Donald Trump cabinet express criticism as hodgepodge team merge only by Loyalty to him
Donald Trump’s brazenly unqualified cabinet picks are about to face confirmation hearings in the new Republican Senate. Whether Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth or Robert F Kennedy Jr, they will be challenged by Democrats and Republicans alike.
But a more serious challenge is emerging from within the Republican party. The question of loyalty is coming into sharper focus.
Loyalty to Trump
As President-elect Donald Trump rounds out his second term dream team to reshape American institutions and pursue his America First agenda, he has chosen people with one defining trait: absolute loyalty. In naming an acolyte of his son as his chief strategist and another as his new deputy chief of staff, the president-elect has signaled that he will prioritize loyalty to him over experience or ideology.
He’s vowed to avoid people who would “sabotage” him from within the administration and reportedly has researchers looking into potential appointees’ backgrounds for any sign of disloyalty. His experience with the people he brought into his first administration, which he says were “disloyal,” has left him determined to keep those who aren’t loyal to him out of key roles in his second term.
That has led to choices that leave some in his own party alarmed. For example, Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman picked to lead the Department of Defense, has routinely opposed US foreign policy in the past, blaming NATO for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has been named to oversee Health and Human Services, is a longtime environmental lawyer known for spreading fringe theories about vaccines and the dangers of 5G cellphone signals. Many Trump voters, though, say the nominees fit the president-elect’s promises to shake up Washington.
Loyalty to the American People
President Donald Trump assembled a Cabinet in the style of Abraham Lincoln’s Team of Rivals when he first entered office, choosing people with traditional conservative credentials who would help him navigate Washington. For his second term, he’s putting together a different kind of group, with many of his new picks bucking conventional wisdom about the agencies they’ll run. He’s appointed former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to oversee intelligence, for instance, while selecting Fox News hosts Matt Gaetz and Tucker Carlson to run the Justice Department and Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead health care.
But as the Cabinet picks roll out, some of those who once served with Trump are sounding alarm bells about his leadership. They’re criticizing his character, describing him as a chaotic leader and accusing him of amoral behavior. They’re warning that the president’s policies could set back America’s security and erode democracy.
A long list of allies-turned-critics stretches back to the start of Mr. Trump’s presidency, with members of the military, diplomats and intelligence officers testifying about his disregard for the law and highlighting his chaotic management. But in recent weeks, the voices have been rising louder from those who once worked with the president. They’re speaking out in memoirs, interviews and public appearances to call attention to their concerns about his leadership.
