The Best People Quiz | Government

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who served as President Trump's first Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, even though as the Attorney General from Oklahoma he sued the EPA 13 times? Here's a hint: following an assortment of ethics and management scandals, this person resigned in July of 2018.

Answer: Scott Pruitt

There were fourteen different Government Accountability Office investigations targeting Pruitt at the time of his resignation. The straw that may have broken the camel's back was when it was alleged that he leased a Washington, D.C. condominium at a deeply discounted rate from a lobbyist whose clients were regulated by the EPA. Carlos Curbelo, a Republican Congressman from Florida, said that Pruitt's scandals were "an embarrassment to the Administration, and his conduct is grossly disrespectful to American taxpayers."

2. Who was President Trump's first Secretary of Health and Human Services? Here's a hint: as a Congressman he voted multiple times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which allows millions of Americans to receive health care.

Answer: Dr. Tom Price

In September of 2017, Dr. Price was forced to resign, having served about eight months. Two months earlier, the inspector general of HHS issued a report saying that Price had violated government travel rules, and that he had wasted at least $341,000 due to his use of chartered jets and military aircraft.

Many of these flights were between cities with readily available (and much cheaper) commercial airline services.

3. Who was the National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration? Here's a hint: he agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of "wilfully and knowingly" making false statements to the FBI.

Answer: General Michael Flynn

General Flynn registered as a foreign agent in 2017, admitting that in 2016 he had been a paid lobbyist doing work for the benefit of Turkey's government -- while simultaneously serving as a foreign policy advisor to the Trump Presidential Campaign. He resigned as the National Security Advisor shortly after it was revealed that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence regarding his interactions with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

4. Who served as the Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019? Here's a hint: in 2008, as a U.S. attorney, he approved a non-prosecution agreement that allowed alleged human-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to plead guilty to a single charge of solicitation.

Answer: Alex Acosta

Secretary Acosta was pressured to resign shortly after Epstein was arrested by the FBI for crimes alleged to have occurred in 2002-2005. Due to Acosta's 2008 plea deal, an FBI investigation was shut down which was trying to determine if there were other people involved in Epstein's alleged sex ring, and if there were additional victims.

5. Who was named President Trump's first Secretary of the Interior? Here's a hint: even though the Interior Department is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, this department head's primary accomplishment was to open up federal lands for oil, gas and mineral exploration and extraction.

Answer: Ryan Zinke

Contrary to the opinion of many fire scientists and forestry experts, in August of 2018, Secretary Zinke said that "environmental terrorist groups" were responsible for the 2018 California wildfires, and that these fires had "nothing to do with climate change".

Much like his counterpart at HHS, Zinke was forced to resign when reports of some of his expenditures were revealed, including his use of expensive flights.

6. Who served as President Trump's Secretary of Education? Here's a hint: her father-in-law is the founder of Amway, and her family has given more than $17 million to Republican political candidates and committees since 1989.

Answer: Betsy DeVos

According to the Department of Education's website, Secretary Devos "has worked to support the creation of new educational choices for students in twenty-five states and the District of Columbia." In other words, her primary focus when it comes to education is to take students out of public schools and into charter schools.

She never went to a public school, didn't major in Education, and has never taught in a public school or served on a school board.

7. Who did President Trump choose to be his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development? Here's a hint: he's a retired neurosurgeon, and prior to his cabinet appointment he had never served in any government position, nor did he have any experience in the field of public housing.

Answer: Dr. Ben Carson

In July of 2020, Dr. Carson announced that HUD was revoking the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation, which was intended to eliminate racial disparities in the suburbs. Fair housing advocates have described this as an election year ploy designed to placate the fears of white suburban voters.

8. When Donald Trump became President, what 36-year-old became a Senior Advisor to the President, even though he had no experience in government? Here's a hint: his wife is President Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Answer: Jared Kushner

Many allegations have been made that Kushner has found ways to profit economically from his position of political power. For example, during the Presidential transition, Kushner and Ivanka Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, while his wife was simultaneously conducting a licensing deal between her clothing line and a company owned by the Japanese government. Similarly, in April of 2017, while Kushner and Ivanka dined with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner hosted by President Trump, the Chinese government granted monopoly rights to sell Ivanka brand jewellery, bags and spa services to China.

9. Formerly the chief executive officer of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, who became the President's Chief Strategist and a Senior Counsellor to the President in 2017? Here's a hint: prior to working for Donald Trump, he was the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, and had never served in government.

Answer: Steve Bannon

Bannon served at the White House for a total of eight months in 2017, and it has been reported that he was forced to submit his resignation by Trump's second Chief of Staff, General John Kelly. In August of 2020, Bannon was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering due to his involvement in the "We Build The Wall" campaign.

10. After Donald Trump became President, who became an Assistant to the President and the Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison? Here's a hint: in 2004, she received fame as a contestant on Donald Trump's reality television series "The Apprentice."

Answer: Omarosa Manigault Newman

Newman lasted about one year at the White House, and was fired by Chief of Staff General John Kelly. After her removal, she wrote a book that was very critical of Donald Trump called "Unhinged", in which she describes the President as a racist. She also released a tape in which the President's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, appeared to promise her a $15,000 per month "senior position" on the 2020 Trump campaign -- something Newman described as an "attempt to buy my silence."

Source: Author impdtwnaa

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Best People Trivia Quiz

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