Following his victory, Trump has quickly begun to assemble the cabinet for his second term. A president’s cabinet comprises 16 positions – the Vice President and the heads of the 15 executive departments. Some are required to be confirmed by the Senate, while others are not. Mr. Trump has been swift to nominate his staff, and so far, most of his picks have raised questions regarding their qualifications and controversial views. Here are a few of those who have been revealed so far.
“A strong advocate for our
nation, a true friend to our
allies and a fearless warrior
who will never back down to
our adversaries.”
For Secretary of State, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is Trump’s pick. The President-elect said Senator Rubio would be “a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.” This had been an anticipated decision, due to his aggressive foreign policy approach toward China, Iran, and Venezuela – countries that Mr. Trump frequently criticised during his campaign. As a war hawk, Rubio’s stances on foreign policy align with Trump’s isolationist views. Initially, his views conflicted with Trump’s, particularly on the issue of Ukraine. Mr. Rubio cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would block the president from taking the United States out of NATO without the approval of Congress, after concerns that Trump might do that. More recently, Mr. Rubio has taken on a similar approach to Trump’s, calling for the conflict to be concluded. How they plan to achieve this is unknown. The role of the Secretary of State must be confirmed by the Senate.
Mr. Trump has offered the role of UN Ambassador to Elise Stefanik. Ms. Stefanik, former Democrat turned Trump-supporting Republican, is among the first of Trump’s cabinet picks. She represents an upstate New York district in the House and is a member of the Republican leadership in the chamber. Shortly after the announcement, Ms. Stefanik posted on social media that she accepted the offer, saying that she was ready to pursue “peace through strength leadership on the world stage.” In this role, she will represent and speak for the U.S. at the United Nations, and although she has been Chair of the House Republican conference, she has minimal experience in foreign policy and national security. Notably, House Republicans appear on the way to win a narrow majority in the next Congress, so Ms. Stefanik’s departure could lower their margin. For Ms. Stefanik to take on the role, a Senate confirmation is required.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and vaccine-denier, has been chosen for the Head of the Health and Human Services Department [HHS secretary]. Notably, Mr. Kennedy has no medical or public health degree. If he is confirmed, Mr. Kennedy would have wide-ranging control of a department of 80,000 employees, across 13 operating divisions that run more than 100 programs. This includes the regulation of food and medicine that Americans consume in their daily lives, deciding whether Medicare and Medicaid will pay for drugs and hospital treatments, and the protections against infectious diseases. Many public health experts are deeply concerned with Mr. Trump’s selection. A former director of the CDC (Centre for Disease Control) said that having Mr. Kennedy as Health Secretary “would pose incredible risks to the health of the nation.” Mr. Kennedy is most notoriously known for promoting misinformation about vaccines, including that they cause autism – a theory that has long been debunked. He campaigned with Trump on the promise to “Make America Healthy Again,” a broad range of policies aimed at overhauling current health protocols. He’s expected to go to war with the Food and Drug Administration, promoting things like “raw milk,” which can be dangerous, especially amid a bird flu epidemic among dairy cows. This role requires confirmation and whether the Senate, even under the control of Republicans, would confirm Mr. Kennedy is a question that remains unanswered.
“I’m straight up just saying
we should not have women in
combat roles”
Trump’s pick to lead the country’s armed forces is Fox News host Pete Hegseth. Mr. Hegseth is a former Army National Guard officer who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Now, he is well-known to the Fox and Friends Weekend audience. Historically, defence secretaries have held higher-ranking roles beforehand, worrying lawmakers who don’t think Mr. Hegseth is qualified. “I see no evidence that this person has relationships whatsoever with our overseas partners,” said Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Additionally, some of Mr. Hegseth’s views about the military have sparked controversy. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” he said recently. Questions have arisen regarding how he would run the Pentagon when his belief that women shouldn’t be in combat roles and how he would manage millions of employees. A Senate confirmation is required for this job.
A polarising figure on Capitol Hill, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, was originally selected for Attorney General. The AG is the nation’s top law enforcement officer. Mr. Gaetz, who is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and was the focus of a three-year federal sex trafficking investigation which ended in 2023. Mr. Gaetz is seen as untrustworthy and unethical even by many of his fellow Republicans in Congress. Some of his colleagues described their response to this pick as “stunned and disgusted,” and Sen. Lisa Murkowski dismissed Mr. Gaetz as “not a serious pick.” Not long after the announcement, Mr. Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration, stating “…my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
To replace him, Mr. Trump chose Pam Bondi, attorney and lobbyist. Ms. Bondi is currently registered as a lobbyist for law enforcement-related clients. Floated for attorney general during Trump’s first term, Bondi is a fierce Trump loyalist and has been for some years now, recently leading the legal arm of the Trump-aligned think tank, the America First Policy Institute. She will need to be confirmed by the Senate for this role.
