hyperbole; this is fact. It didn’t have to be this way.
Meadows will forever be known as a devoted lieutenant who empowered a POTUS so eager to cling to power, that he encouraged a ravenous mob to attack the U.S. Capitol and temporarily disrupted the constitutional process for certifying the presidential election. If Meadows had taken the job of chief of staff seriously and embraced its inherent responsibilities, he could have helped smother the “Big Lie” nonsense and prevented the Jan. 6 insurrection. He didn’t, and he should be held accountable.
David B. Cohen is a professor of political science and director of the Applied Politics Program at the University of Akron. Chris J. Dolan is professor of political science and director of the M.S. Program in Intelligence and Security Studies at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. The views expressed here are their own.
