Former President Trump left the White House in 2021 under the cloud of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and his refusal to accept his election defeat, which became politically toxic.
His first administration was marked by rapid turnover, from the public firing of the FBI director to a revolving door of chiefs of staff and press secretaries. Other senior officials are also now critical of his former boss and see him as a threat. Country.
But there is no shortage of Republican officials ready to take on the job in a second Trump administration.
Conservative groups are working hard to identify potential staffers ahead of elections this November. Some former Trump administration cabinet members have endorsed him in recent days, and several who challenged him in the 2024 nomination race appear to be eyeing executive branch positions.
“For every former Trump official or staff member who is now saying negative things, who worked for him, who worked in the White House or in his administration, I would say they would be happy to have the opportunity to come back and work for Trump again.” There are hundreds of people who will say, ‘Yes, we will do that,’ and it will happen very soon,” said Brooke Rollins, president of the America First Policy Institute and former director of President Trump’s Domestic Policy Council.
The topic of who President Trump will choose as his running mate encapsulates how Republicans are publicly embracing the idea of joining a second Trump administration.
When asked about the possibility of joining the Trump administration, Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.) said on “Meet the Press” last month, “I would be honored to serve in any capacity in the Trump administration.” Ta.
Do Sen. Tim Scott (R), South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R), and Rep. Byron Donald (R, Florida) rule out the idea of being President Trump’s running mate? He said he welcomed the opportunity. .
Some of Trump’s former primary rivals who have supported him are in a position to work for the Trump administration in some capacity, such as Vivek Ramaswamy, who declined last month to say whether he would like to work for the Trump administration. It seems that there are some people.
Trump himself told supporters that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) would play a “key role” in the next administration. Mr. Burgum is not running for re-election, and appears to be open to such a role.
Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin endorsed Trump earlier this month, as did former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson endorsed President Trump last October.
Even former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who lost the gavel in part because of pro-Trump groups, said in December that he would consider joining Trump’s cabinet.
For the past two years, the Heritage Foundation has been building a portfolio of candidates for the next Republican administration through its Project 2025 initiative. The effort, led by Paul Dunnes and Spencer Chretien, aims to ensure that the next Republican president has policy recommendations and the talent to implement them once he takes office.
Project 2025 officials did not respond to requests for comment about the responses they received from potential applicants.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” President Trump said he would include “some” former White House officials in his cabinet in his second administration.
“So if somebody did a good job, I would do it,” Trump said, insisting he was ready to hire staff in his second term.
But there is a swarm of former Trump officials who are choosing not to participate in a potential second term.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who broke with President Trump on January 6, has not yet endorsed any candidate after suspending his campaign.
Trump has had a public feud with former Attorney General Bill Barr. Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper called President Trump a “threat to democracy,” and former national security adviser John Bolton warned that Trump’s second term would be more dangerous than his first. .
Rollins, who founded the America First Policy Institute as a way to advance policies championed by President Trump during his first term, said in an interview that the former president served as his boss and as a member of various senior officials during his term. She said she doesn’t get enough credit for hiring and supporting women in roles. his first term.
Rollins emphasized that the Institute for Policy Studies was not involved in personnel discussions during the second Trump administration, but added that Trump is more active now than when he began his first presidential campaign in 2015. He suggested that more conservatives are interested in working for him.
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Some officials have suggested that if he continues to lead President Biden in polls, there will be more appetite among lawmakers to come forward.
Former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer compared Republican donors who did not support the former president or were looking for an alternative to the former president, but ended up going along after Trump won in the primaries. did.
“With the polls the way they are, people’s views are changing even more, because the reality is it’s very likely,” Spicer said of Trump’s chances of a second term.
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