top of page

Trump's Back, Picks Cabinet

newspaper59

Jacob Francy, 26

Around 5am on November 6, all major news sources called the 2024 Presidential election for 45th and now 47th President Donald Trump, becoming the second President to serve two non-consecutive terms after reaching over 270 electoral votes.


The race was decided by the key swing states: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. All seven of them, worth over 90 electoral votes in total, went to the Republican nominee Trump. All other states remained the same as they were predicted.


How and Why did Trump win?

After President Biden dropped out of the race with just 107 days until the November election, the Democratic Party opted not to waste time with another primary election. They united behind one candidate who polled the highest amongst voters Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris polled just a fraction of a point higher than Trump in October, during the Democratic National Convention, and after the debate. However, Trump had multiple advantages going into the race.


Since 1960, the Presidency has flipped party lines 11 times, continuing the pattern of voters never being satisfied with the current government. Republicans historically have driven down taxes, attempting to lower spending, which, in turn, has driven up unemployment, lowered wages, increased the income gap, and increased the national debt. Democrats, on the other hand, have historically increased taxes, increasing spending, lowering unemployment, increasing wages, yet turning in less profit for big corporations. Voters don’t stay consistent in choosing their leader due to the flaws exhibited by both parties, ultimately having to bail the other party out every 4-8 years. 


Trump was the sitting president during the original outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut the government down and hurt the economy. Due to the major tax cuts for the wealthier class, Trump gave earlier in his first term, the lack of money in the working and middle class before the pandemic hit was devastating and was not enough for many to survive through the lockdown without continuing to work paycheck to paycheck. President Biden was elected in 2020, promising to bring back financial relief to the working part of America. Although inflation has decreased back down to pre-COVID levels, corporate prices are still accelerating, angering the workers of America. With Americans mad, yet again, that the economy wasn’t working for them, they swung to the other party and opted for the same man who they voted out the previous election.

Another big theory as to why Trump was so successful in swing states is Harris’ unavoidable attachment to current President Biden. Due to his age and corporations keeping their prices high even with decreased inflation,  Biden’s approval rating went from above 50% the first 8 months of his Presidency to an average of 40% the rest of his term. Due to Kamala’s inability to condemn the President despite his unpopularity, her reputation was tied to the policies of Biden.


A big shocker was that Trump improved in almost every demographic, unusual for a Republican candidate in modern America. With women, Hilary took a 13-point lead over Trump in 2016, and Biden took a 15-point lead over Trump in 2020. However, Kamala only won the female vote by 8 points this year, shocking the Democratic Party which primarily focused on restoring Roe v. Wade. Other demographic changes include Harris receiving 13 points less in the black male vote than Hilary Clinton in 2016. With black women, Harris gained 3 more points than Biden but still 6 less than Hilary. The biggest shift was Latino men, with the majority going to Trump by 12 points, out of character from their voting habits (+31 points for Hilary and +23 points for Biden). Latina women went down as well for Harris but still majorly carried Democratic (22 points). Another strange change was Trump’s loss of the white vote. Trump kept the same amount of white male votes as 2020 but lost 3 points of white female votes even though they still favored Trump by 8 points. Harris also lost ground in all age brackets except the 65+ community, showing the loss of youth vote for Democrats.

Trump Picks Cabinet Nominees, Aides

Now that Trump has been projected as the winner, it’s his job to decide who will be his aides and assistants in his administration. Here are who we have so far (Keep in mind most of these jobs must be approved by Congress):


  • Vice President: Sen. JD Vance (Ohio)

    • Sen. Vance was chosen by President Trump to be his running mate during the 2024 RNC after Trump announced he would not choose his former Vice President Mike Pence, former Governor of Indiana. This was due to Pence losing Trump’s trust by certifying the 2020 election results on January 6. Vance is young for the job: just 40 years old and has only served as Senator for 2 years of his first 6-year term. Before then, he was an entrepreneur. Before his appointment, Vance called himself a “never-Trump guy” and even compared Trump to Adolf Hitler.


  • Secretary of State: Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida)

    • Sen. Rubio is in his third term as Senator since 2010. He previously served as Speaker of the Florida State House of Representatives at just 35 years old. Rubio has clashed previously with Trump while they both ran in the 2016 Republican Primaries for President. Trump frequently referred to him as “Little Marco” throughout the 2016 campaign. Rubio will now head the state department, with little hope for Ukraine or the people of Gaza left.


  • Attorney General: Rep. Matt Gaetz (Florida)

    • Rep. Gaetz has been in Congress since 2016, after being a State House member for multiple terms. He has constantly been in the spotlight supporting Trump’s policies and actions, even supporting the effort to overturn the election in 2020. Gaetz was the member responsible for ousting Speaker Mike McCarthy in 2023. McCarthy refused to block an ethics complaint against Gaetz, which included him having sexual relations with a minor. He has been guilty of multiple other ethics filings. Gaetz will now head the justice department.


  • Defense Secretary: Pete Hegseth

    • Hegseth, a Fox News host and former Minnesota National Guard infantry officer, sent shockwaves through the Pentagon after he was announced as Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. He has been known as a far-right talking head for years, including clips of him admitting he believes “women should not be in combat positions”. Hegseth was also shown to have bragged about a pro-Nazi tattoo. Numerous workers in the Pentagon have reportedly put in a notice of leave or left immediately. A senior Republican, Senator Murkowski simply texted a response to the choice to a media source, “Wow.”


