Updated

Nov 23, 2024, 05:29 PM

Published

Nov 23, 2024, 05:10 PM

WASHINGTON – From his Mar-a-Lago mansion, US President-elect Donald Trump is assembling a team of hawks, mavericks and loyalists for his Act II on the world stage. 

The technical term, in the lexicon of American politics, is transition, a word too sedate by far to convey the span of his provocative picks.

But, like beauty, controversy may lie in the eye of the beholder.

For while many corners of the world are down on Trump, Americans are decidedly less so.

Nearly six in 10 Americans say they are very or somewhat confident in their President-elect making good decisions about economic policy. 

Majorities also trust him on matters of law enforcement (54 per cent), immigration and foreign policy (both 53 per cent).

These are new findings from the non-partisan Pew Research Centre’s American Trends Panel, which surveyed 9,609 adults between Nov 12 and 17.

But Americans also remain guarded about their incoming president. They hesitate to describe Trump as even-tempered and a good role model (fewer than four in 10). And he still leaves them “cold”. On a scale of zero to 100, only 43 per cent rate him warmly.

But most agree that he keeps his promises (51 per cent).

This, then, is the state of hearts and minds as Trump rapidly reveals the names of those who will drive his administration once he is sworn in on Jan 20, 2025, and the Senate approves his Cabinet appointments thereafter. 

It should be a cinch, given the Republican majority in the body. And the precedent – the Senate last rejected a Cabinet nominee in 1989.

Trump’s list is dominated by sitting and former members of Congress. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, 53, for secretary of state; Florida Representative Mike Waltz, 50, for national security adviser; and New York Representative Elise Stefanik, 40, as the United Nations ambassador are in key foreign policy-focused roles.

Mr Rubio, who serves on the Senate’s Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committee, is the only one who comes with extensive foreign policy experience. But all have hawkish views on US adversaries, including China and Iran.

Mr Pete Hegseth, 44, a combat veteran and co-host of a weekend show on Fox News, is the choice for defence secretary. Dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct that he has denied, he may have to field tough questions at his ratification hearing, although the Trump-Vance transition team has already lined up endorsements from scores of senators.

In the adjacent national security space are former Texas representative and Trump’s former director of national intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe, 59, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and former Hawaii Democratic representative Tulsi Gabbard, 43, as the new DNI. Her sympathies for Russia’s justification of its Ukraine invasion have sparked torrents of criticism.

Apart from Mr Hegseth, there are at least two other Fox News alumni. Dr Janette Nesheiwat, a 48-year-old physician and Fox News contributor who promotes dietary supplements, is to be surgeon-general. Dr Martin Makary, a surgeon and Fox commentator who has made controversial claims about herd immunity, is to lead the Food and Drug Administration, which is charged with ensuring that the US pharmaceutical supply chain is secure.

Their contrarian stances may have appealed to Trump, no stranger to conspiracy theories. But, reportedly, an important consideration was whether the nominees were good on television.

Others in heavyweight roles include Mr Howard Lutnick, 63, a billionaire Wall Street investor with profitable dealings in China, chosen to lead Trump’s tariff and trade agenda at the Commerce Department. 

And entrusted with delivering Trump’s quest for “energy dominance” in the global market are Mr Chris Wright, the chief executive of a fracking company, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, 68, who made a billion dollars from selling his software business to Microsoft in 2001. The former is the nominee for commerce secretary, and the latter for the interior secretary.

Among the most prominent women named in the Cabinet thus far is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, 52, who made headlines for shooting her pet dog for being unruly. She is the pick for secretary of homeland security. 

The other is Ms Pam Bondi, 59, a prominent figure at America First Policy Institute and a member of Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial. She will now be his nominee for attorney-general.

There is a measure of diversity in his proposed team: Prominent Hispanics include Mr Rubio and outgoing Oregon Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 56, who is his choice for labour secretary. 

Dr Mehmet Oz, 64, who is to head the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a Muslim of Turkish heritage. Ms Karoline Leavitt, 27, the choice for White House press secretary, is a millennial. And hedge fund billionaire Scott Bessent is slated to become America’s first openly gay Treasury chief.

But no other pick is perhaps as controversial as Mr Robert F. Kennedy Jr, 70, chosen to be secretary of health and human services. Will the Senate confirm a vaccine-sceptic? 

How it all pans out depends on what Trump wants. Announcing Mr Bessent for treasury secretary, Trump said in a statement on Truth Social: “He will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy, Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the US Dollar as the Reserve Currency of the World. Unlike in past Administrations, we will ensure that no Americans will be left behind in the next and Greatest Economic Boom.”

Things bode well at this point. The US economy is among the world’s strongest, though President Joe Biden does not get credit for it. 

But it could quickly unravel if Trump carries out mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, imposes hefty trade tariffs, racks up big deficits.

While tariffs can spark trade wars, the inclusion of Wall Street titans in his Cabinet is stirring hopes that tariff talk could be a negotiating ploy. Mr Bessent, for instance, has described tariffs as a “maximalist” bargaining tool to strike deals with trading partners. Mr Lutnick’s firm has underwritten public market offerings for Chinese companies looking for American investors.

Put together, at least a couple of conclusions can be drawn from Trump’s 2025-2029 roster. 

One, that this is an America-first Cabinet, aligned to Trump’s populist, nativist Make America Great Again (Maga) movement. Nearly every statement announcing the Trump-Vance transition has a prominent reference to both terms. And, while they may not pack expertise, experience or even a shared world view, Trump’s nominees are deeply loyal to him.

Two, that while hawks are plentiful, it will not be an isolationist Cabinet. Among Trump’s stated plans are to “expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World”, suggesting that the US will continue to be engaged with the world.

But from all that’s known of Trump’s stance, that might bring more relief to Israel than Palestine in the Middle East and less comfort to Ukraine as it tries to keep Russia from wresting its territories. Retaining faith in the rule of law and a fair international order will remain challenging even for countries sitting on the sidelines.

Will America’s next president, temperamental and transactional, usher in a “new golden age” or a storm? 

It is safe to say Act II of the Trump presidency will not be boring.