Like many Americans, I breathed a sigh of relief when the election results declared Joe Biden to be our next President.

However, I find recent news that Trump is firing (or forcing out) some top government officials and “loading” those positions with Trump loyalists very disturbing.

The firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper was just the beginning. Lisa Gordon Hagerty, the top official at the National Nuclear Security Administration, was also forced to resign after the election, along with several other key officials. Experts posit that the FBI and CIA directors may be next.

At the very least, this is a disturbing act of retribution by a bitter election loser, or an attempt to stymie the next president’s attempts at setting straight a house in disorder by loading the government with players with competing agendas. Most unnerving, though, is the possibility that Trump has set out for some sort of revenge, or for not transitioning the presidency to Biden peacefully. In any case, I hope there are safeguards in place to prevent any bad behavior.

Audrey Gup-Mathews
Kennebunk