Meet Trump's Cabinet Picks
President-elect Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp” of Washington elites, but his so-called “gilded Cabinet,” which is filled with millionaires, billionaires, and corporate lobbyists, is set to be the wealthiest presidential Cabinet ever. Pay attention to the people Trump is bringing into his inner circle, because this list gives Americans the clearest picture of what kinds of policies and positions the Trump administration will take. Here's a list of the people Trump has appointed or nominated to his Cabinet.
Appointments
Chief Strategist: Steve Bannon
Bannon, 63, is the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, which he has called “a platform for the alt-right.” The "alt-right" is a movement rooted in neo-Nazism and white supremacy, and the site frequently runs racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic content. Bannon left his post at Breitbart to run Trump’s campaign. Like Trump, Bannon has hardline views against undocumented immigrants and a populist nationalist stance on trade and immigration.
Chief of Staff: Reince Priebus
Priebus, 44, is the longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Committee, taking up the position in 2011. Throughout the election, Priebus threatened to punish Republicans who refused to endorse Trump and drew criticism for not doing more to rein in the controversial candidate. However, as an establishment Republican with strong ties with House Speaker Paul Ryan, many Republicans are pleased with Priebus as the incoming chief of staff. Priebus, who will be responsible for managing Trump’s legislative agenda, has said that climate change denial is Trump’s “default position” and supports Trump’s vision to “secure our borders, repeal and replace Obamacare and destroy radical Islamic terrorism.”
National Security Adviser: Michael Flynn
Flynn, 57, is a retired Army general who reportedly clashed with colleagues and was removed as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014. The Washington Post reports he “was a key player in U.S. military efforts to dismantle insurgent networks in Iraq and Afghanistan.” However, Flynn has been a controversial figure in the intelligence community, and in December, the Washington Post reported that Flynn “inappropriately shared” classified documents with British and Australian military officers when in Afghanistan. He has dismissed the CIA as a “very political organization” that serves President Barack Obama’s interests over the public’s, and has a hardline anti-Muslim stance. Earlier this year, he tweeted, “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL.” Flynn has also been criticized for sharing conspiracy theories - six days before the election, in a now-deleted tweet, he shared a link to a fake news story, writing, “U decide - NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc...MUST READ!”
White House Counsel: Donald F. McGahn II
McGahn, 48, is a former member of the Federal Election Commission, appointed by George W. Bush, and served as the general counsel at the National Republican Congressional Committee before that. The New York Times describes him as having a “ personality to match Mr. Trump’s” and says he has influenced Trump on a number of positions, "including, according to associates, Trump’s belief that retaining ownership of his businesses does not post a conflict of interest with the presidency. McGahn, who tried to relax the rules that regulate how campaigns and elections are financed as FEC head, will serve as Trump’s chief legal counsel.
Nominations
State Department: Rex Tillerson
Trump considered former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the role (among others), but ultimately landed on Tillerson, 64, the current CEO of ExxonMobil. In 2015, Tillerson was rated as the no. 20 most powerful person in the world by Forbes. However, Tillerson is a controversial pick for America’s top diplomat - he has no public service experience and has business interests in Russia that could undermine American diplomacy. His stances on many social issues are still unclear.
Department of Education: Betsy DeVos
DeVos, 58, is a billionaire and philanthropist who has lobbied for charter schools over traditional public schools in Michigan, even though Michigan has the one of the lowest-performing, least regulated charter school systems in the country. A yearlong investigation by the Detroit Free Press found “a record number of charter schools run by for-profit companies that rake in taxpayer money and refuse to detail how they spend it, saying they’re private and not subject to disclosure laws.” DeVos has no experience in education reform or curriculum setting.
Department of Energy: Rick Perry
Former Texas Governor, presidential candidate, and Dancing With the Stars contestant Rick Perry, 66, has been tapped to head the Department of Energy. This is the department that, during a 2011 presidential debate, he could not remember by name but vowed to cut if elected president. In 2015, Perry supported the Keystone XL pipeline and has repeatedly fought against carbon emissions regulations set by Environmental Protection Agency. It is not clear what Perry, a climate-change skeptic, will prioritize as the new energy department head. By contrast, the current Department of Energy head, Ernest Moniz, is a nuclear physicist who played a key role in shaping Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.
Attorney General: Jeff Sessions
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, 69, was the first senator to back Trump. He was re-elected as senator three times and later served on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats and civil rights leaders have expressed concern over his nomination, however. In 1986, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee denied Sessions a federal appointment after hearing testimony that Sessions made racist comments, called the ACLU and the NAACP “un-American,” and joked that the KKK were "OK, until he learned that they smoked marijuana."
Department of Defense: James Mattis
If confirmed, CNN reports that Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, 66, “would be the highest-ranking military official ever to lead the Pentagon.” Mattis earned the nickname “Mad Dog” for the blunt way he talks about violence, reportedly telling Marines: "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” However, unlike Trump, Mattis does not believe torture is effective (Trump supports torture, though it is illegal by both U.S. and international law). According to Trump, in a recent meeting, Mattis said that torture is “not going to make the kind of difference that a lot of people are thinking.” Mattis does not believe women should serve in combat roles, a position that could undermine the Pentagon’s recent push toward gender equality in the military.
