Election Day 2024 was only a few weeks away and Donald Trump has already announced his choices for his second cabinet term. It turns out that an incoming president and his transition team can move with incredible speed if they forego the vetting process altogether.
There has been a fair amount of commentary about the differences between Republicans’ selections — a Politico report described the incoming Cabinet as “the team of randos” — although there are some common denominators linking Trump’s choices for his second term .
Trump has singled out many television personalities (especially from Fox News): During his first term, the Republican president relied heavily on people he saw and liked on cable news. As his team takes shape for a second term, Trump is poised to expand his Cabinet with even more television personalities.
Pete Hegseth (Fox News personality), Dr. Mehmet Oz (syndicated host), Sean Duffy (Fox Business host), Mike Huckabee (former Fox News host), Tulsi Gabbard (Fox News contributor), Tom Homan (former Fox News contributor) Dr. Martin Makary (frequent Fox News commentator) and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat (Fox News contributor) will jointly form a Made-for-TV Cabinet.
If we broaden the scope a bit, this could also include Sebastian Gorka, a prominent far-right media commentator, and Linda McMahon, who maintained a high public profile as part of the professional wrestling company she helped lead, often appearing front and center. of the camera. (It’s worth noting that Trump himself is a former television personality.)
Trump has singled out many authors and contributors to Project 2025: Ahead of Election Day, the former president did everything he could to distance himself from the right-wing blueprint. After Election Day, Trump asked the document’s authors and contributors to play a key role in his second term.
An Associated Press report summed it up: The president-elect is “providing his second administration with key figures in the detailed efforts he has temporarily eschewed. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore role as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar”; and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief policy officer.”
That’s a partial list, of course, and it also includes John Ratcliffe, a Project 2025 operative whom Trump now wants to lead the CIA, and Brendan Carr, who wrote part of the Project 2025 document and will likely lead it soon to the CIA. FCC.
Trump has singled out several people accused of sexual misconduct: Given his own sexual misconduct scandals, common sense would suggest that the newly elected president would exercise some caution in this area. That is clearly not the case.
As The Washington Post reported: “[Matt] Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Trump’s initial picks to lead the Justice, Defense and Health and Human Services departments, respectively — have each been accused of sexual misconduct. In addition, Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for education secretary and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, was accused in an October lawsuit of failing to prevent sexual abuse of teenage WWE employees. No one has been criminally charged and all have denied wrongdoing.”
Trump has singled out many Floridians: The Sunshine State is overrepresented in Trump’s incoming team, with Marco Rubio, Pam Bondi, Dave Weldon and Michael Waltz poised to join the next administration. (I’m not including Gaetz in this list, although he is also a Republican from Florida.)
There are still some key spots to be filled, and applicants hoping to succeed should probably keep these categories in mind.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
