Since Election Day, President-elect Trump has announced various names that will (most likely) make up his cabinet and overall administration. After Trump won the election, many wondered whether or not Trump would nominate standard GOP institutionalists or firebrand MAGA loyalists. It has become increasingly obvious Trump has not only chosen the latter, but doubled down on his loyalists.
These decisions culminated when Trump nominated Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General. He has since dropped out of the nominating process after insurmountable pressure from both Democrats and Republicans.
To me, this is Trump specifically testing the Senate’s loyalty to him. Cabinet picks such as Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who have little related experience to the positions they are being considered for, offer absolute loyalty to the president and the MAGA agenda. From Trump’s perspective, if the Senate approves these “outside of the box” picks, then he has successfully transformed the Republican Party into the MAGA party.
During Trump’s first term in office, he largely appointed Republican institutionalists. Throughout the entirety of his presidency, he experienced intense disagreement and tension with virtually all of his picks. In many cases, his cabinet officials actively fought against and chose to ignore Trump’s policy wishes and decisions. Trump has made sure to prevent this from happening again.
Just last week, Trump announced that he would choose Kash Patel to replace the current director of the FBI. Patel is another candidate with no experience within the agency in which they are being asked to lead. Patel has frequently said that he would essentially do Trump’s bidding and has alluded to going after political enemies of the president-elect. These are statements that establishment Republicans should be especially critical of given their unwavering support for free speech and limited government. If they vote to confirm Patel, it would be convincing evidence that Trump has near unstoppable power within the Republican Party.
Appointments are some of the most important and consequential decisions a president can make. Research has continuously shown that appointees of the President play a tremendous role in implementing policy as the president sees fit. If Trump succeeds in appointing his firebrand MAGA loyalists, it is a signal that he will be significantly more successful in implementing his desired policies than he was during his first term in office.
