Loyalty trumps all else in picks of cabinet & other top officials – Asia Times
Of 44 people who served in Donald Tump’s cabinet during his first leadership, just four endorsed him for the presidency in 2024. His biggest error, he claimed to the important podcaster Joe Rogan days before the election, was to assign “disloyal folks.”
According to what we know about the cabinet selections and other political appointments he has made so far, the president-elect makes it clear that he does n’t intend to make the same mistake this time around.
Chief of staff: Susie Wiles
The Trump team’s initial visit did not come as a surprise.
Trump said that Wiles had” really helped me achieve one of the greatest social successes in American history”, describing her as” tough, intelligent, inventive” and “universally admired and respected”.
Wiles, a veteran political operator who joined Ronald Reagan’s campaign staff in 1980, has decades of Democratic political experience in Florida.
She masterminded Ron DeSantis’s effective strategy for chancellor.
Individuals near to Trump have portrayed Wiles’s comparative lack of experience in Washington as a virtue.
She is said to have no prior relations to Washington officials or officials.
Attorney standard: Matt Gaetz
In a way that exemplifies Trump’s approach to government takes, Matt Gaetz as solicitor general is no exception. A long-time MAGA brave, Gaetz has been a outspoken supporter of Trump in Congress, opposing his impeachment on both times.
The 42-year-old lawyer from the town of Hollywood, a native of Florida, has been the subject of numerous controversy in his 14 years of state and federal elections, including allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance fraud. Gaetz now serves in the GOP’s far-right nationalist wing since winning the 2016 congressional election.
Director of national intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard
Gabbard is a wonder get after serving as a Hawaii representative in the House of Representatives. In the National Guard, she served as a lieutenant captain. She left the Democrat Party in October 2022 after Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination for president in 2020. In August of this year, she endorsed Trump.
Gabbard has received criticism for her extraordinary views on Russia and Ukraine, and she continues to oppose US aid for Ukraine. She has no experience in knowledge, not having worked in the field, and has not served on any legislative knowledge boards.
Security minister: Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth, a former of Fox News and the US National Guard, makes another unexpected appearance. In fact, according to reports, his appointment as defence minister reportedly caught the Pentagon’s top brass by shock more.
As a Fox News reporter, Hegseth called for some major generals to get fired, including the head of the joint chiefs of staff, General CQ Brown, for what Hesgeth called their “woke” plan, which he said was undermining US military power.
Hegseth wrote in a book that was released earlier this year that” the next president of the United States needs to fundamentally change senior leadership to make us ready to defend our country and fight our foes.” Lots of people need to be fired”.
Secretary of country safety: Kristi Noem
Prior to her revelations in a narrative about killing an “untrainable” family dog, the South Dakota government had been viewed as a strong candidate for the vice-presidential election earlier this year. These ambitions were rapidly replaced by this registration.
However, Noem, who served as secretary of homeland security, is expected to take a harsh stance on the subject. He was a very outspoken supporter of Trump’s immigration policy throughout the plan. Some of the tone that the Trump presidency can expect from her is evident in her willingness to use phrases like “invasion” to identify immigration.
Border king: Tom Homan
Tom Homan, who previously served as the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE), returns to the cast. Then appointed as Trump’s “border czar”, Homan is another emigration hardliner.
A recent TV interview gave a preview of immigration policy during the next Trump White House, in which he argued for mass deportation and claimed that family disputes could be resolved “families can be deported up.”
Secretary of state: Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio was a bitter enemy who received money from the Tea Party and was later hailed as “little Marco” when Trump ran against him in the 2016 Republican primary. Rubio’s foreign legislation is viewed as aggressive. Along with the president-elect, his aggressive approach toward China will strengthen his position.
Rubio and Trump disagreed on the subject of NATO because of his previous co-sponsoring a expenses that would forbid any US senator from leaving without the approval of Congress. Thus did his tough line on Russia. But more recently he has endorsed Trump’s place on Ukraine, saying the combat “needs to be brought to a summary”.
Rubio, who calls Iran a “terrorist regime,” is a steadfast admirer of Israel. He urged the Netanyahu authorities to vehemently listen to Iranian and Hezbollah’s missile launches into Israel.
National security advisor: Mike Waltz
Mike Waltz, a senior of the Army Green Berets, has extensive experience in both domestic and international affairs. He is mainly known as a China bird, having called the region an “existential danger” to the US in the 21st century, many as Russia had been in the 20th century.
He is a fervent supporter of Israel, and he previously stated to journalists earlier this year that he opposes a ceasefire and hostage agreement because it wo n’t put an end to the conflict. He backs Trump’s position on NATO, and he cosponsored policy to allow the use of force against Mexican cartel in 2023.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Elon Musk’s interview is a unique one, even though it came as no surprise following the election campaign. Trump has asked the richest man in the world to lead a new “department of state efficiency” along with tycoon Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman in medicine.
Together they are tasked with making cuts estimated at more than$ 2 trillion, about one-third of the overall budget of the federal government. Trump has referred to this as his adminstration’s” Manhattan initiative”.
Musk will unavoidably face labour unions and the stringent work protections that benefit provincial government employees in order to achieve the cuts. Tesla is the only US car company without unionized labor.
Controversially, this interview will provide Musk control over the pretty organizations that oversee his businesses and have launched numerous investigations into issues like the security of his Tesla cars and the alleged economic damage caused by his SpaceX projects in recent years.
Formally, Musk and Ramaswamy are not taking up cabinet roles. But there is intense speculation that Musk, in particular, whom Trump praised in his victory speech as a” super genius”, will play a central role in the president’s inner circle. There are also rumors that Musk’s extremely high media profile may already be grating on the president-elect in keeping with the frequently chaotic hiring and firing that characterized Trump’s first term.
Christopher Featherstone teaches in the University of York’s Department of Politics.
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