Trump has chosen loyalists and hardliners to lead departments that will shape US policy on immigration, defense and more<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump<\/a> may have won a second term in the White House just last week, but his recent administration appointments have already heightened fears among some who believe his return to the White House will lead to an extremist agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On immigration, Trump has chosen loyalists and hardliners: Stephen Miller will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and Department of Homeland Security adviser; Tom Homan as \u201cborder czar<\/a>\u201d, and Kristi Noem<\/a>, the South Dakota governor, will lead the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miller, previously a Trump adviser, played a significant role in crafting Trump\u2019s immigration policies<\/a> in his first administration, including the Muslim ban. Homan was the former acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Trump\u2019s first administration and a supporter of the family separation policy. Noem has been a vocal and strong Trump ally for the better part of a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This trio is likely to help bring to fruition Trump\u2019s campaign promise of the mass deportation<\/a> of millions of undocumented migrants living in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday, Trump\u2002stunned many<\/a> by announcing that he would be nominating Republican congressman Matt Gaetz<\/a> of Florida, one of his most prominent defenders, to serve as attorney general. Gaetz represents a conservative district in the Florida Panhandle, and became known nationally last year when he was a key player in the putsch that ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaetz was also the subject of a federal sex-trafficking investigation that ended in 2023<\/a> when the Biden justice department declined to bring charges. Gaetz had insisted throughout he was innocent of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump also nominated<\/a> former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabbard, who served in the US military in Iraq, spent four terms as a Democratic congresswoman representing Hawaii, and ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2020, before quitting the party in 2022 and becoming a supporter<\/a> of Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, Trump shocked the Pentagon and the wider defense world by picking<\/a> the army veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as the new defense secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A staunch conservative, Hegseth opposes<\/a> what he calls \u201cwoke\u201d military programs aimed at promoting equity and inclusion and has questioned the role of women in combat. He has also advocated for pardoning service members accused of war crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He reportedly formed a friendship with Trump during his appearances on Fox & Friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking with Politico<\/a>, Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon\u2019s top policy official during the Bush administration, said that Trump\u2019s choices so far revealed that he \u201cputs his highest value on loyalty\u201d adding that one of the main criteria appeared to be \u201chow well do people defend Donald Trump on television?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America, criticized Hegseth\u2019s appointment on X, describing<\/a> the Fox News host as \u201cundoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history\u201d and \u201cthe most overtly political\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBrace yourself, America,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who previously claimed<\/a> \u201cthere is no such thing as a West Bank\u201d, was chosen as the next US ambassador to Israel<\/a>, indicating a return to an explicitly pro-Israel administration reminiscent of Trump\u2019s first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jewish Democratic Council of America criticized<\/a> Huckabee\u2019s nomination, stating that his \u201cextremist views\u201d on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not advance US national security or prospects for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Signaling a more combative US position toward the United Nations, the New York representative Elise Stefanik<\/a> has been chosen to be the next ambassador. Stefanik has called to defund<\/a> the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stefanik gained attention last year after her aggressive questioning of three university presidents over antisemitism on campuses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gerry Connolly, a Democratic representative, criticized the appointment of Stefanik, telling the Hill<\/a> it was a \u201cgift to Vladimir Putin\u201d and adding that \u201cshe abandoned Ukrainians in April\u201d and \u201cthis further signals Donald Trump and Maga\u2019s retreat from the global stage\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday, Trump announced that Michael Pompeo, the former secretary of state who has criticized the former president and his policies over the years, and Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador who challenged Trump in the Republican primary, would not be part of his second administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rejection of Haley and Pompeo may also be viewed as the rejection of two individuals who have backed US support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Ratcliffe<\/a>, a close ally of Trump and former director of national intelligence, has been chosen as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence<\/a> at the end of Trump\u2019s first term, during which he faced accusations from Democrats and former officials of declassifying intelligence<\/a> to aid Trump and attack political opponents such as Joe Biden, a claim his office has denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lee Zeldin<\/a>, the former New York congressman, has been chosen to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, leading to criticism from environmental groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a representative, Zeldin voted against the Inflation Reduction Act<\/a>, which directed billions of dollars to expand clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and also opposed<\/a> climate-related legislation, according to the environmental advocacy group League of Conservation Voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ben Jealous, Sierra Club\u2019s executive director, called\u2002<\/a>Zeldin an \u201cunqualified, anti-American worker who opposes efforts to safeguard our clean air and water\u201d, adding that his selection \u201clays bare Donald Trump\u2019s intentions to, once again, sell our health, our communities, our jobs, and our future out to corporate polluters\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elon Musk<\/a>, the world\u2019s richest man, along with Vivek Ramaswamy<\/a>, a former Republican presidential candidate, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency<\/a>, Trump said, which aims to cut federal bureaucracy by roughly a third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although not a government agency, it will operate externally to drive significant reforms and introduce an entrepreneurial approach to government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musk\u2019s appointment drew criticism from Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights non-profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMusk not only knows nothing about government efficiency and regulation, his own businesses have regularly run afoul of the very rules he will be in position to attack,\u201d co-president Lisa Gilbert said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marco Rubio<\/a>, the Florida senator known for his hardline policies on China, Iran and Venezuela<\/a>, is expected to be appointed as Trump\u2019s secretary of state, and Trump has asked Mike Waltz, a congressman, retired Green Beret and a longtime ally known for his tough stance on China, to become his national security adviser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notably, Rubio has received support from John Fetterman, the Democratic senator who stated<\/a> on Tuesday that despite their political differences, he believes Rubio is a strong choice and looks forward to voting for his confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n