President-elect Donald Trump’s initial picks tell us a lot about what he prizes in his incoming administration.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Over the past week, President-elect Donald Trump has announced more than 30 different picks to fill his incoming administration. NPR’s Luke Garrett has been keeping track of it all and joins us now. Hey, Luke.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: Hey.
DETROW: What did we learn about Trump and his next administration over this past week?
GARRETT: Right. This is not 2016 Trump. Trump has picked a cabinet before, and he’s doing it quickly. And there are two key principles that are leading his, you know, decision-making as he picks those he wants to surround himself with. One is loyalty. During his first administration, he really believes that some of his cabinet picks turned against him. And so he wants to make sure those he surrounds himself the second time around are loyal to him. The second is disruption. He believes that the American people want to turn Washington upside down and that everyone who he’s picking will really disrupt the status quo in America. And so these two principles can really explain some of these more controversial picks.
DETROW: OK, loyalty and disruption – what are some good examples of that?
GARRETT: Right. So the first one is former representative Matt Gaetz. He was picked as Trump’s attorney general. We will see if the Senate confirms him, but he has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. You know, they’re looking into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. No. 2 is Pete Hegseth, who is a weekend Fox News host and, you know, a former member of the National Guard. Trump has picked him as the secretary of defense. He has been, you know, flagged as an extremist. He talked about this in a podcast, you know, recently. And these are, you know, two big positions, you know, within the president’s cabinet. And members of Congress have expressed concern. But again, these are disruptors, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has really defended them as such.
DETROW: Yeah, here he is on CNN.
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MIKE JOHNSON: They are persons who will shake up the status quo. And I think what the American people have believed and what they’ve delivered with the mandate in this election is demand that we shake up the status quo. It’s not working for the American people.
GARRETT: And, you know, these sorts of words and justifications are ones we’re hearing from the Trump transition team as well.
DETROW: But look, it’s not just Gaetz and Hegseth, right? It’s also picks like Tulsi Gabbard, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., like Elon Musk.
GARRETT: Right. These are big names and big faces that Trump is really starting to parade around. You know, he took them to a UFC championship fight at Madison Square Garden just last night.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Forty-five soon to be 47th, President-elect Donald Trump.
GARRETT: Now, these picks are definitively TV-ready. You know, they surrounded him as he walked into and near the Octagon in Madison Square Garden. This is probably the first time we’ve seen a president-elect bring his cabinet members to such an event.
DETROW: So that is clearly a top of mind thing for Trump as well, how these picks appear on television. But look, let’s go back to Matt Gaetz especially ’cause there are a few of these picks where Trump seems to be essentially daring the Republican-controlled Senate to confirm them anyway. Luke, I know he has pushed for recess appointments – to be able to appoint people during recesses. That’s something allowed by the Constitution, but the Senate just has not recessed for years and given presidents that ability. He is now demanding it.
GARRETT: That’s right. And it’s something we’ll keep watching. Will senators bow down to him, or will they go through this confirmation hearing?
DETROW: All right. That’s NPR’s Luke Garrett. Thanks so much.
GARRETT: Thanks for having me.
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