“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law” 

Constitution of the United States Article 2, Section 3

After winning the 2024 election to become the 47th President of the United States, it did not take long for President Trump to begin naming his nominees to his cabinet.  This tradition dates back to the first presidency of George Washington whose cabinet only comprised four members: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (future president), Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton (famous for his $10 bill and broadway musical), Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.  It would not be until June 24, 1834 that the senate would reject a president’s nominee to a secretary position.  This sad honor goes to Roger Taney, though he would later become the 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court two years later.  Since then there have been an additional 8 nominees rejected by the senate and 18 withdrawn.  

This brings us to today where Trump has currently named 8 names for cabinet positions.

• Marco Rubio – Secretary of State
• Matt Gaetz – Attorney General
• Peter Hegseth – Defense secretary
• Kristi Noem – Homeland security secretary
• John Ratcliffe – C.I.A. Director
• Tulsi Gabbard – Director of national security
• Lee Zeldin – E.P.A. administrator
• Elise Stefanik – U.N. Ambassador

Of these names there are some which have raised some eyebrows on both sides, and some that have served to enliven the republican base.  Two nominees in particular are causing the ire of some on the left for two very different reasons. 

Tulsi Gabbard, who served as one of the representatives of Hawaii and ran as a democratic nominee for president in 2020, was subject to rumor mongering by the Democrat’s 2016 presidential nominee Hilary Cliton. In an interview with David Plouffe, she said, “I’m not making any predictions, but I think they’ve (the russians) got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate.”  Tulsi Gabbard fought against this charge.  While she did have high moments in the primary race she later dropped her candidacy and did not run as a third party candidate.  It was after this time that she soon left the Democratic Party and then later joined the Republican Party and supported Trump. To this day, just mentioning her name on X or reddit will just release a whole slew of charges about Gabbard being a russian asset.  

Matt Gaetz, served as one of the representatives of Florida.  He is loud, brash and annoys both members of the left and the right.  Mentioning his name at a cocktail party is sure to bring a rolling of the eyes regardless of who you voted for in the 2024 elections.  He brings the ire from the right due to his actions during the speaker nominations in 2023 and sparks the ire of the left due to his politics and rhetoric.  This is not to mention the accusations and allegations of Gaetz’s sexual misdeeds which he has continuously denied.  While serving as a representative Gaetz has served on the GOP subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government.”  A topic I surmise that he feels personally impacted him.  

Of the two, I believe that Gaetz will have the harder time receiving the appointment.  Already after Trumps there are articles and posts on social media questioning this appointment.  Scott Pinsker of PJ Media thinks that there might be more than meets the eye here.  “Is Matt Gaetz a Sacrificial Lamb and/or Our ‘Big Bag of Blood’?” And hey, if Gaetz does become one of the more recent senate rejected nominees, perhaps he can try for the Supreme Court as did Taney.

Regardless of whether Gaetz gets the nod from the senate or not.  One thing is clear from Trump’s nominations so far.  He has a plan to slim down the government and is setting people up to make some very difficult decisions in the coming years.  Decisions that will have an impact on not only the federal government but on what we can expect from the government.  Trump is setting himself up not only to be a transitional figure not only of the republican party but of all Americans.