Pals over Professionals; The Who and Why of Trump’s Cabinet Picks

Who are Trump’s cabinet picks, what might their positions be, and what do they mean for the Trump Administration?

After Donald Trump emerged as the victor of the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle a month ago, he quickly mobilized to put together his second presidential cabinet, roughly a month earlier than he did the first time in 2016. This second time around, Trump’s presidential cabinet picks have notably contrasted the first — not just in the speed at which they were chosen, but in their composition. Trump’s first cabinet members were widely regarded as more conventional picks that largely adhered to the Republican mainstream, whereas his picks for his second cabinet have been much more focused on those loyal to him, with less care for possible Senate confirmation challenges or the experience of those picked. He has stated that the “biggest mistake” he made in his first term was picking “bad, disloyal people” for his administration, and it’s clear that he’s intent on making different choices for his second presidential cabinet. As Trump’s second administration comes to fruition, it is important to look at some of these picks as an indicator of what the Trump administration will look like and the direction the U.S. might be heading in the next four years.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - Health and Human Services

After Robert F. Kennedy decided to suspend his failing presidential bid where he ran as an independent, he quickly endorsed Trump’s own bid for the White House. Before going to Trump, however, Kennedy tried for a meeting with Kamala Harris to discuss endorsing her in exchange for the promise of a cabinet post, but of course, was unsuccessful. He likely extended a similar offer to Trump before suspending his campaign, now Trump’s pick for the Human and Health Services Secretary position.That campaign— at least in the last stretch— was in significant part run on Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, Kennedy’s movement focused on “combatting corporate corruption,” “removing toxins from the environment,” and fighting “the chronic disease epidemic.” These issues are generally ones embraced by the left, but to Kennedy, “removing toxins from the environment” might mean removing fluoride from the water (which would worsen dental health), or addressing “poor diet” might mean more people drinking raw milk.

As someone who ran part of his campaign on a health platform and who will very possibly be the U.S.’s next Health and Human Services secretary, several of his health positions and ideas are questionable. RFK Jr. has a notable history of spreading misinformation, including spreading anti-vaccine rhetoric, claiming that Wi-Fi causes cancer on Joe Rogan’s podcast, and arguing that chemicals in the environment are turning children gay or transgender.

He also has a storied personal history that calls into question his fitness for office, with a sexual assault allegation, a worm that ate a portion of his brain, fourteen years of heroin use, and a baby bear corpse dumped in Central Park.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services acts as an advisor to the president on health matters, and the department it heads oversees several important U.S. agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. If RFK were to be approved by the Senate for the position, his anti-establishment health views could pose a significant danger to the U.S.’s public health system and its achievements. Naturally, RFK Jr’s proximity to becoming HHS Secretary has caused a lot of alarm among experts and U.S. public health officials.

(Photograph: Getty Images)

Tulsi Gabbard - Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, was formerly a Democratic Representative for Hawaii. She’s a veteran, with nearly two decades of service in the Hawaii Army National Guard and deployments in Iraq and Kuwait. She left the Democratic Party in 2022 and endorsed Trump in August of this year, also serving as an honorary co-chair for his presidential transition team. The possibility of Gabbard becoming Director of National Intelligence has caused concern among the U.S. intelligence community, mainly surrounding her complete lack of experience and statements about countries like Russia and Syria. She’s received many accusations of being a Russian asset— including from Hillary Clinton— and it’s clear they’re not unfounded, with her spreading of a Russian conspiracy theory and Ukraine war justification that states U.S funded Biolabs in Ukraine were being used to create deadly bioweapons that could be used against Russia, even though their public health work is not secret. Gabbard’s willingness to parrot Russian propaganda and to meet with Syria’s recently overthrown dictator (a close Russian ally) has spurred alarm that her becoming Director of National Intelligence would weaken U.S. national security and be a major win for Russia.

The Director of National Intelligence oversees and coordinates 18 intelligence agencies like the FBI or CIA and manages a budget of over 70 billion dollars, on top of serving as the president’s principal intelligence advisor.

Trump’s pick of Gabbard mirrors his distrustful and antagonistic relationship with the U.S. intelligence community. He stated that his administration “will clean out all of the corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus” and promised to “overhaul” that apparatus, trying to start with someone who many intelligence officials agree is a likely security risk.

Chris Wright - Department of Energy

For his Department of Energy secretary pick, Trump has chosen Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based fracking company.

Wright is an outspoken advocate for fossil fuels and has no prior political experience.

Both picking an oil and gas executive to run the Department of Energy and Chris Wright himself reflect Trump’s views toward the climate crisis; in a video posted on LinkedIn, Wright stated that “there is no climate crisis, and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition either,” similar to Trump’s claims that climate change is “one of the greatest scams of all time.” Trump’s choice for the position echoes his plans for his presidency regarding energy as he prepares to increase U.S. oil drilling and gas exports.

