If presidential elections are political Super Bowls, then we can’t forget that after a short break, we’re thrown straight into the next event: the president’s nomination of Cabinet members. Essentially, it’s our version of the draft, but with more debauchery, controversy, and the odd hit-and-run.
As news broke of President-elect Donald Trump’s initial nominees, I was pleasantly surprised and, frankly, thrilled. Susie Wiles’s selection as his chief of staff is not only historic — remember when that was important? — but a crucial indication that this administration is going to be far less chaotic than the first.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as secretary of state is a fantastic pick for those who want a return to a peace-through-strength foreign policy, rather than the shamefully weak apology-tour fanatics we’ve endured under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a more pro-Israel pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel than Mike Huckabee or a person better prepared to fight the insanity of international bureaucracy than Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as U.N. ambassador.
Then there are slightly more surprising choices, at least on the surface, such as veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense.
And, because it wouldn’t be a Trump administration without a few moments of insanity, there are the picks that can only be described as bonkers. Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as head of the Department of Homeland Security was leading this race until Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) of all people was nominated for attorney general.
But then, among other interesting nominations such as former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Tom Homan as “border czar,” and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, there was the headline-grabber: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be heading up an unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE — a nod to the satirical cryptocurrency popular among fans of Musk.
First, it’s somewhat frustrating that there are political figures who have been fighting this fight for years who have been leapfrogged by two billionaire entrepreneurs with no real experience in government. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is an obvious example, releasing an annual “Festivus Report” detailing the insanity of federal spending. In 2023 alone, that amounted to $900 billion, including “an NIH grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, Barbies used as proof of ID for receiving COVID Paycheck Protection Program funds, $6 million to promote tourism in Egypt, and $200 million to ‘struggling artists’ like Post Malone, Chris Brown, and Lil Wayne.”
Second, the fact that Musk and Ramaswamy will maintain business interests that depend on governmental regulations — Musk, for example, will apparently continue to lead Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI — while also recommending regulatory cuts is a bit absurd. Look, I know Elon Musk is “our billionaire,” and I know his purchase of X (formerly Twitter) was a turning point in the conservative battle for free speech on social media, but are we just going to ignore obvious issues surrounding conflict of interest? Probably, yes. But just imagine the right-wing outcry if Vice President Kamala Harris handed billionaire Alexander Soros influence over government regulations.
Third, and here’s the key question: What’s really going on here? After all, is cutting spending in the federal government a task worthy of our generation’s greatest entrepreneur, Musk? What about Ramaswamy, whose presence in the Trump administration likely has more to do with his friendship with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance than his exhausting sales-bro routine, his ever-changing political viewpoints, or the fact that prior to buying his way into politics, he made his fortune on what was basically (as Yale professor and Ramaswamy critic Jeffrey Sonnenfeld put it), a “pump and dump” Big Pharma scheme?
The reason Musk and, to a far lesser extent, Ramaswamy are being handed this position has little (if anything) to do with the task at hand. Instead, it’s about sending a message. Trump is a man who understands image, media, and public relations. And this is great PR, not just for Trump, but for Musk and Ramaswamy also. Just think of the clicks!
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Ultimately, this is why Trump has nominated disruptors throughout his cabinet. People who are going to disrupt the descent of the military into wokeness, or the corruption of the intelligence community, or whatever Gaetz is supposed to do as attorney general. Whether they get confirmed or not is another matter.
Regardless, Trump is making it clear that things are going to change and things are going to change under a banner of his choosing. All we have to do is wait and see what that change involves.
Ian Haworth is a columnist, speaker, and podcast host. You can find him on Substack and follow him on X at @ighaworth.