As Donald Trump begins his second, non-consecutive, term — the first in over a hundred years — the new administration has begun coalescing itself into an executive branch comprised of true believers. Most of the appointees have either occupied minor roles in the first Trump cabinet, served as political donors, or have been partisans for Trump in his four-year absence from the White House. These nominations are in lockstep with Trump’s own “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) ideology, unlike his last stint where the party represented more of a compromise, hence the conspicuous lack of continuity from his previous cabinet. This article will provide a brief description of the 47th president’s nominations for his cabinet and updates on their senate confirmations.
Secretary of State – Marco Rubio, confirmed 99-0
Nominated in the first days following Trump’s victory on November 5, Marco Rubio has become the first Latino to hold the position as the nation’s chief diplomat. Secretary Rubio enters the executive branch after a fourteen-year career in the senate representing Florida, where he once sparred with then-candidate Trump in the 2016 presidential election before toeing the party line following Trump’s subsequent election. During his tenure, Rubio cultivated a reputation as a China-hawk and red-warrior who served on the committee for National Intelligence and Foreign Relations. There, he advocated for more bellicose relations against China, Russia, Syria, and to maintain the embargo on Cuba. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who left during the Batista regime, is expected to lead the Trump’s administration’s overtures to Latin America while prioritizing an “America First” foreign policy.
Attorney General – Pam Bondi, confirmed 54-46
The first female Attorney General of Florida and defense attorney for Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2018 saw her loyalties rewarded in the second Trump cabinet. In Pam Bondi’s capacity as Florida’s attorney general, she had a mixed record on LGBTQ rights, defending the constitutionality of Florida’s same-sex marriage ban while prosecuting LGBTQ hate crime related cases. She also sought to implement more stringent immigration controls that were being implemented in states like Arizona. On the federal level, she has been charged with investigating and handling “weaponization” of the Justice Department, the supposed bias the department operated under during the Biden years. As a part of this initiative, the Justice department has begun purging those members who were involved in Trump’s criminal cases as well as investigating those working on the case. Under her, the Justice Department has also lifted the federal death penalty moratorium put into place by Joe Biden, and it has begun lawsuits of state governments over immigration enforcement as a part of Trump’s larger crackdown.
Secretary of Defense – Pete Hegseth, confirmed 51-50
The most contentious of Trump’s nominations, requiring Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote, was of Pete Hegseth. Hegseth’s confirmation seemed precarious and could have gone the way of Matt Gaetz’s nomination. The criticisms of the national guard veteran and Fox News commentator were that he lacked senior military experience, was a war-crime apologist, an alleged alcoholic, believed women were unfit for combat roles, said DEI was chasing away America’s white sons from military service, called for a “crusade,” and espoused Christian Nationalist talking points.
In his position as Secretary of Defense, Hegseth has been charged with purging the DoD of DEI. So far, this has amounted to a blanket prohibition on transgender persons from joining the military, ending a policy of allowing female personnel from receiving reproductive care, and censoring literature. With luck, his capacities as a commander of armed forces will never need to be put to the test.
Secretary of the Treasury – Scott Bessent, confirmed 68-29
Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager in the 0.001% of earners and loyal Trump donor, was tapped to be President Trump’s treasury secretary, and upon his confirmation became the nation’s first gay treasurer (here’s to diversity and inclusion within the new administration). Responsible for implementing Trump’s economic agenda, Bessent has dubbed the plan as the “3-3-3” policy. That is, a deficit of 3% GDP, annual GDP growth of 3%, and 3 million barrels of oil produced a day. These are lofty goals for an administration also trying to make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, drastically cutting revenues down. Bessent’s solution is to use tariff funding —which he says will not be inflationary, going against mainstream economists—and deep cuts to federal entitlement spending, which House Republicans are already planning. In the meantime, Bessent has been allowing Musk and his DOGE stooges to run roughshod over the treasury’s payment systems, accessing critical payment systems in the name of improving efficiency.
