Trump’s Cabinet picks could be problematic

Donald Trump’s choices for his incoming cabinet have alarmed mainstream Republicans, Democrats and US citizens who are concerned about the men and women tipped to run the country for the next four years. Trump did a great deal of damage to the US and the world during his first term (2017-2021). As his successor, Joe Biden did not repair much of the damage, Trump could compound it this time around.

Trump’s former campaign manager and coming chief-of-staff Susie Wiles is expected to keep order among a diverse collection of controversial picks with no or little experience in government and, as one commentator observed, deal with “the clowns.” Trump has rushed to announce his cabinet and has pressed the Senate to go into recess, so his nominees do not have to submit to Senate vetting and confirmation now. This is seen as an unprecedented violation of the US system of checks and balances in which the Senate is empowered to advise and consent.

Since there are Republicans as well as Democrats who could object to some of his picks, he would like to skip the mandatory confirmation process. If he doesn’t get his way, he could make “acting” appointments which do not need confirmation.

As the US remains the globe’s second largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China, it is of great interest to millions of people suffering the effects of climate change that Trump has chosen former New York congressman Lee Zeldin as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He has pledged to revitalise industry while “protecting access to clean air and water,” but has said he would “roll back regulations” which cut pollution.

On this region, Trump has named four figures devoted to Israel. They have been hailed by Israel’s most right-wing ministers. New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik has been chosen as US ambassador to the UN where she can wield the US veto on resolutions unfriendly to Israel. Last year she led the Congressional response to anti-Gaza war campus protests by accusing university presidents of failing them to clamp down on antisemitic (anti-Jewish) demonstrations although Jewish students were among the protesters.

Ex-Arkansas governor Mick Huckabee – chosen as US ambassador to Israel – is a Gentile (non-Jewish) Zionist who has rejected the two-state solution as the means to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. And, Trump has chosen fellow real estate developer and golf partner Steve Witkoff to be special US envoy to the region. He is a strong supporter of Israel and of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

For secretary of state, Trump has named hawkish Florida Senator Marco Rubio who favours taking hardline with China, Iran and Cuba. He calls for an early end to the Russian-Ukraine war and voted against a $6 billion aid package for Ukraine early this year. He backs Israel’s war on Gaza and urges Israel to strike Iran in respond to that country’s attacks and to wipe out Hizbollah in Lebanon.

Trump is certain to try to build on his first term regional policies. These included recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, shifting the US embassy there, cutting funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, declaring Israeli settlements legal, and accepting Israeli annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights. During his new term, Trump could back Israel’s closure of UNRWA and accept Israeli annexation of West Bank settlements. He demonstrated earlier that his ultimate aim is to resolve the Palestinian Israeli conflict by eliminating any possibility of the emergence of any Palestinian entity in the expectation that Palestinians will submit to Israeli rule or leave their homeland.

Trump’s more controversial choices include Robert F. Kennedy for health secretary. He could be a disaster because he falsely claims vaccines cause autism in children, HIV is not linked to AIDS, and some antidepressants are tied to school shootings. He is nephew of the slain US president John Kennedy and son of assassinated US attorney general Robert Kennedy. Since he is critical of processed foods, he could run into interference from Trump who is addicted to McDonalds’ hamburgers and fries.

Pete Hegseth is a contested nominee for defence. He a news anchor on the right-wing Fox channel and a National Guard veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay prison camp where he was a warder. He is a deep conservative critical of the Pentagon’s liberal recruitment policies and is critical of liberal recruitment policies.

Trump has nominated Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general, the country’s chief law officer. For this post, he is considered “the worst [choice] in American history.” Trump’s nomination coincided with an investigation of Gaetz by the House of Representatives ethnics committee for sex trafficking and sexual misconduct. If confirmed Gaetz will be asked to carry out prosecutions of Trump’s political enemies and critics.

For national security, Trump chose ex-Democratic representative Tulsi Gabbard, a critic of the Biden administration’s backing for Ukraine in its war with Russia, who has no experience in this field although she would have to manage 18 different agencies. She is criticised for meeting President Bashar al-Assad twice during a visit to Syria.

Trump has named South Dakota governor Kristi Noem for homeland security chief. A climate change denier like Trump, she has refused Federal funding to cut pollution and tackle natural disasters in her own state. Noem will take up the challenge of managing US responses to ravages of extreme weather. Instead, of giving priority to global warming, she is expected to focus on migration into the US across its southern border. Trump has promised to halt the flow of migrants and deport millions of “illegals.” She was dropped as Trump’s candidate for vice president due to popular anger over her shooting dead of her “untrainable” hunting dog.

The nominee to take charge of the border, former policeman Tom Homan, had this job during Trump’s first term. He said in July, “I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen.” He previously implemented a policy of separating child migrants from their parents.

Politico website quoted Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett who said that Trump “went from some solid picks [as far as his party is concerned], to some interesting wildcards, to some that are more controversial, no way confirmable.” Trump admirers claim that prompt naming of nominees shows “decisiveness” rather than Senate dodging.

Max Stier, president of a nonpartisan public service think tank, told Politico that Trump has selected candidates who have no experience in running “a multi-trillion dollar, many multi-million-person organisation.” This could be a recipe for chaos.