WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before President-Elect Donald Trump takes office in January, he’s announcing his nominees for the federal government’s top spots. Some of the announcements have even surprised lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Not all positions have been announced yet, but here are some nominations:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R- FL) for Secretary of State.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R- FL) for Attorney General. Gaetz at one point was the center of a federal investigation into sex trafficking. No charges were brought and Gaetz has denied the allegations.
Fox News Host and veteran Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D- HI) for Director of National Intelligence. There are some concerns Gabbard has expressed sympathies for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Robert F. Kennedy for Health and Human Services Secretary. Kennedy has talked about unfounded claims about vaccines.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
Here are some reactions on Capitol Hill following some of these announcements:
“If there are real and serious issues there, there will be time for all of that,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R- MO). “I’m sure there will be a thorough background look into all of the nominee. My own presumption with all of his nominees is that the president is entitled to choose his cabinet and I presume I’ll support them.”
“What I say to my Republican Senate colleagues is show some back bone,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D- IL). “Be a Senator and let’s vet these candidates for their experience and whether or not they’re suitable for the position or whether or not they’ve been compromised and lets truly put people into these positions who are going to do good for the nation.”
“Well there’s a lot of good candidates out there and it’s interesting to see who the president is nominating but the bottom line is it’s up to him and it’s up to the Senate to confirm him,” said Rep. Jack Bergman (R- MI) when asked about Gaetz’s nomination.
Political scientists said Trump likes people who will shake things up.
“Obviously we are seeing loyalty being valued as the number one thing,” said Dr. Todd Belt, Professor and Director of Political Management at George Washington University.
Belt adds cabinet secretaries need to be able to speak truth to power and be the devil’s advocate.
“You need people to be honest and you need to be able to tell the president an idea is a bad idea when it is,” said Belt. “We’ve seen presidents surround themselves with ‘yes’ people do very terrible things like the Bay of Pigs fiasco under JFK but John F. Kennedy learned and so when it came to the Cuban missile crisis it was decided he would surround himself by people who would directly question different ideas. So it’s important that you have competition in the ideas and the persons surrounding the president, not just the people who will implement anything the president wants.”
Senators on both sides have said they will do their due diligence and vet these nominations. However, it’s unclear how much pushback some nominations will get from the Senate.
