President-elect Donald Trump nominates cabinet members
Peyton CleekU.S. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated some of his cabinet members to serve during his presidency over the next four years.
The cabinet is made up of the vice president and the heads of 15 executive departments. The departments are the secretaries of agriculture, commerce, defense, education, energy, health and human services, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, labor, state, transportation, treasury and veterans affairs, as well as the attorney general. When a new president is elected, they are tasked with choosing who will be in their cabinet. This then goes to the senate, and they vote on if they want his appointees to formally be elected.
“A lot of them come from inner circles, some of their choices can be like campaign allies, trusted advisors that they’ve had in the past, experts in the very field that their cabinet is over, or even past political figures with a lot of experience or influence,” said Tyler Gwinn, UCO political science professor.
For secretary of state, Trump has selected Marco Rubio. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is a Republican and a son of Cuban immigrants. He has said that China, Iran, North Korea and Russia are gradually working together against the United States.
For attorney general, Trump’s chosen Matt Gaetz. He is currently being investigated for allegedly having paid to have sex with a 17-year-old. He resigned from congress and is denying that he had sex with a minor, even though there is a witness who saw this happen in 2017.
Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard as his director of national intelligence. She is a former Democrat who left the party in 2022 after not being nominated for president in 2020. She has endorsed and campaigned for Trump. She has also been accused of echoing Russian propaganda. She served in the Army National Guard for two years as well.
Trump picked Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. He is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.” He served in the Army National Guard for 19 years and would inherit the job in a series of global crises, although he lacked experience of senior military and national security.
For homeland security secretary, Trump selected Krisit Noem. She’s a conservative and governor of South Dakota. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she didn’t call for the same restrictions as other states did and said South Dakota was open for business.
Trump’s CIA director is John Ratcliffe. He was director of national intelligence during Trump’s last presidency when the pandemic was happening.
For health and human services secretary, Trump chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He previously ran for president as an Independent and then endorsed Trump’s campaign. He is against vaccines and believes they lead to autism.
For veterans affairs secretary, he went with Doug Collins. He is a former Republican congressman in Georgia and defended Trump during his first impeachment trial. He has served in the armed forces and is currently the chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.
Trump chose Doug Burgum as interior secretary. He is governor of North Dakota and previously endorsed Trump. He was once considered as a candidate for Trump’s vice president.
For environmental protection agency administrator, Trump picked Lee Zeldin. He does not have any environmental issues experience.
“Usually a formal vetting process happens, and that can be done by one of our investigative agencies like the FBI, for example, and they look into everything,” said Tyler Gwinn. “It has come to my attention that a number of appointees to Trump’s cabinet will not be subjected to the standard FBI background checks.”
“This omission raises considerable ethical concerns regarding the thoroughness and integrity of the vetting process for individuals in such significant positions of authority,” Gwinn said.
Editor’s Note: This story was last updated as of Monday afternoon.