As of Thursday, February 20th, the Senate has confirmed 18 out of 22 of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations to his administration. The press around Trump’s cabinet picks has been overwhelmingly negative, as most of them are controversial at best and at worst, completely unqualified for the roles they are being assigned to. From their personal lives to their political careers, many of his cabinet picks are either grossly incompetent, morally bankrupt, or just plain bizarre. Sifting through the sheer volume of scandals, conflicts of interest, and baffling policy positions was no easy feat, but I’ve done the dirty work to bring you a definitive ranking of the five worst, in no particular order. My criteria? A perfect storm of personal misconduct, disastrous political track records, and an overall vibe that screams, “Should absolutely not be in charge of anything, let alone an entire federal department.”
- Matt Gaetz
Matt Gaetz was nominated by Trump for the Attorney General position of his cabinet. How can someone with very credible sexual assault allegations against a 17-year-old lead the Department of Justice? Congress had the same question, as the House Ethics Committee released the investigation reports against the Representative from Florida in December, which found that there was “substantial evidence” for the allegations levied upon Gaetz. Thankfully, Gaetz stepped down from both the nomination itself, and his position in the House of Representatives, but it seems shocking that he was nominated in the first place, until I remember Trump has dozens of allegations against him as well. At this point, expecting ethical leadership from this crowd feels about as realistic as expecting Gaetz to respect the law he was almost put in charge of.
- Pete Hegseth
In worse news, ex-Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth has been confirmed to Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of Defense. Hegseth proposed cutting billions of dollars from the military budget, which seems extremely reasonable based on the sheer amount of money the United States spends on the military that could be redistributed to social programs. However, the cuts will be taking funds away from diversity initiatives that are “too woke,” according to Hegseth. In addition to this, he has claimed that women should not serve in the military, claiming that their inclusion weakens combat effectiveness—a stance that conveniently ignores decades of evidence proving otherwise as well as just being a plain misogynistic statement. Beyond his misogynistic views on women in the armed forces, he also has multiple allegations of abuse against women, as well as struggles with alcohol. At this point, it’s hard to tell if Trump’s cabinet picks are based on qualifications or a contest to see who can rack up the most scandals before lunchtime.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Who better to lead the Department of Health and Human Services than someone who doesn’t believe in the safety and efficacy of vaccines and thinks WiFi causes cancer and a “leaky brain?” According to Donald Trump, RFK Jr. is the perfect fit! Personally, I’d prefer an actual doctor—or at least someone with relevant experience—but to each their own, I guess. RFK Jr.’s conspiratorial rhetoric, which he has been pushing since the early 2000s, has already reached a massive audience thanks to Joe Rogan’s podcast. Now, with a cabinet position, he’ll have an even bigger platform—because what’s public health without a little pseudoscience running the show?
- Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard is perhaps the most interestingly strange to me. Nominated to be the Director of National Intelligence, she has concerningly close ties to Putin and is a Trump loyalist, which is of course not mutually exclusive. She has absolutely zero experience in national intelligence, and even called for the dismissal of charges against Snowden, who leaked mass amounts of information on the U.S. government’s top-secret surveillance programs to Russia. She now holds the keys to America’s most sensitive information, all while maintaining her reputation as a Trump loyalist and Putin apologist. At this rate, we might as well send classified briefings directly to Putin and save everyone the trouble.
- Elon Musk
Last but not least, and most infuriating to me personally, is Elon Musk. Elon Musk having his very own special department DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is less about efficiency and more about cementing the role of oligarchs in government. There is absolutely no reason a non-American billionaire—who has never been elected to anything—should hold a cabinet position, yet here we are. Given his track record of union busting, we can probably expect more focus on dismantling worker protections than on actually making the government run better.
The confirmation of these individuals marks a disturbing trend where competence takes a backseat to Trump loyalty and personal agendas. It’s clear that, for this administration, qualifications seem secondary to scandal and controversy, and we can only wonder how much damage will be done before someone with actual experience is given the reins, if ever. All we can do now as citizens is watch as these underqualified and immoral people attempt to dismantle essential aspects of our government, and hope that checks and balances will uphold democracy.
Short n’ Sweet
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