Department of Labor: Andrew Puzder
Andrew Puzder, 66, is CEO of the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. The restaurant executive could soon be responsible for representing the rights of the most vulnerable workers. He is a critic of raising the minimum wage and says that offering employees paid leave and health insurance hurts the restaurant industry. He has also been criticized by women’s rights organizations for running ads that objectify women. In 2015, he told Entrepreneur Magazine, "I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it's very American."
Department of Health and Human Services: Tom Price
Georgia congressman Rep. Tom Price, 62, practiced orthopedic surgery before turning to a career in public office. He served four terms in the Georgia State Senate before moving to the House of Representatives in 2005, where he currently chairs the House budget committee. Price is a fierce critic of the Affordable Care Act and he attempted to defund Planned Parenthood in 2015. Firmly anti-choice, Price once co-sponsored legislation that defined personhood as the moment of conception. In an op-ed criticizing Price’s desire “to slash Medicare and Medicaid,” theNew York Times’ editorial board described Price as “a man intent on systematically weakening, if not demolishing, the nation’s health care safety net.”
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson
Former presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who endorsed Trump during the campaign, has no experience in housing policy. He reportedly turned down a chance to run the Department of Health and Human Services. TheWashington Post reported that he was unlikely to take a spot in Trump’s Cabinet at all. “My view is that if some people and the media are going to hate him, then he’s going to need allies on the outside to be there, to be there to move the country forward. I don’t care about a position,” he said. “Having me as a federal bureaucrat would be like a fish out of water, quite frankly.” Carson, who grew up in public housing, has criticized HUD housing legislation that aimed to reduce segregation and promote integration.
Ambassador to the UN: Nikki Haley
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 44, is the youngest governor in America and the first woman and first Indian-American to govern the state. Haley garnered national praise for her decision to take the Confederate Flag down from the state capitol building in 2015 and was a critic of Trump throughout the election, calling his proposed ban on Muslims “un-American.”
Department of Treasury: Steven Mnuchin
Mnuchin, 53, spent 17 years in banking at Goldman Sachs and now runs private hedge fund Dune Capital Management. He helped Trump raise funds as the campaign’s chief fundraiser and was instrumental in drafting Trump’s tax proposals. He has helped finance large blockbuster movies like American Sniper and Mad Max: Fury Road. Mnuchin has no public service experience.
Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt
Pruitt, 48, is a climate change denier and believes that the EPA is “unlawful and overreaching.” He has spent most of his time as attorney general fighting the EPA over policies aimed at reducing and regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Soon, he may be running it.
Small Business Administration: Linda McMahon
McMahon, 68, is the former CEO World Wrestling Entertainment, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon. She has donated millions to Trump’s campaign and the two are longtime friends. The WWE held tournaments held at Atlantic City’s Trump Plaza in 1989 and 1999. "Once you're his friend, he is loyal to the end. He's an incredibly loyal, loyal friend," she told the Associated Press. She failed two Senate bids in 2010 and 2011, and ran a platform on fiscal conservatism and lowering taxes.
Department of Homeland Security: John F. Kelly
Kelly, 66, is a retired four-star Marine corps general who served as the head of U.S. Southern Command, overseeing military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Guantanamo Bay. Kelly clashed with the White House over Guantanamo, arguing that the facility should stay open while Obama called to close it. The Washington Post described him as a “blunt-spoken border-security hawk” who will be in charge of implementing Trump’s controversial proposals to deport undocumented immigrants.
CIA: Mike Pompeo
Kansas Congressman Pompeo, 52, believes NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden should be given the death sentence and opposes the CIA-backed Iran nuclear deal that lifts economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for regulating its nuclear program. He serves on the House Intelligence Committee and grilled Hillary Clinton during the Benghazi hearings in the House Select Committee. He supports the use of torture - in response to the disturbing revelations shared in the 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture from the Bush era, he said, “These men and women are not torturers, they are patriots.”
Department of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, 69, is one of the richest members of Trump’s billionaire- and millionaire-heavy Cabinet. Ross, who restructures failing businesses in industries like coal, steel, and textiles, once helped save Trump’s Atlantic City casino from financial ruin. Unlike some of Trump’s other Cabinet picks, however, Democrats are hopeful that Ross will be able to represent workers’ interests. Recalling when Ross bought out a group of bankrupted steel mills in 2002, president of the United Steelworkers union Leo Gerard told NPR that Ross “was open and accessible and candid and honest and he put a lot of money back into the mills."
Department of Transportation: Elaine Chao
Chao, 63, formerly served as the secretary of labor under former President George W. Bush, the first Asian-American woman to serve in a president’s Cabinet. During the campaign, she served on Trump’s Asian Pacific American Advisory Council. She is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In speeches, she has expressed support for gig economy companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Etsy as innovations. Companies pushing for self-driving cars are optimistic that Chao will be supportive of welcoming the emerging technology on the road.
Department of the Interior: Ryan Zinke
Zinke, 55, a freshman congressman from Montana, is a former Navy SEAL who currently sits on the House Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee. He supports the Keystone XL pipeline and oil and gas drilling, but breaks from the Republican Party in his desire to protect public access to federal lands. He has reportedly accepted donations from white supremacists.
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