Aiming to turn the nation's capital upside down, President-elect Trump is turning to allies and supporters of the MAGA movement and America First policies as he moves rapidly to form his second administration.
The former president and the president-elect clearly value loyalty as they make increasingly provocative choices for top cabinet positions.
And unlike eight years ago, when a first-time politician took the helm of the White House for the first time, he is not in the market for establishment types or people who served in the first administration, but at heart he is disloyal. It turns out that there is something.
Case in point – this week's announcement to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, a controversial conservative congressman from Florida who has repeatedly said the criminal investigation into Trump is illegal, comes after Congress is one of Trump's biggest defenders. “Witch hunt”.
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Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) arrives with President-elect Donald Trump's motorcade at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump is traveling to Washington to meet with congressional Republicans and meet with President Joe Biden at the White House as the House and Senate Republican conferences hold leadership elections. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
In an announcement that shocked the nation's capital, President Trump said, “Matt played a key role in busting Russia, Russia, Russia disinformation and exposing alarming, systemic government corruption and weaponization.” He emphasized.
Gates was nominated and resigned from Congress ahead of a potentially damaging report by the House Ethics Committee on sexual misconduct allegations that he has denied.
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On Wednesday afternoon, the president nominated Robert Kennedy Jr., his former presidential rival and ardent supporter, to be secretary of Health and Human Services.
Mr. Kennedy endorsed Mr. Trump shortly after suspending his campaign and has since campaigned touting a plan to “make America healthy again” under a potential Trump presidency.
In making the announcement, President Trump said, “I am thrilled to announce that I am nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). It has been crushed by pharmaceutical companies and has engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health.”
President Trump has turned to another loyalist, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, as a candidate for director of national intelligence. Tulsi Gabbard is the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate turned MAGA rock star who became a Republican this year and became the former president's top campaign surrogate.
The day before, President Trump nominated another major supporter, retired Army National Guard officer and Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth, for secretary of defense.
In announcing New York Rep. Elise Stefanik's selection as U.N. ambassador, President Trump said, “Elise is a strong, very smart America First fighter… She was the first person to endorse me.” He is a member of Congress and always has been.” He was a staunch defender. ”
President Trump nominates former Democrat-turned-Republican to lead national intelligence agency
And President Trump called former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who is running for the position of head of the Environmental Protection Agency, “a true warrior for America First.”
He nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a conservative flamethrower, MAGA star and longtime Trump ally and supporter, to be Secretary of Homeland Security.
Noem will work with Stephen Miller, the president-elect's nominee to be his next deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller was the architect of many of the first Trump administration's hardline policies on immigration and border security.
She will also work with Thomas Homan, who became the face of President Trump's often controversial immigration policies as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his first administration. The next president named Homan as the next “border czar.”
President Trump nominated Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his nominee for secretary of state.
Mr. Rubio was Mr. Trump's rival in the bitter 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination, but has become a staunch ally of Mr. Trump in the Senate over the years.
President Trump also nominated Congressman Michael Walz of Florida to be his national security adviser. Walz, a former Army Green Beret, is a longtime Trump ally.
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Dan Everhart, an oil drilling CEO and prominent Republican donor and financier who raised millions for President Trump's 2020 and 2024 campaigns, He pointed out that the situation is completely different from eight years ago when he first won the White House. .
“He won the popular vote and he won all seven battleground states, so he has more power,” Everhart emphasized. “I also think he knows what he wants and I think he knows very well how to get what he wants from Washington. He's a more cohesive, more MAGA I look forward to having a team and achieving more.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak at an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A leading strategist in President Trump's political life, who requested anonymity to speak more freely, told Fox News: “One of the things that's remarkable this time is that it's not a team of ideologically disparate rivals; The main thing is that they have their own ideas.” He brings in people who align with his America First philosophy. ”
Matt Mowers, a veteran Republican consultant and 2020 Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire who worked on the Trump transition from 2016 to 2017 and served in the first Trump administration, told Fox News that Trump “We decided we needed to get everyone on the same page,” he said.
“What he's doing is he's selecting a bunch of people who are going to not only nullify Biden's policies, but are really going to put a hammer down on the bureaucracy…that's what he calls the 'deep state.' “It's a thing,” Moise added.
Those who feel the president-elect is not loyal to them seem to be chilled out.
In a social media post over the weekend, President Trump said he would like to ask questions of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during his first administration, and former Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo, who served as CIA director. Announced. He was serving as Secretary of State during President Trump's first term, but will be joining the next Cabinet.
Former Republican presidential candidate, former United Nations ambassador, and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16, 2024. Lecture. ((Pedro Ugarte/AFP, via Getty Images))
Haley ran against Trump in this year's Republican presidential primary, becoming the former president's final challenger in a polarizing nomination contest. Haley announced this week that she is not seeking a job in the second Trump administration.
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Pompeo seriously considered his candidacy for the White House in 2024 before ultimately deciding not to launch a campaign.
Both politicians ultimately endorsed Trump this year after the primary season.
But a Trump political aide told Fox News that the president-elect “is not going to give a platform to anyone with future presidential ambitions other than J.D. Vance.”
