Who’s On Trump’s Cabinet- Part 1: Foreign Policy, Defense & Homeland Security

Elections & Politics #138 | By: Arvind Salem | November 24, 2024

Photo by History in HD on Unsplash

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Policy Summary:

The Cabinet comprises the President’s most important advisors that control the vast apparatus of executive agencies and departments. Trump’s picks have garnered much attention, as his picks for certain major agencies in particular highlight not only who he may have personal loyalties to, but the political direction he envisions for these agencies. All of these nominees are technically subject to confirmation by the Senate, but this generally serves as a rubber stamp rather than a substantive hurdle: a cabinet nominee has not been rejected by the Senate since 1989. These nominees are all given wide mandates, but this Brief will transparently propose certain metrics that can be used to judge them at the end of their term. For the sake of the country, I hope they succeed in making it a better place and following through on certain promises that America desperately needs.

Secretary of State: Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio, a Senator elected in the Tea party wave of 2010 and once a challenger to President Trump in 2016, was a widely anticipated pick to be Secretary of State (and seemed like a top contender to even be Vice-President, although he was passed over). Foreign Policy was a major policy area that Donald Trump promised to change once elected: mainly criticizing President Biden’s lavish support of Ukraine. Rubio’s own record on the subject is mixed. He used to be hawkish against Russia, but has recently softened his stance in line with President Trump.

Besides Russia-Ukraine, Marco Rubio is extremely hawkish towards Iran and China, believing that the Indo-Pacific ought to be the focus of American foreign policy (as opposed to Europe), and fully supports Israel in the conflict in the Middle East. In particular, he’s hyper focused on China, calling it the “ largest, most advanced adversary America has ever faced”. As a corollary, he places high importance on protecting Taiwan’s independence.

In terms of pure viewpoints, all of these, with the exception of Israel, are relatively uncontroversial. What remains to be seen is if this translates to action. Foreign Policy has relatively clear metrics, especially given the hardline positions that have been expressed. With control of all three branches of government as well as a loyal surrogate in Rubio, Trump has all of the tools to execute his vision to cripple Iran, block Chinese expansion into Taiwan, and above all, end the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

Attorney General: Pam Bondi

After Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick for Attorney General, withdrew himself from consideration, President Trump promptly nominated Pam Bondi. Bondi was the first female attorney general of Florida, was part of Trump’s impeachment team during his two impeachments, served on the opioid and drug abuse commission during Trump’s first term, and led the legal arm  of the America First Policy Institute (a think tank founded by former Trump staff members). 

During his campaign, Trump often maligned the Justice Department as politically prosecuting him and sees this pick as his way of returning integrity to the Justice Department and will “refocus the DOJ on its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.”  However, Bondi may not be completely clean: she received a political contribution from President Trump while considering a prosecution against Trump university. The prosecutor assigned by Republican governor Rick Scott determined there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant bribery charges and both Trump and Bondi denied wrongdoing. 

Again, holding Bondi accountable is fairly simple, as Trump has made his objectives crystal clear. The barometer for measuring Bondi’s success will be the extent to which she can reduce crime and “Make America Safe Again”, as well as her ability to avoid “politically motivated” prosecutions. Measuring crime is fairly simple, especially the type of blue-collar crime that President Trump appears to be fixated on. Of course, implied within that, is dropping all federal charges against President Trump, but what remains to be seen is if Donald Trump will weaponize the DOJ against Democrats just as he accuses them of doing to him.

Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth is by far the most controversial pick out of these four.  Hegseth, now known best for his role as co-host of Fox & Friends, has come under controversy both for his viewpoints and qualifications. Hegseth graduated college from Princeton University and has served in the Army in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantánamo Bay. He also holds a masters in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy school. 

Although he has served, and every service member has provided an admirable, valuable service to the country, by the standards of a Secretary of Defense his military experience isn’t extraordinary. He was not in any significant military leadership position and has little management experience to suggest that he could capably manage the 3 million servicemen nearly $1 trillion budget that the Pentagon commands. 

Even further, Hegseth is coming under fire for his previous comments surrounding the role of women in combat roles. Of all his quotes, his comments during an interview earlier this month most accurately summarize his views: “I’m straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles — it hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.”

Fellow veteran and Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs during the Iraq War, slammed Hegseth for these opinions and signaled her staunch opposition, pointing out that the military is not in any position to turn people away amid their recruiting crisis, especially not women that have already demonstrated they can meet the same standards. Hegseth is also actively embroiled in a sexual assault allegation. 

In terms of foreign policy views, he mirrors Trump’s policy positions nearly exactly, and was a loyal defender of Trump during his first term: defending Trump’s interactions with Kim Jong Un and supporting Trump’s “America First” agenda of minimizing America’s foreign entanglements. He also echoes Trump’s criticisms of NATO as an alliance where America is putting in way more than it’s gaining

He additionally mirrors more cultural positions on the military: criticizing the military for its “woke” policies and emphasis on diversity that render it weak, wanting to eliminate these policies as well as combat the American political left (which he calls “America’s domestic enemies”). Hegseth is also deeply critical of constructs that limit soldiers on the battlefield (like the Geneva Conventions), and has lobbied President Trump for the release of soldiers accused of War Crimes.

Of all of Trump’s nominees, Hegseth’s combination of dubious qualifications, extreme political views, and hardline cultural positions may mean he faces the most uphill battle for Senate confirmation, even though Republicans control that chamber. If he is confirmed, he may exacerbate the military’s ongoing recruitment crisis, leading to the very military weakness he sees in the current military. If Hegseth can maintain the military’s strength, and use it to successfully posture against American enemies like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, while also reversing the recruitment crisis, his term would be a success both for his rhetoric and the American people. However, this success, if it materializes at all, would likely unfortunately come at the expense of women in the military and reverse progress on gender equality. Hopefully, he never gets the chance to execute that aspect of his vision.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem

Krisit Noem, the governor of South Dakota, is a staunch Trump loyalist. She was entrusted with a key part of Trump’s agenda and election campaigns, both in 2016 and 2024: securing the Southern border. She will need to execute Trump’s promise to securely police the border as well as conduct the mass deportations of illegal immigrants currently in the United States. Additionally, she will have leadership over the Secret Service- an agency that has drawn much criticism for their lax protection of President Trump that almost led to his assassination. 

With Trump’s extreme positions on immigration, holding Noem accountable for Homeland Security is also fairly easy: if she can curb the entry of illegal immigrants from the Southern border as well as deport more illegal immigrants than the Biden administration, she would have accomplished her job. However, Trump is not known to be patient with his Homeland Security Secretary (he cycled through six during his first term).

Conclusion:

The rhetoric of President Trump to win the election and appoint these Cabinet members seems good on its face. However, throughout this brief, the specific metrics identified will determine if these Secretaries have succeeded in delivering on these lavish promises. Trump’s first term was also filled with such promises (most famously the border wall). Documenting the motivations, promises, and goals that undergird these Cabinet nominations when they’re made, will help everyone determine if these Secretaries accomplish what they explicitly set out to do.

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