Trump Continues Cabinet Nominations and Prepares for 2nd Term

President-elect Donald Trump kept busy this week announcing a number of picks for his incoming Cabinet and administration with some of the selections raising eyebrows on both sides of the political aisle. Here is the latest news about how the new White House is shaping up.

Understanding the Appointment Process

The Trump transition team has been working over the last several days to fill out the key roles for the incoming administration. A president's Cabinet consists of its vice president as well as the heads of 15 executive departments. The Cabinet also represents the presidential line of succession. A U.S. president can also elect to promote other roles to join the official Cabinet.

While a few members of the Cabinet do not need confirmation from the Senate, the majority of the roles need this approval. The president-elect typically nominates his top picks as soon as possible after the election.

The various oversight committees in the U.S. Senate can launch confirmation hearings prior to Inauguration Day on January 20, however, the process generally takes longer.

The confirmation process used to be a faster process. However, increasing political vitriol has dragged out the confirmations in more recent years.

Controversial Picks from Trump

Trump is already ruffling feathers with some of his picks. The choice that grabbed the most headlines this week was his announcement that he wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as the country's secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy's controversial stance on vaccinations will translate to a rough road to confirmation through the Senate.

The secretary of HHS leads a number of critical health programs in the U.S. This includes Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Wall Street reacted to Trump's announcement with shares of vaccination makers plummeting.

In another surprise move, Trump announced that he wanted former House Rep. Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general. The Florida congressman resigned from his post in the House immediately after the midweek announcement. Gaetz had been the focus of a House Ethics Committee investigation on alleged sexual misconduct.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he is asking the committee to not release the findings of its investigation into Gaetz. A few hours after Johnson's statement, a lawyer representing two of the witnesses in the committee probe said that one of the women detailed that she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor.

Like Kennedy, Gaetz is likely to face a difficult road to confirmation even with the GOP-controlled Senate. A few Republican senators have said that they are withholding their support of Gaetz's nomination until they see the details of the House investigation.

Completing the trio of divisive picks, Trump announced that he wanted Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as defense secretary. Within two days of making this announcement, it came out that Hegseth was the focus of a complaint alleging sexual assault.

While Hegseth was never charged in the October 2017 complaint, the news will almost certainly muddy the confirmation process for the Army veteran. It was reported that Trump's transition team was caught off guard by the news of the allegation.

Additional Administration Picks

Trump began the work week by choosing his long-time ally GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik for the coveted role of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN). Also on Monday, Trump selected former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin to head up the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The incoming president ran his campaign with a large focus on border security. To that end, one of the first picks that he announced was the tapping of Tom Homan to be in charge of securing the border. Homan worked in Trump's first administration as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Trump used his own social media platform, Truth Social, to announce some of his selections. A post on Tuesday revealed that he was choosing Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz for the role of national security adviser.

The president-elect appointed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to work as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, a role that has been made more critical over the last year as tensions in the Middle East escalate. Focusing on the embattled Middle East, Trump also appointed real estate developer Steve Witkoff to be the Special Envoy to the Middle East.

The flurry of announcements continued when Trump said that he was going to select attorney Bill McGinley to work as the official White House Counsel. John Ratcliffe was also chosen for the critical role of CIA director. Ratcliffe has been working most recently as the co-chair at the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute think tank.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was rewarded for her loyalty to Trump by being selected for the role of secretary of homeland security. Noem frequently appeared with Trump on the campaign trail.

After years of contentious relations, Trump is apparently burying the hatchet with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Trump announced this week that Rubio will be his choice for secretary of state.

Former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was tapped to serve as the director of national intelligence. While not as controversial as some of Trump's other picks, Gabbard has expressed sympathy for Russia at various times.

Steven Cheung was tapped to be an official assistant to the president in addition to the director of communications. Cheung was the campaign communications director for the Trump-Vance campaign. He has experience in Trump's administration, also working during the first term as the director of strategic response.

The work week wrapped up when Trump said that Sergio Gor was his choice as his personal assistant as well as the director of presidential personnel. Also on Friday, Trump chose North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for the role of secretary of the interior. The president-elect wrapped up the day by his campaign spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, to the role of White House press secretary,

The news of more picks did not stop on the weekend. Trump named Chris Wright as his choice to lead the Department of Energy. Wright is currently the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, based in Denver.

In addition to heading up the Department of Energy, Trump said that Wright will also be a member of the newly formed Council of National Energy. This council will be led by Burgum.

You can expect more selections to be released in the coming days as the second Trump term comes into focus.

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