James Fox, Campus Carrier deputy news editor
Following his victory in the presidential election last month, President Donald Trump has been assembling his presidential cabinet made up of figures such as Scott Bessent, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The cabinet is made up of heads of federal agencies and other important figures and the cabinet acts as an advisory body to the president.
The cabinet is made up of a variety of different kinds of positions and offices,” said Michael Bailey, associate professor of political science. “The official role depends on the president. The way President Trump used the cabinet in [his] first office, for the most part, was to have highly visible meetings in which they would announce some sort of development or have cabinet members praise his initiatives.”
Most people primarily associate the executive branch with the president’s office, but the cabinet is also very important in shaping the policies put in place during a given president’s administration.
“[The cabinet members] are the picks for the future administration and these are the people who are going to be in charge of different aspects of the government, and so obviously, since we’re American citizens, those picks will affect us,” said junior Sam Russell, treasurer of the Berry Young Democrats. “Specifically, when it comes to the Department of Health and the Department of Education, I think we should care about that.”
Bailey noted that Trump is picking his cabinet faster than most presidents have, eluding to Trump’s priorities in his cabinet appointments.
“Some of the more striking things about this set of nominees are the fairly remarkable speed with which he has announced his nominations,” Bailey said. “It is clear that he has developed this loyalty base of contacts that he was already ready to bring forward.”
The choices made by President Trump for his cabinet in this term have been met with mixed opinions from Americans. Picking candidates based on their loyalty to President Trump has arguably led to the appointment of people that are unqualified for their positions.
“I think these people will get in and then realize, ‘Oh, there are all of these things that I don’t actually know how to do,” Russell said.
One controversial pick made by president Trump is businessman John Phelan who has never been in the navy nor has ever had any millitary experience.
President Trump wants people around him that are more loyal to him than specific ideologies which seems to set him apart from other leaders.
“My own view is that Trump may or may not have a coherent view of the vision he wants for the United States, but it doesn’t fall under a really obvious, standard traditional ideology,” Bailey said. “He has his own views, and he wants people to be loyal to him as a person. He also wants to give himself flexibility to change and pivot 180 degrees to go the other direction and have people go along with him.”
President Trump’s picks for the cabinet are reflective of his strategy to surround himself with people that arre more loyal to him than a particular, concrete ideal.
President Trump’s pick for the Ambassador to France is Charles Kushner, a disbarred attorney and convicted felon. Kushner is also the father-in-law of Donald Trump’s son and was pardoned by President Trump in 2020.
Other interesting appointments to President Trump’s cabinet include Tesla owner and billionaire Elon Musk, along with Vivek Ramawamy to head the yet-to-be formed Department of Government Efficiency which is in charge of cutting federal spending on things the Trump administration deems unnecesary. Chris Wright, the CEO of the second largest fracking company in the United States, will be the Secretary of the Department of Energy. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken anti-vaxxer, is Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services following his depature from the presidental race in August and his endorsemnt of President Trump.