The Secretary of Energy manages federal energy programs and heads the Department of Energy, which oversees national energy production and policy. As the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright will likely help protect Trump’s wish to “drill baby, drill,” as he tries to increase the U.S.’s oil production which has already reached a record high under Biden’s presidency.

Kristi Noem - Department of Homeland Security

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was selected to be Trump’s pick for U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security just a week after he won the 2024 presidential race. She’s a farmer and rancher, and her political career started in 2006 when she was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives. She became the first female governor of South Dakota when she was elected in 2018 and she’s now on her second term.

As governor of South Dakota during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem opposed many safety measures such as business closures and enforced masking. She lauded her administration’s response to the pandemic, yet at the height of the virus South Dakota had some of the highest rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country.

Noem is a long-time Trump loyalist, to the extent that she privately gave him a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that added his face among the other presidents. 

She’s also received a lot of criticism and controversy for her book’s description of her shooting and killing an “untrainable” dog in a gravel pit at her family ranch.

The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security oversees the Department of Homeland Security and its mission of securing the country from threats. Some of the department's stated missions are countering terrorism, promoting cybersecurity, as well as securing and facilitating immigration through U.S borders. If confirmed as the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, who echoes Trump’s immigration rhetoric, will likely help carry out Trump’s promises to crack down on immigration and his plan for mass deportation. Trump has stated that “She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.”

(Photograph: Reuters)

Pete Hegseth - Department of Defense

For his Secretary of Defense, Trump has chosen Pete Hegseth, a Fox News channel host and veteran. He was previously the executive director of political advocacy groups Concerned Veterans for America and Vets for Freedom, with some of the former’s employees compiling a seven-page report that “describes him as being repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity.”

Many are concerned about the fact that Hegseth has no real experience in the government or running an organization remotely as large as the Department of Defense. Politico quoted a current Pentagon official as saying “He’s just a Fox News personality that’s never worked in the government.” 

Questions about his suitability for the role have also arisen from allegations he’s received of sexual assault and financial mismanagement. He’s also shared controversial opinions surrounding what he considers “woke” policies, including his belief that allowing gay people to serve in the military reflects a “Marxist” agenda.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense heads the Department of Defense and serves as the principal defense advisor and policymaker. The Department of Defense manages the U.S.’s agencies and functions surrounding the country’s military forces, commanding over 1.3 million troops in active duty, over 750,000 civilians, and a budget of 841 billion dollars. 

What about Senate confirmation?

For the time being, all of Trump’s picks are just nominations for their positions, subject to the process of Senate confirmation. Historically, the Senate outright rejecting nominations has been rare, with only nine rejections having ever occurred, six of those before the 20th century. 

With a Republican Senate majority, the vote will lean much more in Trump’s favor as his choices for key government positions are decided.

That doesn’t make Trump’s picks immune though. Although Senate rejections are rare, it is much more common that nominees will withdraw before a vote when it’s clear that they will be rejected.. Trump has already had to withdraw his previous pick for Attorney General Matt Gaetz amid allegations of sexual misconduct as senators from both parties expressed reluctance around confirming him.For the picks that do see a vote held, Trump still has cause to be worried. Republicans have a Senate majority by three seats, and with how unlikely democratic support for many of these nominations is, he can likely at most lose around three Republican votes without seeing a rejection. Considering the widespread concern some of these picks have generated, a fair amount of pushback is to be expected.

At the same time, over the past eight years Trump has reshaped the Republican Party in his image, and even as legitimate worries are raised, support for his choices is to be expected.

What do these picks tell us about the upcoming Trump Administration?

All things considered, Trump’s picks for his presidential cabinet are an ideologically diverse set of people. To use RFK Jr. as an example, he has supported legal access to abortions (although with some mixed messaging) whereas Kristi Noem has strongly opposed them. RFK Jr. has a past in environmental law and activism whereas Chris Wright aligns much more with Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” sentiment.

The main trait that unifies all of these varied cabinet selections— aside from aesthetics— is strong loyalism towards Trump. Trump has little regard for his cabinet picks’ experience or validity for the job, their beliefs aligning with his, or even senate confirmation challenges. Looking into his choices, it’s clear that his priority lies in cabinet members who are governed by sworn loyalty to him. As long as they don’t interfere with issues he cares about, like immigration, tariffs, or oil, they can do whatever they want with their positions if they're confirmed and remain under that condition of loyalty. To again use RFK Jr. as an example, Trump has told him to “go have a good time” working on public health, and also to “stay away from the ‘liquid gold’.” John Kelly, the longest-serving chief of staff in Trump’s White House, has said that Trump meets the definition of a fascist. He’s also talked to The Atlantic about some of his conversations with Trump, in one of which Trump concluded that “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” clearly the same thought process that informed his presidential cabinet picks.

I want to thank Seth Masket, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Denver, for an informative conversation on this topic.