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President-elect Donald Trump has begun selecting his cabinet, including:
The left is generally critical of Trump’s picks so far.
“Many people rationalized their support for Donald Trump by arguing that he wouldn’t make good on some of his central promises. ‘I think mass deportation is just talk, but the era of open borders will be over,’ Scott McConnell, a co-founder of The American Conservative, wrote on X. In July a Mexican-born Trump backer told The Times, ‘Last time, he didn’t even finish the wall. What’s he going to do this time?’…
“Now the answer is taking shape… On Sunday, Trump named Tom Homan, his former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as ‘border czar.’ [In a recent speech] Homan, who oversaw Trump’s family separation policy, promised a ‘historic deportation operation’ from which no undocumented immigrant would be safe… Then, on Monday, Trump named [Stephen Miller] as his deputy chief of staff…
“Among other things, Miller has said that Trump would cancel the temporary protected status of thousands of Afghans who fled here after the Taliban’s takeover and take another stab at ending DACA, the program that protects from deportation some immigrants brought to the United States as children. Most significantly, he’s laid out plans to use National Guard troops to help arrest migrants en masse, warehousing them in military camps while they await deportation.”
Michelle Goldberg, New York Times
Regarding the Department of Defense, “Hegseth has no defense experience—aside from having lots of opinions. He has no government experience and no experience dealing with the Pentagon bureaucracy. He's never run anything bigger than a broom closet. Even at Fox he's only junior varsity, co-hosting the weekend edition of Fox & Friends… You'd think that even the most servile Republican senators might think twice before letting a Fox talking head run the Defense Department.”
Kevin Drum, Jabberwocking
Regarding the State Department, “[Rubio] opposed withdrawing from Afghanistan, initially supported arming Ukraine and voted to certify the results of the 2020 election. He understands the value of alliances and of the American-led global order. Although he’s recently shifted in Mr. Trump’s direction on foreign policy… he has never embraced isolationism…
“Rubio has [also] long championed human rights and democracy. When he stood up to powerful lobbyists to shepherd a bill that banned importing Chinese goods made with forced labor, Beijing retaliated by imposing sanctions on Mr. Rubio for a second time. The first time was over his support for Hong Kong’s autonomy…
“The past few presidents talked about pivoting U.S. foreign policy toward Asia, only to be distracted by conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Rubio might actually shift the State Department’s emphasis… The success — or failure — of the incoming Trump administration might depend on whether voices such as Mr. Rubio’s are included.”
Editorial Board, Washington Post
The right generally approves of Trump’s picks so far.
The right generally approves of Trump’s picks so far.
“Trump’s picks are going to do his bidding in the foreign policy realm; they will reinforce his Trump doctrine, which is, ‘Cross this line and I will punch you so hard in the face you will not want to do it again.’ That is the Trump doctrine and it is a great doctrine, an excellent foreign policy doctrine, which is why we had four years with no wars. Contrary to certain popular opinions, war is only prevented by preparing for war so you don’t have to do it…
“Rubio has proven himself on foreign policy. He’s on the Senate Intelligence Committee, he’s great on television, and he knows all the players…
“Rubio pointed out that the Biden administration had no plan in Ukraine, saying: ‘If you ask the Biden administration, they will tell you we are funding a stalemate. I think the Ukrainians have been incredibly brave and strong in standing up to Russia. But at the end of the day, what we are funding here is a stalemate war’… He is not wrong about that. And that is why President Trump is attempting to seek an offramp there.”
Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire
Some argue, “Rubio’s reported selection is puzzling because the Florida senator’s foreign policy philosophy is almost the polar opposite of Trump’s own. Next to Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio is one of the most hawkish lawmakers on Capitol Hill, a man with a hammer searching for nails. Trump talks about getting US troops out of the Middle East; Rubio talks about keeping them where they are lest the region implode into a thousand pieces…
“Trump at least flirts with negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran; Rubio views negotiations with Iran as a fool’s errand at best… His more than decade-long record as a US senator screams ‘George W. Bush,’ not ‘Donald J. Trump.’ One similarity between Bush and Rubio: they both thought the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a righteous mission that made the world a safer place. Rubio, no doubt, has experience… But experience and wisdom aren’t the same thing.”
Daniel DePetris, Spectator World
Regarding the UN, “Stefanik should establish a campaign ‘war room’ to recruit pro-American candidates to run UN agencies and defeat candidates loyal to Beijing. She should also make it a priority to identify and remove Chinese officials embedded in UN upper management….
“For example, the World Health Organization denies Taiwan observer status and also conceals the origins of COVID-19. Agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization and UNESCO operate as arms of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Human Rights Council whitewashes China’s abuses…
“She should make sure to maintain US dominance inside technology standards-making organizations like the International Telecommunication Union — and to gain more leverage over Beijing, Stefanik can insist that Taiwan be given an observer seat at every US-supported UN agency.”
Richard Goldberg, New York Post