Secretary of the Interior – Doug Burgum, confirmed 80-17
Doug Burgum, the two-term governor of North Dakota and once a long-shot candidate for the Republican 2024 Presidential nomination before dropping out and endorsing Trump, was nominated for Secretary of the Interior. His time in the national spotlight and quick fealty to Trump paid dividends for the oil-magnate, who is set to join fellow multimillionaires in the White House. During his tenure as governor, Burgum prioritized growing Dakota’s fossil fuel industry as the nation’s third most oil producing state and looks to continue said policies on the national level. In his first days as Secretary, Burgum has already announced his plans to deregulate and permit new oil drilling opportunities, especially in Alaska. Burgum’s enthusiasm for oil drilling and fossil fuels has environmental groups worried that he will give away public land for resource exploitation, ecological consequences be damned.
Secretary of Agriculture – Brook L. Rollins, confirmed 72-28
Former president of the conservative think tank, America First Policy Institute, as well as advisor to Trump in his last administration, Brook L. Rollins now heads an often overlooked but crucial department. Rollins is met with the difficult task of shepherding the nation’s agricultural industry through the twin threats of natural and man-made disasters. As some farms still struggle to rebuild following wildfires and hurricanes Milton and Helene, an epidemic of bird flu rips through the nation’s coops, all the while managing to avoid a major shock to agricultural labor as Trump prepares for his mass-deportation campaign.
Secretary of Commerce – Howard Lutnick, confirmed 51-45
The billionaire financial investor, philanthropist, and political donor Howard Lutnick was confirmed in a remarkably partisan vote, with no Democrat support. Leading the commerce department, Lutnick will be responsible for leading US trade policy, awarding government contracts, regulating securities, and more recently, artificial intelligence. Within the context of the second Trump administration, this means implementing his tariffs, reappraising CHIPS and high-speed internet grant awards, while taking a more hostile attitude toward China, and restricting what technological assets can be traded, particularly with respect to artificial intelligence. Outside of these priorities, Lutnick has shown sympathy to Crypto currencies and loosening arms export controls put in place under the Biden administration.
Secretary of Labor – Lori Chavez-DeRemer, confirmed 67-32
In a surprise to the GOP, Trump nominated the one-term Oregon representative with a strong pro-labor record for the Labor Department, an unusual decision for the otherwise pro-business administration. A supporter of the PRO Act, Biden era legislation aimed at strengthening unions, she has since walked back her endorsement. Her role as a Secretary would, in theory, be a balancing act between protecting labor and the administration’s favoring of capital. That is, if she decides to hold the interest of workers at all, she will invariably come into conflict with DOGE as they begin a firing spree across all levels of the executive government. She received rare bipartisan support from a dozen Democrats and all Republicans but Ted Budd and Mitch McConnell.
Secretary of Health and Human Services – Robert F Kennedy, Jr., confirmed 52-48
The vaccine misinformation spreader, brain worm infected, fluoride skeptic, and covid racialist truther Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) is set to lead the Nation’s leading health institution and its constituent agencies including the USDA, CDC, Medicare, and Medicaid—the last of which he demonstrated several gaps in his knowledge. His confirmation process included a notable party line vote with every Democrat and one lone GOP senator voting against Kennedy. Mitch McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, voted no for the Secretary’s vaccine skepticism. President Trump has charged RFK Jr. with clamping down on alleged corruption of the nation’s health institutions while the Secretary seeks to implement his “Make America Healthy Again” policy. An initiative which ranges from changing SNAP guidelines away from processed foods to purging the Department of individuals deemed to have acted with insufficient scientific rigor. This is a difficult task, no doubt for someone who has no educational or professional training in any field of science and who has readily bought into and spread misinformation.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – Scott Turner, confirmed 55-44
Scott Turner, former football player, representative of the Texas House, and member of the first Trump administration as head of the Opportunity and Revitalization Council, was confirmed in a near party line vote as Secretary of HUD, becoming the sole African-American in the Trump cabinet (as it were, the only African American in the first Trump cabinet, Ben Carson, also headed HUD). Turner spoke generally about how HUD needed to allow for the construction of more homes to bring down cost of living and proposed cutting red tape. Turner has a proven track record of not believing in government housing assistance, and he is not opposed to budget cuts to HUD, going so far as to allow DOGE members to participate in discussions for what programs can be cut. Union representatives suggest that DOGE could be aiming at cutting a full half of the department’s workforce as a part of improving “efficiency.”
