Awaiting to take office and return to the White House in January, Donald Trump has set his mind on appointing his initial cabinet members who would be his main advisors on questions such as health, education or defence. He has named his preferred candidates, causing even more controversies and starting new discussions on how right-wing the new people in power will be and what changes it will bring in comparison to Trump’s last presidency in 2016.
Many have raised their concerns as some of the potential cabinet members have been involved in several controversies. His pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been accused of sexual assault in California in 2017 and proposed attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has, according to a Congressional report ,alleged involvement in sexual misconduct with an underage girl, misuse of campaign money and drug consumption.
Additionally, his nominee for health secretary is the vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr. Medical experts have expressed their worries, based on misinformation that he spread on vaccines. Kennedy himself denied that he was an anti-vaxxer, justifying it by stating that his children were vaccinated. However, he has falsely claimed in his interview for Fox News that “autism comes from vaccines”, which is a myth that has been disproved and removed by the Lancet medical journal.
“[Trump] has named his preferred candidates, causing even more controversies and starting new discussions on how right-wing the new people in power will be.”
Pete Hegseth has been shamed for paying off a woman who accused him of sexual assault, which he did as he wanted to preserve his job. He denies any allegations and claims that the encounter was consensual. Many more controversies surround him as once he was thought to have a white supremacist tattoo on his arm that featured a Latin phrase ‘Deus Vult’ (God wills it) that continues to have links to extremist groups. JD Vance, US Vice-President-elect, defended the claims and explained that the tattoo was meant to have a Christian undertone; noting that criticising it would be a case of “disgusting anti-Christian bigotry”.
“Time will tell if the rest of the cabinet candidates will prove to be as controversial as the ones suggested so far.”
It is still to be determined if the candidates will be confirmed by the US Senate in January, when Trump’s second term as President officially starts. A question stands: Were Trump’s cabinet nominees a smart, calculated choice that serves the purpose of fuelling far right-wing beliefs and radicalisation of Trump supporters, or just another spontaneous, rogue move from Trump?
Republican voters who were contacted by the BBC have voiced their positive feelings about Trump’s appointees. One of them stated that he feels that “the new Trump administration is giving him a voice”. Amidst waves of criticism, there are some that are content with who Trump has appointed so far. Time will tell if the rest of the cabinet candidates will prove to be as controversial as the ones suggested so far.
