Donald Trump’s new Cabinet could be more divided than his first

The president-elect is keeping us guessing as to how his team will work together to transform America

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Ten days after Donald Trump’s landslide victory rocked Washington, his top team is taking shape.
At a glitzy gala dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night, his administration’s nominees chatted and mingled as the Cabinet announcements rolled in.
Mr Trump used the event to announce his latest pick – Doug Burgum for Department of the Interior ─ and guests congratulated Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was confirmed for the Department of Health earlier in the day.
It all seemed very cosy. But behind the scenes, there are indications that the country could be in for a fractious four years.
The president-elect is well known for running his political operation like a medieval court, by playing off his various allies against each other.
His nominations this week are, even by his standards, a motley crew of clashing personalities ─ and their previous statements show they are destined for conflict during Mr Trump’s second term.
One such fault line is a matter of pure public policy, between Mr Burgum and Mr Kennedy, over Mr Trump’s plan to exploit America’s abundant oil and gas reserves.
Mr Kennedy is a career environmental lawyer, who has spent decades railing against fossil fuel companies and the negative externalities of their work.
He has described oil and gas production as the “dirtiest, filthiest, most poisonous, most toxic, most war-mongering” way to generate power, and warned: “There are going to be major disruptions not just to humanity, but ultimately to civilization.”
Next year, if his appointment is confirmed, he will sit in Cabinet alongside Mr Burgum – currently the governor of an oil-producing state – who has been charged with delivering Mr Trump’s mission to “drill, baby, drill”.
Mr Trump has already given his support to a new gas pipeline on the North Slope of Alaska, and pledged to cut green subsidies that have become widespread under the Biden administration. Mr Burgum has described the industry as a “powerhouse” and a “game-changer” for the state’s economy.
Mr Trump has also been forced to say that Mr Kennedy “won’t touch the oil and gas” portfolio in government, given his misaligned views with the incoming administration.
There is also division incoming on foreign and defence policy, between Mr Trump’s trio of Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard.
Ms Gabbard, the incoming director of national intelligence, said on the day that Russia invaded Ukraine that Vladimir Putin had acted on “legitimate security concerns”. Mr Rubio, along with almost all other US politicians, condemned the invasion of a European ally.
He also condemned Bashar al-Assad for chemical weapon attacks on civilians in 2017, while she said she was “sceptical” they had even happened. She met Mr Assad on a secret trip to Syria the same year.
Like Mr Hegseth, Ms Gabbard was deployed in Iraq with the US military. But unlike him, she has spoken in support of women serving on the front line, while he has suggested they should be restricted to backroom roles.
Mr Hegseth, who was nominated to join the Pentagon from his current position on Fox News, has called the Nato alliance “outdated, outgunned, invaded, and impotent”.
Mr Rubio, who is in line for Secretary of State, has called it “important” and ran his 2016 Republican primary campaign largely on a hawkish, interventionist platform.
Then there is Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have been appointed by Mr Trump to run an efficiency drive that looks more like a startup than a government department.
Their recommendations are likely to conflict with the spending plans of the other members of Mr Trump’s team, and will see them calling for reductions in their departmental budgets almost as soon as they have taken office.
Mr Ramaswamy has called for the abolition of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition service – a federal agency that provides healthy food to poor children, sharing a mission with Mr Kennedy.
Alongside the evident policy differences, early reports of decision-making in Trump’s team after the election suggests the chain of command may not be as well-established as it appears.
On Thursday, it was reported that Mr Trump’s controversial choice of Matt Gaetz for attorney general was made without the involvement of Susie Wiles, his White House chief of staff.
Ms Wiles had previously been billed as the brains of the Trump operation – but by closing her out over Mr Gaetz, Mr Trump may well have established a tension that will build as he becomes crucial to the president-elect’s mission of taking on his enemies.
Mr Gaetz, a Trump cheerleader in the House, may also clash with more moderate appointees with congressional experience, like Mr Rubio and Mr Burgum, both of whom have opposed Mr Trump in the past.
It is difficult to discern whether these tensions have been intentionally constructed by Mr Trump, who likes to watch an argument play out between his staff on policy issues before making a decision.
But they may have an impact on his ability to deliver his agenda for the first hundred days of his second administration – especially if disagreements between his Cabinet members become public.
Often, the days after a presidential election produce a series of predictable appointments, many of whom have returned from previous administrations.
It is not so this time, and the full implications of the latest appointments are yet to play out. For now, Mr Trump is keeping us guessing.
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