Since Donald J. Trump was elected 45th President of the United States last Tuesday, he has started to choose his cabinet. Even though Trump promised to “drain the swamp” on the campaign trail, many people on his shortlist have served or are serving terms in public office. One of these names is familiar yet horrifying: Bobby Jindal.
Jindal was the 55th Governor of Louisiana, but I doubt anyone wants him to continue to serve in public office. His record shows he is incapable and underserving of the office of Secretary of Health and Human Services, the position for which Trump is considering him.
A few months before Jindal left office, the University of New Orleans conducted a statewide opinion poll and found he had a dismal 20 percent approval rating — the lowest of any past governor of Louisiana. His popularity was so low that one-fourth of voters cast their ballots for Democrat John Bel Edwards for governor last year because Louisianans believe the state’s economy worsened under Jindal’s watch.
Even though he was a Rhodes Scholar wiz kid, Jindal was able to take a billion dollar surplus inherited from former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and convert our state’s treasury into a projected $1.6 billion shortfall during his tenure. He made one of the largest tax cuts in the state’s history at the cost of our healthcare and higher education systems. Our tuition doubled and hospital bills skyrocketed to support his tax plans.
To fulfill his endless ambition, Jindal decided to run for president while the state was in a ditch. Even though his campaign struggled to gain traction, he spent two-thirds of the days since his presidential announcement in June out of state campaigning for president. He ran on a political platform of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, shamelessly claiming that he has a “proven track record of cutting government to fix our country’s spending problem.”
During his tenure, Jindal also privatized most charity hospitals in Louisiana to account for the decreased revenue. While some of the hospitals remain, some have closed, including Earl K. Long Medical Center in North Baton Rouge.
The needless potholes Jindal created for our state were nothing more than attempts to bolster his conservative portfolio for his future run for the presidency. His irresponsible, selfish behavior completely disqualifies himself for any future political position. When he ended his candidacy, Jindal said, “This is not my time.” Here’s hoping it never comes.
Kevin Yau is a 20-year-old sociology senior from New Orleans, Louisiana.