Transition of power
Prom
Backed by
Analysis of current
Trump’s Cabinet: Diverse Ideologies Hidden by the Slogan ‘America First’
Different groups of potential nominees have different priorities – some are seeking revenge, others want to stabilize the markets, and a third group is focused on reducing both staff and budgets, even if the task seems impossible.
Written by David E. Sanger
Throughout his career at The Times, David E. Sanger has reported on five different American presidents spanning over forty years.
The last group of cabinet picks and other appointments by President-elect Donald J. Trump were meant to create a cohesive and devoted administration focused on his "Make America Great Again" agenda. However, upon closer inspection, there are at least three separate factions within the administration, each with their own set of beliefs and ideas, struggling to stay united during the confirmation process.
A group of individuals seeking revenge is being led by potential nominees. Their goal is to dismantle the Justice Department, intelligence agencies, and Defense Department. They are targeting the deep state and individuals involved in prosecuting Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump has a team dedicated to maintaining market stability, with Scott Bessent being considered as a potential leader. Bessent is a wealthy individual from Wall Street who Trump wants for Treasury Secretary. While Bessent supports Trump’s views on deregulation and lower taxes, he may try to prevent extreme measures like imposing tariffs on foreign goods that could cause inflation and disrupt the stock market’s post-election growth.
A group led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, called the government shrinkage team, has ambitious goals to significantly reduce the annual federal budget by at least $2 trillion. This amount is higher than the total cost of salaries for all federal employees. The total federal budget in the 2024 fiscal year was $6.75 trillion.
One of the major uncertainties facing the new administration is how these missions will intersect and potentially conflict with each other.
Having a variety of different beliefs and opinions is typically viewed as a positive aspect of presidential cabinets. However, what has been surprising about Mr. Trump’s recent appointments is the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that some of them have, despite outwardly showing support for the Make America Great Again movement and loyalty to Trump. It is difficult to picture a few of his chosen individuals feeling at ease at a Trump rally.
We are currently experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
Kindly activate JavaScript in the settings of your web browser.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently in Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times content.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Are you currently a member? Please sign in.
Interested in accessing all of The Times content? Simply subscribe to gain
Prom
Index of the website
Navigation to find site information