(Dan Tri) - President-elect Donald Trump waited until he left Washington to stun the elite here with surprising personnel choices for his upcoming cabinet.
US President-elect Donald Trump (Photo: WSJ).
Hours after a warm meeting with outgoing President Joe Biden at the White House on November 13, President-elect Donald Trump announced his picks for his incoming administration on his way back to his Florida residence. He nominated Representative Matt Gaetz to be attorney general. House and Senate lawmakers were clearly surprised by the nomination, and some senators openly questioned whether Gaetz would be confirmed by the Senate. Gaetz is under investigation by the House for ethics violations, which he denies. He is also disliked by some Republican colleagues for leading the effort to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year. Another surprise pick was Tulsi Gabbard, who was nominated to be director of national intelligence. A day earlier, Trump also announced his nomination of Fox News host Pete Hegseth, 44, to be secretary of defense. Many lawmakers in Washington have called the nominations “out of bounds.” But it was Gaetz’s nomination that surprised the most, even those familiar with him. “He’s smart. His confirmation hearing will be important. He’ll face some tough questions,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, adding that he “tends to support the president-elect’s cabinet picks.” Trump’s picks show his determination to appoint people he wants to key positions, making good on campaign promises. The president-elect has pledged to launch a mass deportation effort and overhaul the Justice Department, which he has accused of partisan infighting. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) commented that most of Trump’s picks show that he wants to keep a firm grip on his nominees and that he values loyalty, a quality that all presidents value. The choice of Mr. Gaetz is considered helpful in promoting the "America First" policy of the President-elect. "Mr. Trump is choosing early, and they are all people he knows well, very different from the first term when he barely knew everyone in his cabinet," said Senator Chuck Grassley. Mr. Trump ally and former administration official Richard Grenell said that Mr. Gaetz "will be an attorney general for the people, not for the Washington power elite." "People in Washington will not be happy, but that just means that common sense has returned. This is what America voted for Mr. Trump," commented this former official. The nomination of Mr. Hegseth was equally surprising when there were opinions that he did not have much experience for the position of Secretary of Defense. However, Senator Mike Rounds said: "I think Pete Hegseth is surprising because most of us do not know him. But to me, he seems to have a record." Hegseth was an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, serving in Guantanamo Bay and then Iraq. Hegseth returned to active duty in 2012, serving in Afghanistan with the Minnesota National Guard. Sen. Joni Ernst, a veteran, said Hegseth would make “a very strong secretary of defense.”
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