Who will be in the Cabinet?

Rick Morain

A list of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for Cabinet positions suggests strongly that he envisions the U.S. Cabinet playing a very different role from those that key appointees have traditionally played in the past.

            Most of Trump’s nominees have relatively little administrative experience and/or familiarity with the duties and obligations of the departments that, if confirmed, they will lead. Instead, their chief and uniting characteristic appears to be unshakeable loyalty to Mr. Trump.

            That attribute has historically hallmarked ambassadorial appointments, especially if the designated ambassador has made significant financial donations to the President’s campaign. Trump’s Cabinet nominees may not be heavy contributors, but their loyalty shows as rock solid, at least in recent years.

            Current members of President Biden’s cabinet, like their predecessors, offer advice to the President on issues vital to their particular department. Biden, like most other Presidents, chose his Cabinet members for their experience and judgment in the work of management. The dossiers of Trump’s nominees, by contrast, are thin in those qualities.

            Compare and contrast a few of the key Cabinet members in the Biden administration with Trump’s appointees for the same departments:

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

            For Biden: Lloyd Austin. Retired four-star general, commanded combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan at the one, two, three, and four-star level. Led infantry division from front, traveling 500 miles from Kuwait to Baghdad in a command and control vehicle. Later Commander of CENTCOM, overseeing all 150,000 U.S. troops and their operations in the Middle East and Central and South Asia (20 countries). Routinely advised the President and Secretary of Defense before his nomination. 

            For Trump: Pete Hegseth. Political commentator on Fox News since 2014, and previously executive director of Vets for Freedom. Occasionally advised Trump in Trump’s first term. Former National Guard captain in Afghanistan and infantry platoon leader in Iraq. Urged Trump to pardon veterans convicted of war crimes. Opposes women in combat. Says victory for America would be the end of globalism, socialism, secularism, environmentalism, Islamism, genderism, and leftism. Sharply critical of NATO. Opposes a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine and advocates Israeli control of the West Bank. Called on Trump to bomb Iran. Paid settlement to woman who accused him of sexual abuse.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

            For Biden: Merrick Garland. Circuit Judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals from 1997 to 2021. Former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice, former special assistant to the Attorney General, assistant U.S. Attorney for D.C. Nominated by President Obama to the Supreme Court but denied a hearing by the Senate. More federal judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in history. Prosecuted D.C. Mayor Marion Barry for cocaine possession. Supervised Unabomber case, Atlanta Olympics bombing case, and major adviser for Oklahoma City bombing case. Considered a judicial moderate and centrist.

            For Trump: Pam Bondi (after first nominee Matt Gaetz withdrew): Florida Attorney General from 2011 to 2019. Trump defense lawyer in first impeachment trial. Leader of legal arm of America First Policy Institute (a Trump-aligned organization). Endorsed Trump in 2016, saying she had been friends with him for several years. Claimed large-scale voter fraud in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin in 2020.

DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

            For Biden: Avril Haines. Served in Office of Legal Advisor of State Department, first in Treaty Affairs area and then in Political Military Affairs area. Deputy Chief Counsel for Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Deputy Director of C.I.A. under President Obama. Deputy Counsel to President for national security affairs before appointment to position in C.I.A.

            For Trump: Tulsi Gabbard. Longtime member of Hawaii National Guard, left as Major, then Lieutenant Colonel with Army Reserve. Deployed to Iraq. Former Democratic U.S. Representative from Hawaii and Democratic candidate for President in 2020 primary. Co-sponsored bill to prevent American involvement in wars unless authorized by Congress. Former Vice Chair of Democratic National Committee. Left Democratic Party in 2022 and campaigned for Trump-supported candidates. A paid contributor to Fox News and former fill-in host for Tucker Carlson on that network. Became Republican on October 22 of this year. Opposes Islamic extremism and aid to Ukraine.

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            While President-elect Trump will no doubt hold Cabinet meetings, they likely will serve different purposes from those of Biden and most other past Presidents. A session of the Trump Cabinet will probably more resemble a meeting between the head of a business organization and his or her subordinates, where Trump will give instructions and orders for the Cabinet to carry out. Less listening, more ordering.

            That version differs sharply from standard Cabinet procedures, under which the President seeks information and opinions and suggestions from department directors, relying on their expertise to help him formulate policy. Trump is more likely to hear policy recommendations from his White House staff and from his private sector supporters and acolytes, like those from Fox News and those who created Project 2025 under the auspices of the Heritage Foundation.

            How well the Cabinet methodology under Trump will succeed is an open question. Whether the United States will be well served, or whether Cabinet members will be just placeholders - that’s the question. But there’s little question that Trump intends major changes in American government, with slavishly loyal subordinates to carry them out.