Who Will Be Working with Trump in the New Administration?

My VIPs for this week are the nominees for the coming Trump administration. Numerous Democrats and Republicans-in-name-only (RINO) complain about the people that Trump has chosen to help him make the necessary changes in America. Let me be clear: even the worst of the Trump nominees is better than the best of Biden cabinet members.

The biggest complaints seem to revolve around loyalty to Trump. During his last administration, Trump relied on the influence of people who knew and understood Washington, D.C. Then he spent his four years in office trying to do the job while so many of them were stabbing him in the back figuratively. This time, he is picking people that share his vision for America. Here is a list of those chosen by Trump for his Cabinet and administration as shared by Gitanjali Poonia at The Deseret News. 

Housing and Urban Development [HUD] secretary: Former NFL player and Texas state lawmaker Scott Turner… chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute… served as director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.

Treasury secretary: Scott Bessent is the founder and CEO of Key Square Capital Management, a hedge fund … also worked as chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management….

Labor secretary: Trump chose former Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his choice to run the Department of Labor. She was backed by Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention….

Attorney general: … Trump picked Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and a defense lawyer during Trump’s first impeachment trial, to be attorney general. She has had a 20-year-long career as a prosecutor. Bondi also served on the federal Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during Trump’s first term.

Secretary of State: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida will be responsible for carrying out Trump’s foreign policy through the top post at the State Department….

Defense secretary: Pete Hegseth, author, Fox News personality and former Army National Guard officer, is making the rounds among Republican senators ahead of his confirmation vote…. He has said he supports getting rid of “woke” programs that promote equity and inclusion in the military, and is against women in combat.

Interior secretary: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Stanford University graduate in business administration, will manage public lands….

Secretary of Health and Human Services: President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, to oversee the public health infrastructure, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [I have heard RFK Jr. say that he is not anti-vax but wants people to have a choice.] He is expected to build on the Make America Healthy Again platform and attempt to eliminate harmful chemicals from food, water and air….

Transportation secretary: Sean Duffy left Fox News, where he co-hosted “The Bottom Line,” when he was tapped for the Cabinet position… served Wisconsin as an elected representative from 2011 to 2019 and is the father of nine….

Secretary of Education: Linda McMahon and Trump have known each other for decades…. McMahon unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate twice in 2008 and 2012 and has served on the board of trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut…

Commerce secretary: Howard Lutnick is a co-chair of the Trump-Vance presidential transition team, and the head of Cantor Fitzgerald, a brokerage and investment bank. He is also a “cryptocurrency enthusiast” ….

Homeland Security secretary: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will likely carry out the incoming Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. Axios noted that she is experienced working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on immigration. She has also overseen her state’s response to floods, tornados and wildfires.

Veterans Affairs secretary: Doug Collins, another former congressman, will be in charge of the department that oversees active-duty servicemen, veterans and their families. The former Georgia representative is a veteran who served in Iraq as a U.S. Navy chaplain.

Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic representative, veteran and presidential candidate who left the party in 2022, does not have experience working with intelligence agencies. She has a history of criticizing President Joe Biden’s decision to help Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

CIA director: Former Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas has served on judiciary and intelligence committees, and is a staunch supporter of the president-elect…. [He was the Director of National Intelligence at the end of the previous Trump term.]

United Nations ambassador: Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the current House GOP conference chair, will represent the U.S. at the United Nations….

NATO ambassador: Matthew Whitaker, an Iowa native, previously served as the acting attorney general during Trump’s first term….

Energy secretary: Chris Wright, the chief executive of Liberty Energy, a fracking services company, has pushed back on green energy initiatives….

EPA administrator: Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., promised to make the U.S. energy independent, “revitalize the auto industry,” and cement the country’s place as a leader in artificial intelligence….

FCC chairman: Brendan Carr was one of the five commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission after Trump appointed him in 2017. The FCC doesn’t hold tech giants like Google and Meta accountable for the information posted on their platforms, nor do these companies practice transparency about algorithm changes. But Carr wants to change that, and bring more transparency to the internet, while tackling censorship.

Border czar: Tom Homan will be the “point person” on issues related to the southern border and will have informal powers, unlike other Cabinet positions…. He spent 34 years enforcing immigration rules as a police officer and a special agent for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, border patrol officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and an acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement…. [He is my favorite appointee.]

Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead DOGE, created to drastically cut the size and scope of the federal government….