What to know about Trump’s controversial cabinet picks: Elon Musk, RFK Jr., Matt Gaetz

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Buckle up, America.

President-elect Trump has burst backmost onto the Beltway governmental scene, sparking outrage from critics and glee among his loyal followers by tapping arguable characters similar Matt Gaetz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk for his second-term cabinet.

Just days aft scoring a decisive predetermination win, Trump has moved with lightning velocity to enactment guardant a big of furniture picks, immoderate of which shocked governmental allies and foes alike due to the fact that of their perceived utmost views oregon deficiency of accepted qualifications.

Most of them indispensable present look Senate confirmation hearings aboriginal successful the caller year, which could disturbance up important caller damaging information astir them and exposure immoderate divisions among Trump’s Republican allies.

Trump isn’t worried. He has warned GOP lawmakers to toed the line and re-upped threats to usage his powerfulness to retaliate against critics.

Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia governmental analyst, called the shock-and-awe furniture rotation retired “just a sensation of what’s to come” successful the adjacent 4 years.

“Trump has been dying to instrumentality it to the constitution and get his revenge and retribution,” Sabato said. “He didn’t discarded immoderate clip getting started.”

No 1 tin accidental helium didn’t pass them.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks astatine a House Republicans Conference meeting.

The incoming president spent months railing against the presumption quo connected the run trail, including vows to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, instrumentality revenge connected his governmental critics, punish alleged “woke” generals and and shingle up the economy.

Republicans were acceptable for a fewer off-beat selections and precedent-breaking paybacks to reward his astir trusted allies.

But fewer were expecting the likes of Gaetz, who has virtually nary ineligible experience, to beryllium named lawyer wide oregon Fox News big Pete Hegseth to tally the Department of Defense, which is arguably the astir almighty enactment connected the planet.

RFK Jr. has denounced life-saving vaccines and besides accused elephantine nutrient and pharmaceutical companies, some large Republican constituencies, of “poisoning” Americans.

Musk, already the world’s richest antheral and a major beneficiary of authorities contracts and subsidies, is facing innumerable conflicts arsenic helium prepares to caput up a caller enactment aimed astatine cutting the national budget.

Here’s what you request to know.

Who are the cardinal picks truthful far?

The astir important picks successful immoderate incoming president’s furniture are caput of state, main of staff, defence and the lawyer general, who is the nation’s apical law-enforcement official.

Trump picked Gaetz arsenic lawyer general, Hegseth to pb the Pentagon and a overmuch much accepted pick, Sen. Marco Rubio, to go the nation’s apical diplomat.

He has tapped different arguable fig successful ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to beryllium manager of nationalist intelligence. She has defended Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and has nary acquisition moving successful the quality world.

There were besides immoderate much accepted picks, liked GOP statesmanlike campaigner Doug Burgum arsenic caput of the interior, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida) arsenic nationalist information advisor and Susie Wiles arsenic White House main of staff.

Two New York lawmakers besides won jobs. Rep. Elise Stefanik was nominated to beryllium UN ambassador and ex-Rep. Lee Zeldin is acceptable to instrumentality implicit the Environmental Protection Agency.

A squad for the borderline and wide deportations

One of Trump’s cardinal run pledges was to halt migrants from crossing the confederate borderline with Mexico and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

He named hardliner Stephen Miller to oversee that effort arsenic the White House lawman main of unit for policy.

Tom Homan, a tough-talking erstwhile Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief, has been named alleged borderline czar. He has vowed to deport anyone who is successful the state illegally, including parents of children who are U.S. citizens.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Trump state who admitted sidesplitting her family’s favored dog, has been tapped to pb the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the borderline patrol and ICE among different cardinal agencies.

One broadside effect of the raging controversies implicit different furniture nominees whitethorn beryllium to marque the paths to confirmation smoother for Miller and Noem than they mightiness person different been.

Why is Matt Gaetz truthful controversial?

Gaetz is astir apt the most shocking prime truthful far due to the fact that truthful fewer radical saw it coming.

The ex-Florida lawmaker has no acquisition arsenic a authoritative oregon judge and lone practiced instrumentality concisely earlier entering politics, each accepted credentials to go the nation’s apical law-enforcement official.

But the biggest hurdle to Gaetz winning his station is his ain checkered past.

Gaetz was the taxable of a lengthy national transgression probe into claims that he participated successful drug-fueled enactment romps with paid pistillate escorts, including astatine slightest 1 who was nether the property of consent.

He denies each the allegations. The feds yet d eclined to charge him, reportedly implicit concerns astir the reliability of witnesses.

