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The members of Trump’s Cabinet have various ideologies hidden under the guise of ‘America First’. Some nominees are seeking revenge, others are focused on stabilizing markets, and another group is determined to cut people and budgets, possibly to an extreme extent.
Written by David E. Sanger
For over forty years, David E. Sanger has reported on the activities of five different American presidents for The New York Times.
President-elect Donald J. Trump’s last appointments for his cabinet and other roles were said to create a cohesive, loyal administration driven by the "Make America Great Again" agenda. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that there are at least three different groups with varying ideologies within the administration, kept in check to successfully pass the confirmation process.
A group of individuals seeking revenge is being led by potential candidates. Their goal is to dismantle the Justice Department, intelligence agencies, and Defense Department in order to target the so-called deep state and those involved in prosecuting Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump has put together a team to help keep the markets stable, with Scott Bessent potentially leading it. Bessent, a billionaire from Wall Street, is Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. While Bessent supports deregulation and lower taxes like Trump, he may work to prevent Trump’s more drastic ideas, such as tariffs that could cause inflation, from negatively impacting the post-election stock market growth.
There is a team led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy that aims to significantly reduce the size of the government. Their goals are very ambitious, as they plan to cut at least $2 trillion from the annual federal budget. This amount is more than the total cost of salaries for all federal employees. It’s worth noting that the total federal budget for the 2024 fiscal year was $6.75 trillion.
One of the major uncertainties of the new administration is how these missions will align and potentially conflict with one another.
Having a variety of beliefs and opinions is typically viewed as a positive aspect of presidential cabinets. However, what stands out about President Trump’s recent cabinet selections is the diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives they bring, despite outwardly showing loyalty to the "Make America Great Again" slogan and to Trump himself. Some of his picks may not seem like they would fit in at a Trump rally.
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