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The members of Trump’s Cabinet represent a variety of ideologies, all united under the banner of ‘America First’. Some nominees seem motivated by a desire for revenge, others by a goal of stabilizing markets, and still others by a determination to cut down on both personnel and budgets, though this may prove to be a difficult task.
Written by David E. Sanger
Over a span of more than 40 years, David E. Sanger has reported on five different American presidents for The New York Times.
Before taking office, President-elect Donald J. Trump made his last selections for his cabinet and other positions, aiming to create an administration that is united, loyal, and driven by the motto "Make America Great Again." However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that there are at least three separate groups with different beliefs and a variety of ideologies that are being kept under control in order to pass through the confirmation process.
A group of individuals seeking revenge, led by potential candidates, have been tasked with dismantling the Justice Department, intelligence agencies, and Defense Department. Their goal is to target the "deep state" and those involved in prosecuting Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump is creating a team to help keep the markets calm, with Scott Bessent as a potential leader. Bessent, a billionaire from Wall Street who Trump has picked for Treasury secretary, is familiar with Trump’s policies on deregulation and lower taxes. However, he may work to prevent Trump’s more extreme ideas, such as imposing tariffs that could cause inflation, from negatively impacting the post-election stock market growth.
A government reduction team, headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has very ambitious goals. They aim to reduce at least $2 trillion from the annual federal budget, which is more than the total cost of federal employee salaries. (For reference, the total federal budget in the 2024 fiscal year was $6.75 trillion.)
One of the major uncertainties of the new administration is how these missions will work together or clash with each other.
Having a variety of different ideologies and opinions is typically viewed as a positive aspect of presidential cabinets, rather than a negative one. However, what stands out about President Trump’s recent cabinet choices is the diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives that they bring, even though they may outwardly express loyalty to the "Make America Great Again" slogan and to Trump himself. Some of his picks may not seem like they would fit in comfortably at a Trump rally.
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