A timely resignation

The Republican-led House Ethics Committee investigated galore of the aforesaid claims. A young pistillate told them Gaetz had enactment with her erstwhile she was 17 and a precocious schoolhouse student.

The sheet was expected to ballot to merchandise its study connected Friday. But it scrapped the meeting.

In an unusual twist, Gaetz abruptly resigned his spot successful the House connected Wednesday, the aforesaid time Trump announced his nomination. That determination would typically marque the morals probe moot due to the fact that he’s nary longer a lawmaker.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that the study should enactment secret.

But Republican senators person said they privation to spot the study arsenic portion of their confirmation process.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. takes a selfie with guests astatine Mar-a-Lago connected November 14.

What astir vaccine skeptic RFK Jr.?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has agelong been possibly the astir salient professional of American nationalist wellness system and the vaccines that are portion of the cloth of American life.

Now, he’s been nominated arsenic caput of wellness and quality services, overseeing each the nation’s wellness agencies, arsenic good arsenic the Food and Drug Administration, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs that service tens of millions of Americans.

Kennedy utilized his autarkic statesmanlike run to spotlight his outrageous claims including that “no vaccine is safe,” vaccines origin autism and COVID vaccines killed galore Americans.

“It’s perfectly chilling,” Dr. Richard Besser, main of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told ABC News. “It could interaction the lives of everyone surviving successful America.”

RFK Jr. has besides harshly criticized Big Pharma and nutrient producers for contributing to Americans’ wellness woes and rampant obesity, among different problems. But tweaking rules for approving nutrient and drugs could beryllium highly unpopular with large corporations that traditionally exert immense sway — particularly implicit Republican policymakers.

Trump, who has go precise adjacent to RFK Jr. successful conscionable a fewer months, has brushed disconnected the concerns arsenic wide handwringing. He has vowed to fto RFK Jr. “go wild” connected the wellness system.

“Nobody’s going to bash it similar you,” Trump gushed to Kennedy astatine a Mar-a-Lago banquet connected Thursday.

Elon Musk successful Washington connected Wednesday.

The richest antheral eyes the bottommost enactment — and more

It’s casual to hide that Elon Musk lone became a MAGA existent believer a fewer months ago.

The Tesla, Space X and X mogul endorsed Trump aft the attempted assassination successful July and rapidly became 1 of the erstwhile and aboriginal president’s cardinal fiscal backers and omnipresent governmental allies.

Musk, an migrant from South Africa, is the world’s richest man. He relies connected subsidies for electrical vehicles and U.S. authorities aerospace contracts for billions successful profits and could marque adjacent much if regulatory agencies bash his bidding.

He has been named to pb a caller entity dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency on with erstwhile GOP statesmanlike campaigner Vivek Ramaswamy.

Musk has said helium wants to slash the national budget by arsenic overmuch arsenic one-third. But observers enactment that the caller DOGE, a trolling sanction that refers to a Musk-promoted cryptocurrency coin, is not really a authorities bureau and has nary existent ineligible powers.

Musk has besides tinkered with U.S. overseas argumentation successful ways that could person unsafe oregon unpredictable results.

He has regularly spoken to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin successful caller years and shockingly jumped connected a post-election telephone betwixt Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Just Friday, reports said Musk has precocious met with Iran’s UN ambassador, a backmost transmission that could nonstop a mixed message to Tehran arsenic it squares disconnected against Israel successful the Middle East.

Trump’s program and however it could backfire

Trump is simply a maestro of grabbing attraction from friends and foes alike and ignoring disapproval to get what helium wants.

Republican strategists accidental the president-elect is betting that immoderate governmental backlash implicit his furniture picks volition rapidly slice but the benefits from argumentation victories volition endure, particularly connected migration oregon the economy.

“Trump feels emboldened aft his ascendant nationalist predetermination victory, truthful helium whitethorn beryllium much committed than what we traditionally see,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Texas-based GOP strategist.

But galore governmental pundits pass that American governmental past is littered with examples of presidents who overstepped immoderate mandate they mightiness person earned.

For example, erstwhile presidents Barack Obama and George Bush some recovered themselves facing sweeping defeats conscionable 2 years aft winning large victories astatine the polls. The 2026 midterms could present a akin rebuke to Trump.

“Trump enjoys pushing the boundaries of governmental disruption and his voters privation him to propulsion backmost connected who they consciousness are Washington elites,” said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist and Columbia University professor. “But sowing argumentation chaos arsenic opposed to stableness volition apt interaction the midterms.”

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