  • Education Secretary: Linda McMahon

    • Former WWE CEO and twice failed U.S. Senate candidate in Connecticut, McMahon served previously in Trump’s first administration as the U.S. Small Business Administrator. The U.S. Department of Education has been a highlight recently as Trump announced plans to eliminate the department as a whole once he is in office. McMahon was named a co-chair of the transition team.


  • Homeland Security Secretary: Gov. Kristi Noem (South Dakota)

    • Noem formerly served as a State House Representative for two terms before serving four terms as a U.S. Representative. In 2016, she won the governorship. Noem has been a vocal supporter of Trump and far-right ideology since the beginning of her time as Governor. She was a potential candidate for Trump’s 2024 running mate, but she received bad press for admitting to killing a dog inhumanely in her memoir, which ultimately cut her from the list.


  • CIA Director: Former NIA Dir. John Ratcliffe

    • Ratcliffe formerly served as Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term. Before then, he was a Congressman from Texas. Ratcliffe was on Trump’s Congressional defense team during his impeachment trials. 


  • Director of National Intelligence: Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii)

    • Rep. Gabbard, a former Democrat, served in a lieutenant role with Hawaii’s National Guard, a term in the Hawaii State House, two years in the Honolulu City Council, eight years in Congress, plus was the DNC Vice Chair for three years. After dropping out of the 2020 Presidential election, she was one of the first endorsers of Joe Biden. During 2022, Gabbard identified as an independent and campaigned for Trump and other MAGA candidates. Gabbard was already a part of the Trump transition team.


  • Medicaid and Medicaid Administrator: Dr. Mehemet OZ


    • Famous for his 2009 television series, The Doctor Oz Show, where he gave medical and health analysis with much criticism from medical publications and physicians, claiming he endorsed “pseudoscience”. Oz lost to John Fetterman in the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race.


  • Health and Human Services Secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    • With no medical or public health degree, RFK is the heir to one of the most famous political families in American history. He is vocally anti-vaccine and has criticized the CDC often. RFK has also spewed medical and scientific conspiracies into the world including “vaccines cause autism”, Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates “exaggerated COVID” to vaccine Americans, COVID was “targeting” black and white Americans, raw milk is the healthiest option of milk, wireless technology can cause cancer, HIV is not the cause of AIDS, Fluoride causes diseases, and that mass shootings are linked to prescription drugs. He ran for President in 2024 as an independent but dropped out early to endorse Trump. He will be in charge of all public health concerns.


  • Interior Secretary: Gov. Doug Burgum (North Dakota)

    • Governor Burgum is the current Governor of North Dakota, after a long career in business and philanthropy. He ran for President in 2024 in the primaries briefly before dropping out and endorsing Trump. Burgum has long been a good friend to the big oil companies, and Trump has already been using him to make deals and plans with big oil in the upcoming administration, causing angst to environmentalists.


  • EPA Administrator: Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (New York)

    • A former Republican State Senator and Congressman, Zeldin most recently ran for Governor of New York against incumbent Kathy Hotchul in which he lost by single digits. He has been a much larger advocate for the environment than most Republicans in the modern era.


  • U.N. Ambassador: Rep. Elise Stefanik (New York)

    • Having served in Congress since 2014, Stefanik has worked herself up to be House Republican Conference Chair, the fourth highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. She also supported Trump during his impeachment trials and with regard to the Big Lie in 2020 to overturn the election.


  • Veterans Affairs Secretary: Former Rep. Doug Collins (Georgia)

    • Collins served as a Congressman from Georgia for four terms including two as a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. He served 3 terms in Georgia’s State House before. Collins has served in the United States Air Force Reserve since 2002, including being deployed in Iraq. He reached a Colonel rank. 


  • Energy Secretary: Chris Wright

    • A successful businessman, Wright founded Pinnacle Technologies in 1992 before selling it in 2006 and Liberty Energy, which he currently owns, worth an estimated $2.8 billion. Both companies are similarly involved in advertising gas production via fracking. Wright is known for appearing on Fox News to defend oil and gas companies, which is how he caught President-elect Trump’s attention. Wright has recently argued against climate scientists that “there is no climate crisis”.


  • Commerce Secretary: Howard Lutnick

    • Head of Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is a billionaire businessman who has been a key fundraiser for Trump in both the 2020 and 2024 elections. He is a co-chair on the transition team


  • Transportation Secretary: Former Rep. Sean Duffy (Wisconsin)

    • A former ESPN commentator, Ashland City District Attorney, and Congressman, Duffy is currently a segment host and contributor on Fox News.


  • Border Czar: Former ICE Dir. Thomas Homan

    • Homan served as ICE Director under Trump’s first term. After retiring from his position in mid-2018, he testified before Congress about the Trump administration’s family separation policy at the border. Homan is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025, fully supporting a “mass deportation”.


  • Government Efficiency Aide: Elon Musk

    • An executive of SpaceX, Tesla, PayPal, X, OpenAi, and more, Musk has achieved the landmark richest man in the world by net worth, accumulating hundreds of billions of dollars. Musk plans to “significantly cut” a huge portion of the government including the Federal Department of Education, a Project 2025 policy.


  • Government Efficiency Aide: Vivek Ramaswamy

    • An entrepreneur who ran a relatively successful Presidential campaign in the Republican primaries in 2024, Ramaswamy will team up with Musk to effectively cut “unneeded spending”. His plans in his own presidential platform included cutting nearly 50-75% of all government employees.


With these extremists entering the federal government, there is no telling how much of their plan, Project 2025, they will execute.

26 views

Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page