Commentary: Don’t get distracted by Trump’s outlandish Cabinet picks
Donald Trump is assembling an America First Cabinet for his second presidency. Watch the appointments of the next level of officials, says US politics expert Steven Okun.
SINGAPORE: Donald Trump’s choices for his administration may come across as more showbiz than expertise. But his choices each make clear the primary criteria for his selections: Loyalty to him, then also loyalty to his America First and Make America Great Again narrative.
For Cabinet positions who have the unique authority to check the president’s power, Donald Trump wants to ensure fealty to his demands.
Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first choice for attorney general in his second presidency, took himself out of the running on Thursday (Nov 21) amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and for not being qualified. That pick went too far for at least four Republican Senators, which can block a Trump appointment given the Republicans’ three-set majority.
“Trump has put forth a mix of credible candidates the GOP can support and some crazy ones like Gaetz, who may turn out to be a red herring to draw attention away from other dubious picks,” Mike McCurry, White House press secretary for Bill Clinton, told me.
Replacement Pam Bondi is someone equally loyal, but much less offensive and thus more likely to get confirmed after Gaetz. Arguably, Gaetz was a throwaway and Trump wanted Bondi all along.
LOYALTY TO THE MAN
His selections for the Departments of Defense and Justice are first and foremost about personal loyalty.
As the top law enforcement officer, the attorney general runs the nation’s lawyers, prosecutors and FBI, and has the power to protect the president and prosecute his enemies – something Trump has already threatened repeatedly.
His first term appointees often did Trump’s bidding, but ultimately did not when it came to violating their Constitutional oath.
“I think Trump wanted Biondi all along,” former Clinton Administration official Peter Goelz told me, she will “carry out his agenda of eliminating the Deep State and end the so-called weaponisation of the justice system against Republicans and use it against the Democrats and Never Trumpers”.
Over at Defense, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, though a military veteran, has no experience justifying his being appointed as secretary. Serious sexual assault claims against him have also emerged. Whether Trump throws him under the bus could depend on if the alleged victim chooses to testify publicly.
Trump presumably has a back-up in place who will also put loyalty to him first.
Trump will not have another defence secretary who would not do his bidding, as occurred in his first term such as for his request for a grand military parade in Washington DC on Independence Day, which then defence secretary James Mattis and others blocked. Trump got his parade in 2019 after Mattis resigned, albeit a much more toned-down version from what he envisioned with tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue.
In 2026, the US will celebrate its 250th Independence Day. “He will have a military parade that will make the Russians blush,” Goelz told me.
Beyond overseeing the parade to end all parades, Trump wants a defense secretary who will carry out orders for the military to support his domestic priorities, such as deportations within the United States, something at best outside the practice of the role of the US military.
LOYALTY TO “AMERICA FIRST” NARRATIVE
For those positions which cannot check the president’s power, or where his personal interest does not lie, it only requires loyalty to the America First narrative.
The appointments of Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Mike Waltz as national security advisor and Howard Lutnick as secretary of commerce point to a full America First approach to foreign policy, including a massive increase of tariffs on China and increasing US investment restrictions and export controls.
Rubio shares the “America First” world view of China as the “most advanced adversary America has ever faced.”
“Some suggest President Trump is a practical deal maker who they can work with,” Michael Hart, President of AmCham China, told me about one viewpoint held by business and government in Beijing in preparing for the return of Trump.
Trump’s choices underscore that the America First actions will drive Trump 2.0, not deal-making.
“Most American organizations in China are thinking not only about what actions the Trump administration might take to limit their business with China, but also how they might be targeted by China to retaliate for actions taken by the Trump administration,” Hart added.
THE APPOINTMENTS THAT MATTER WILL COME
Over the coming weeks, the Democrats and a few Republicans can play whack-a-mole with Trump’s most outlandish picks, but at the end, he will get what he wants – loyalists.
For positions not inhibiting or checking his presidential power, he selects true believers with sufficient experience and competence to carry out his agenda. Many will sail through Senate confirmation with full Republican support, and even some likely from Democrats.
“He wants to distract the Democrats and cause them to lose focus on a real resistance,” McCurry told me.
Then, when everyone stops focusing on the Cabinet, the appointments of the next level of officials will occur, such as at the assistant secretary level, where much of the implementation of governmental action takes place.
“People focus on the wrong stuff on all these cabinet nominations. The Secretaries are the front people,” added Goelz. “Watch who he appoints under them – then we will know how much Trump 2.0 will really impact government.”
There is little the opposition party can do to stop Trump with the Republicans in full control of the Presidency and both Houses of Congress, other than on the margins.
“Democrats should focus on why they lost and what they need to do to win the Congress back in two years and the White House in four. Part of that comes in opposing Trump, but more important to set a path to give hope for a better future,” McCurry added.
“Most of Asia, including US allies, have always dealt with the US more based on common interests rather than common values. This fits Trump’s transactional approach. There is only one America which will always be a key security and economic partner for us, so we will always find a way to work with it,” Bilahari Kausikan, former permanent secretary at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told me.
No doubt. But given who he has chosen for his Cabinet so far, it will be much more challenging to find a way to work with Trump this time than last.
Steven Okun serves as CEO of APAC Advisors and has lived in Singapore since 2003. He served as Deputy General Counsel of the US Department of Transportation in the Clinton Administration.