In a critical shift from his 2016 transition that allies believe will make his first 100 days a MAGA tour de force, President-elect Donald Trump has rewritten the master White House hiring plan to produce a team loyal to his agenda and not the Washington swamp.
In giving a team of his closest advisers the job of filling hundreds of key positions, Trump has turned away from the traditional model of letting Washington insiders pick his team, as he did with disastrous results in 2016, and even led to the firing of his transition chief.
As a result, a key adviser said, Trump had drawn up a “MAGA Dream Team” of Cabinet nominees and staffers far earlier than he did in his first term and fully behind his change agenda.
“We appointed the best and most diverse Cabinet ever, and in record time!” he bragged this week on his Truth Social platform. “We will soon have the most AMERICA FIRST administration in history. The best is yet to come!”
Led by incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Sergio Gor, director of the Trump Presidential Personnel Office, the transition has already filled Cabinet posts with Trump allies and those who succeeded in his first administration. All meet his goal of shaking up Washington.
Take defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth as an example. He’s a longtime Trump supporter who is eager to unravel diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the military that the president-elect hates. Consider Kari Lake, the Arizona TV anchor-turned-political candidate who stands ready to rid Voice of America of political correctness.
By Paul Bedard
