On November 23rd local time, with the selection of the US Secretary of Agriculture, Donald Trump has initially completed his cabinet 2.0 candidate nominations.
Looking back at Donald Trump’s recent cabinet formation process, it can be described as fraught with problems and full of twists and turns: multiple candidates were suspected of sexual scandals, and the original candidate for the position of Attorney General, Matt Gates, was dismissed at lightning speed, giving people the feeling of having died before achieving anything.
But it must be said that compared to the first term, the nomination speed of Donald Trump’s cabinet this time has significantly accelerated, showing a momentum of seizing the day and working hard.
Based on the announced nominations, what is the pattern in the selection of candidates for Donald Trump’s 2.0 cabinet? What does it reflect about Mr. Trump’s “personnel strategy”?
Today, the author will analyze the deep considerations behind Donald Trump’s “mobilization of troops and officers”.
Rule 1: Loyal followers of the wise king.
As Donald Trump’s “offer package” continues to be drawn, it is not difficult to find that the candidates for Cabinet 2.0 are almost all die-hard fans of Donald Trump.
This also reflects that after experiencing betrayals from Pence, Haley, and others during his first term, Donald Trump is truly scared.
This time, he would rather employ some anti-establishment “newbies” than trust the “scheming old men” of the establishment.
The candidate for White House Chief of Staff, Susan Wells, is the first cabinet member appointed by Donald Trump. Wells is a loyal political follower of Trump and played a key role in Trump’s three election campaigns in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
The new nominee for the position of Attorney General, Pam Bondi, remained steadfast during Donald Trump’s impeachment by Congress, insisting on shielding Donald Trump from the “bullets of public opinion”.
The nominee for the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, firmly defended Donald Trump during the difficult time when he was convicted. Because of this, even though Ratcliffe’s views on intelligence work are controversial, Donald Trump still nominated him against the opposition.
Overall, these people are all loyal supporters of Donald Trump. Many of them have been by Donald Trump’s side since he entered politics, always ready to serve him, and they never abandoned him even when Donald Trump faced adversity. Their loyalty is unparalleled.
Rule 2: Young grassroots.
Donald Trump’s Cabinet 1.0 is largely consistent with the choices of traditional Republicans, mostly consisting of older and more experienced politicians.
Version 2.0, however, broke the mold by hiring a large number of individuals born in the 1980s, accounting for over 50% of the workforce.
Vice President J.D. Vance, born in 1984;
The candidate for the position of Defense Minister, Peter Hageseth, was born in 1980;
Matt Gates, the initial candidate for the position of Minister of Justice, was born in 1982;
Tulsi Gabbard, the candidate for the position of Director of National Intelligence, was born in 1981;
Alice Stephanie, the candidate for the US permanent representative to the United Nations, was born in 1984;
Lee Zeldin, the candidate for the position of Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was born in 1980
At the same time, in order to avoid the intricate nepotism in American politics, Mr. Trump deliberately selected many grassroots people, somewhat like an elderly man nearing 80 leading a group of ‘post-80s’ newcomers to manage the United States.
Many netizens joke that Donald Trump’s criteria for selecting cabinet members are highly consistent with the standards for selecting assassins in ancient times, namely being young, clean-living, and ruthless.
Donald Trump chooses young people, partly because they are in the prime of their life and full of vitality, and partly because young people are inexperienced and easier to control.
Mr. Trump, who comes from a background of a “domineering CEO”, values the obedience and execution ability of young people. What he needs are not challengers, but followers who can unwaveringly carry out his will.
Rule 3: Famous entertainment stars.
Donald Trump’s initial nominees were fairly standard, but the subsequent series of selections were a major surprise.
CNN published a report titled “Donald Trump is building a cabinet that is born for television”, pointing out that many nominees share a common trait, which is as important as “loyalty” and even more important than traditional selection criteria, that is, “popularity on television”.
It seems that Donald Trump is going to carry out the ‘entertainment of politics’ to the end.
Before announcing the nomination of Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy as the Secretary of Transportation, Donald Trump only cited one example of his transportation governance, but he did not forget to remind everyone that Duffy’s wife is also an anchor and a star of Fox News.
The nominee for the position of Secretary of Defense, Peter Hagel, has never served in the Pentagon and only served as an instructor during the Afghanistan War, yet he is the host of Fox News.
If the aforementioned two individuals possess some experience in related fields, the other two candidates are completely “laymen”.
Linda McMahon, the nominee for the Secretary of Education, once served as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which has no connection to the field of education.
And the nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner, has even set a new low bar for professional qualifications. This former professional football player, who shed his jersey and donned a suit, is now poised to ascend to the highest echelons of government.
These selection criteria may seem abnormal, but they precisely reflect Trump’s characteristics of prioritizing self-interest and individual heroism.
Rule 4: Strongly hawkish towards China.
Overall, there is another prominent characteristic of the people selected by Donald Trump: they are unfriendly towards China.
Secretary of State nominee Mark Rubio has gained fame in the US political arena for his strong anti-China stance, and has been described by the US media as “one of the most vociferous critics of China”.
He has concocted and participated in multiple China-related bills, grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, and seriously damaged Sino-US relations. Therefore, he has been included in the sanctions list by China twice.
Mike Woltz, the President’s National Security Advisor, is known as an expert on China, Russia, Iran, and global terrorist threats, and is also the driving force behind a series of China-related bills.
Howard Lutnick, the nominee for the position of Secretary of Commerce, has spared no effort in supporting the imposition of sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods.
Although most of the cabinet members nominated by Donald Trump need to be approved by the Senate before taking office, it is not ruled out that there may still be changes in some individual candidates. However, the overall situation seems to be settled at present.
The composition of this cabinet is undoubtedly a continuation of Donald Trump’s personal style and political beliefs.
They may be relatively young and inexperienced, but they all bear the imprint of Donald Trump and support his ideas. In two months, they will become the main faces of the US government.
