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Four weeks to his inauguration, US-President-elect Donald Trump has already made key appointments in his new government. The incoming 45th US president would be inaugurated on 20January, 2017. Daily Trust on Sunday looked at the individuals who could play a key in decision making during his administration.
Counselor to the President: Kellyanne Conway: Conway, 49, is a veteran political operative, having spent the last three decades advising Republicans on how to appeal to female voters.
Conway became Trump’s campaign manager in August, appearing frequently on TV to defend him.
Conway will be responsible for carrying out the president’s priorities and communicating his message. It makes Conway the highest-ranking woman in Trump’s White House.
Chief of Staff: Reince Priebus: The chief of staff is the highest-ranking employee in the White House The chief of staff usually manages White House staff, oversees the president’s schedule, and acts as the president’s gatekeeper.
Priebus, 44, is the current Chairman of the Republican National Committee. During the general election, Priebus stood by Trump even as other Republicans withdrew their support or openly criticized the candidate. He was nominated on …..
Chief Strategist: Stephen Bannon: Bannon is arguably the most controversial of all of Trump’s choices, whose appointment sparked protests nationwide and strong condemnations from the Anti-Defamation League. Bannon and Priebus will work “as equal partners to transform the federal government,” according to Trump’s transition team.
Bannon, 63, was the CEO of the Trump campaign in its final stretch. He is the former chairman of Breitbart News, a far-right-wing website that Bannon has called a “platform for the ‘alt-right’.”
National Security Adviser: Michael Flynn: Flynn, 57, is a retired Army lieutenant general who served as Trump’s primary national security adviser during his campaign. In 2012, Flynn became director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is the nation’s highest-ranking military intelligence officer.
He was fired in 2014 and soon began railing against Washington elite and the dangers of radical Islam. Flynn will be responsible to weigh in on policies from the departments of State and Defense.
Secretary of State: Rex W. Tillerson: Tillerson, 64, is the CEO of energy giant ExxonMobil, a role he’s held since 2006. As the company’s top executive, he’s traveled the world and negotiated with its leaders.
Although Tillerson works with world leaders on behalf of ExxonMobil, he has no background in diplomacy.
His appointment marks the first time in modern history that a secretary of state has no experience in the public sector.
Secretary of Treasury: Steven Mnuchin: The treasury secretary oversees the country’s tax system-including the IRS-borrows money on behalf of the government.
The 53-year-old was the national finance chairman for Trump’s campaign. Although Mnuchin spent his career in finance and is hailed as a “financial expert” by Trump insiders, he has no experience in government.
Secretary of Defense: James Mattis: Mattis, 66, is a retired Marine Corps general. He led U.S. Marine raids in Afghanistan in 2001 and commanded a division of Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2004, he led Marines in the ferocious battle to take the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Mattis, a critic of the Obama administration, shares Trump’s position on taking a stronger approach against America’s enemies. But he also differs from Trump on key issues, including Russia, disagreeing with Trump’s glowing reviews of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Secretary of Justice (Attorney General): Jeff Sessions: The attorney general is America’s top law enforcement official and top lawyer. Sessions, 69, is the junior senator from Alabama, a role he’s held for the past 20 years.
In February 2016, Sessions became the first sitting U.S. Senator to support Trump for president. He is also a hardliner on immigration, earning a reputation as the most vocal opponent to immigration reform in the Senate.
Secretary of Interior: Ryan Zinke: The Secretary of Interior oversees the nation’s federal land, natural resources, and public waters, as well as manages relations with Native Americans.
Zinke, 55, is a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Montana, a post he’s held since 2015.
He spent 23 years as a Navy SEAL-serving in hotspots like Iraq and Kosovo while earning two Bronze Stars-before entering state politics in Montana in 2008.
Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross: Ross, 79, is a veteran private-equity investor whose wealth is estimated at $2.9 billion. Ross will be key to Trump’s plan to create jobs as well as push his agenda on trade, according to Bloomberg.
Although Ross is among Trump’s less controversial choices, at least two of the companies he’s bought have run into trouble.
Secretary of Labour: Andrew Puzder: Puzder, 66, was an advisor and contributor to Trump’s campaign. He has been a vocal critic of the Obama administration, particularly of Obamacare.
Puzder has argued against raising the federal minimum wage above $9 per hour. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25, but 29 states have introduced higher wages.
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Price: A Republican congressman from Georgia, Price, 62, has served in the House of Representatives since 2005. He was also an orthopedic surgeon.
In congress, Price has earned a reputation as the leading voice to repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, drafting multiple bills meant to replace it.
He’s also staunchly pro-life and he’s against same-sex marriage. Price will be instrumental in carrying out Trump’s pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson: Carson, 65, is most widely known for running for the Republican presidential nomination earlier in this campaign-a bid he dropped in March before throwing his support behind Trump.
Born into poverty in Detroit, Carson earned scholarships to Yale and the University of Michigan and, by the age of 33, was director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a role he held from 1984 until his retirement in 2013.
Carson has no experience in government or in the field of housing and urban development. He is to oversee federal programs designed to increase American homeownership.
Elaine Chao: Secretary or Transportation: Chao, 63, have worked in three Republican White Houses. She was Secretary of Labour under George W. Bush for eight years, making her the only cabinet member to serve his entire term.
Under George H.W. Bush, she was director of the Peace Corps and then deputy transportation secretary. And, in the Reagan administration, she was a White House fellow.
Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, brings some diversity to Trump’s cabinet. She was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. with her family at the age of eight.
Secretary of Energy: Rick Perry: Perry, 66, served as governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015 and as the state’s agriculture commissioner before that. He ran unsuccessfully for president during the 2012 and 2016 elections (although he dropped out in 2015).
Perry was a harsh critic of Trump and even called him a “cancer to conservatism,” but ultimately campaigned for him.
Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos: DeVos, 58, is a billionaire businesswoman who chairs a company called the Windquest Group that invests in technology, manufacturing, and clean energy.
Her nonprofit work is extensive, particularly in the field of education, where she’s raised money for charter schools.
She’s also a high-profile Republican fundraiser and held prominent roles in the Michigan Republican Party, including chairwoman from 1996 to 2000.
Secretary of Homeland Security: Gen. John F. Kelly: The choice of Kelly continues Trump’s pattern of surrounding himself with generals. Kelly, 66, spent 40 years in the military, rising to general in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served three tours in Iraq, where he led troops into intense battle.
Kelly’s office is charged with keeping America safe, including securing the nation’s airports and borders and responding to emergencies. It is the third-largest cabinet department.
United Nations Ambassador: Nikki Haley: Haley, 44, is the governor of South Carolina, a role she’s held since 2011. She is the first woman to hold the office in South Carolina and currently the youngest governor in the country.
Haley was also critical of Trump during the campaign and even drew a rebuke on Twitter from then-candidate Trump after she delivered the Republican response to Obama’s State of the Union address in 2015.
Haley lacks foreign policy experience, and opposed the settlement of Syrian refugees in South Carolina.
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