Secretary of Transportation – Sean Duffy, confirmed 77-22
The task of maintaining the nation’s planes, trains, and automobiles falls on the shoulders of former TV Star, Wisconsin Representative, and Fox News TV commentator, Sean Duffy. With Biden’s one trillion dollar infrastructure bill and recent aviation tragedies, the usually innocuous department has captured the nation’s attention. Duffy has indicated that, while projects would be reviewed for cancellation, he was not trying to gut the initiative. Duffy has promised to continue hiring FAA employees while modernizing their systems and giving “tough love” to Boeing for recent airplane accidental malfunctions. Unfortunately for Duffy, this has put him at odds with the administration’s current practice of rampant firing and purging of “DEI” employees, FAA included.
Secretary of Energy – Christopher Wright, confirmed 59-38
Fossil Fuel CEO and Trump Donor Chris Wright was confirmed to the Department of Energy, where he vows to “unleash” US fossil fuel energy, dismantle the “green new scam,” and calls carbon neutrality programs “sinister.” As Energy Secretary, Wright will also be responsible for maintaining nuclear energy infrastructure and security, a task proven difficult with DOGE’s haphazard firing of employees. Wright will join Burgum and other executive agency heads in Trump’s new “Council of Energy,” which seeks to maximize US energy production via fossil fuels, leaving renewable energy by the wayside.
Secretary of Education – Linda McMahon, confirmed 51-45
In what is the most paradoxical nomination so far, Linda McMahon was nominated for a department that Trump may shut down. A former pro-wrestling CEO, Trump donor, and chief of the Small Business Administration, Linda is no stranger to Trump politics, just to education (beyond a one-year stint as member of Connecticut BOE). In her confirmation hearings she has called for the department to be trimmed down and reoriented for cost-saving measures if not shut down entirely with Congressional approval. In the meantime, she indicated she was willing to bring Trump’s culture war priorities to the DOE, ranging from banning transgender athletes from competing to DEI initiatives (i.e Black history). In a partisan line vote 51-45, she was confirmed.
Secretary of Veteran Affairs – Doug Collins, confirmed 77-23
Former Air Force chaplain, Iraq War Veteran, and Georgia Representative, Doug Collins now oversees the second-largest department by manpower and third by budget, responsible for veterans medical care and benefit. Collins has said that he plans to deregulate veteran care in the name of increased efficiency and quality of life for veterans. Controversy around Collins’ confirmation comes not so much from himself but the administration he is attached to, as growing fears that Veterans’ medical benefits could be determined by unaccountable DOGE bureaucrats.
Secretary of Homeland Security – Kristi Noem, confirmed 59-34
Former Governor and Representative of South Dakota Kristi Noem was confirmed with the aid of several more conservative Democrats and is now set to enforce the nation’s disaster relief, national intelligence, and border security operations, the latter of which is likely to dominate much of her time given Trump’s priorities. Noem earned her tough-on-immigration bona fides during her tenure as governor when she sent South Dakota national guardsmen down to Texas as part of Abbot’s “Operation Lone Star” stunt to enforce Texas’ own immigration policy. She has matched Trump’s saber-rattling rhetoric, calling the southern border a “war-zone,” supported his unilateral attempt to amend the constitution with regard to birthright citizenship, and said apps which allow asylum seekers to register with the government should be ended. Should Donald Trump ever get his mass-deportation campaign started, it will fall to Noem to enforce the measure. As of now, she has released a multi-million dollar campaign calling for undocumented peoples to self-deport or be “hunted down.”
Oh, and she kills dogs.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.