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Trump hires loyalists with few qualifications for top jobs
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Trump hires loyalists with few qualifications for top jobs

Written by: Gram Slattery, Andrew Goudsward, Patricia Zengerle and Sarah N. Lynch

(Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump picked loyalists with little experience for some key cabinet positions on Wednesday, stunning some allies and making clear he is serious about reshaping and, in some cases, testing America’s institutions put it.

Trump’s choice of 42-year-old congressman Matt Gaetz as U.S. attorney general, America’s top law enforcement official, was a surprising choice. The former attorney never worked for the Department of Justice or as a prosecutor and was investigated by the Department of Justice for sex trafficking allegations. His office said he was told by prosecutors in 2023 that he would not face criminal charges.

Trump appointed Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. The former Democratic congressman, who is an ally of Trump, has in the past opposed military intervention in the civil war in Syria under former President Barack Obama and has implied that Russian President Vladimir Putin had valid reasons to invade America’s ally Ukraine.

“I know Tulsi will bring to our intelligence community the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career, defend our constitutional rights, and secure peace through force,” Trump said in a statement. he said.

Gabbard has little direct experience in intelligence work and was unlikely to be selected for the job that would oversee 18 spy agencies.

He served as a major in the Hawaii National Guard in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.

On Tuesday, Trump named Fox News commentator and veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. Hegseth opposed women in combat roles and questioned whether the top American general was promoted to the position because of his skin color. He also lobbied Trump to pardon soldiers who allegedly committed war crimes during the 2017-2021 period.

These personnel selections were interspersed with more traditional selections. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Senator Marco Rubio, a hard-liner on China, as his new secretary of state.

But on the whole, his elections mark a radical shift in the way the U.S. government conducts its business and the role America will play in the world over the next four years.

Trump has said he wants to end the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, which he said has filed politically motivated criminal cases against him to hurt his presidential candidacy. The ministry says it acted without political bias.

LOYALTY

Analysts said the common thread in Trump’s elections: Trump has chosen loyalists who are unlikely to back down against his most controversial orders.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to go after his political enemies, including Democratic President Joe Biden; It was a promise that attorney general candidate Gaetz would be unlikely to prevent it.

After Gaetz’s election was announced, a source close to Trump said, “Gaetz will do exactly what Trump said, I think that’s why he was elected.”

A half-dozen sources close to the Trump world, including donors, advisers and fundraisers, said privately they were shocked by Gaetz’s selection because of his limited qualifications and the Justice Department’s past investigation of him.

“I was shocked that he was nominated,” Susan Collins, a moderate Republican senator from Maine, told reporters about Gaetz’s selection. “The president, of course, has the right to nominate whoever he wants. But I think this is an example of why it’s so important that we have advice and consent provisions in the Constitution.”

Some of Trump’s other candidates also lack meaningful qualifications. Although Hegseth is a decorated war veteran, in recent years he has been best known as a media personality. He will now manage most of the 3 million employees and the world’s largest fighting force.

“Being secretary of defense is a very serious job, and appointing someone as dangerously unqualified as Pete Hegseth should scare us all,” said Tammy Duckworth, a Democratic senator from Illinois who sits on the armed services committee.

SENATE PROTECTOR

Not only are Trump’s national security and foreign policy nominees universally skeptical of helping Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion, but some of their statements have been downright hostile toward Kiev.

Gabbard, who will oversee America’s expanding domestic and foreign intelligence apparatus, portrayed Putin as a defender of his country’s vital national security interests. He said Ukraine was a corrupt kleptocracy.

One potential hurdle Trump and his candidates still face: the Senate.

While Trump’s Republicans control the Senate and most Republican lawmakers will support Trump’s nominees for top positions, the slate the president-elect puts out will likely give the party’s remaining moderates pause and test how loyal elected Republicans are to him and his vision.

Rubio’s selection as secretary of state could reassure U.S. partners who worry the Trump administration could pull back from a network of global alliances, including NATO, given Trump’s emphasis on “America First” during his campaign to return to the White House. .

“He will be a mighty Defender of our Nation, a true friend of our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down against our enemies,” Trump said of Rubio in his statement.

In addition to being a China hawk, Rubio, 53, is an outspoken critic of Cuba’s communist government and a strong supporter of Israel.

In the past, he has advocated for a more assertive US foreign policy against America’s geopolitical enemies; but lately his views have aligned more closely with Trump’s foreign policy approach.

Some analysts have questioned whether Rubio would stand up to Trump, noting the president-elect’s tendency to make personal loyalty a central requirement for administration positions.

Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said that given the wide range of foreign policy challenges Trump will face, it is vital that any president’s advisers stand up to him when necessary. face.

“I’m trying to keep an open mind here,” Miller said, noting that Rubio understands foreign policy better than other Trump appointees because of his experience in Congress.

(This story has been republished to correct the image)

(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Helen Coster, Alexandra Ulmer, David Brunnstrom, Patricia Zengerle, Andrew Goudsward, Sarh N. Lynch and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Wallis)