The Commerce Department is operating disastrously, according to a report from Politico that also claims that Secretary Wilbur Ross finds it impossible to stay awake in meetings. The 81-year-old is rarely seen at the department, according to Politico’s sources. “He’s sort of seen as kind of irrelevant,” said one unnamed source. “The morale is very low there because there’s not a lot of confidence in the secretary... He’s not respected in the building.” He also doesn’t hold routine meetings due to a reported lack of stamina, with one source saying: “Because he tends to fall asleep in meetings, they try not to put him in a position where that could happen, so they’re very careful and conscious about how they schedule certain meetings... There’s a small window where he’s able to focus and pay attention and not fall asleep.” A Commerce official said that was unfair, claiming that Ross has frequent “long” afternoon meetings.
