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Who are the new members of Trump’s government? GEOFOR continues to report on the appointees of the Republican president.
From wrestler to Secretary of Education
It seems that the newly elected president is assembling people who are diametrically opposed to the team that “steered” the US under Biden. The most striking example is Trump’s appointment of Karoline Leavitt as White House Press Secretary.
A 27-year-old white, blonde, heterosexual, Catholic woman with one child, who is the complete opposite of Jean-Pierre, Biden’s former press secretary — a black, childless lesbian from a family of Haitian immigrants. It seems that in all his appointments, besides personal loyalty, Trump is aiming for shock value and even a kind of slap at the public opinion of ultra-liberal America. Some of the newly elected president’s appointments, according to the Democrats, can be called simply scandalous.
For example, for Secretary of Education, he appoints not a professor with years of teaching experience, not a president of an Ivy League university, but Linda McMahon — a woman from show business who was co-founder and president of the WWF professional wrestling league. She left that post in 2009 to enter politics and run for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Fully aware that wrestling is not only a national pastime for Americans, but in some ways even a national idea, Trump is making a well-founded bet that Linda McMahon’s candidacy will appeal to the average American. After all, this is a woman who built herself up from the bottom.
Let’s take a closer look at the biography of the new Secretary of Education, because this is the essence of America; through her example, the average American sees that anyone can achieve the American Dream.
Here’s what Trump himself says about Linda: «Linda will use her years of leadership and deep understanding of both education and business to expand opportunities for American students and workers and make America the world leader in education». Interestingly, during the campaign, Trump repeatedly called for the elimination of the federal Department of Education. But what’s surprising about that is that it’s typical of a high-profile politician to say one thing today and the exact opposite tomorrow without batting an eye.
During Trump’s first term, McMahon headed the Small Business Administration and then the political committee America First Policy Action, which worked to re-elect Trump.
But her journey from wrestler to politician has been long and winding, ready material for a Hollywood blockbuster.
Linda Marie Edwards was born in 1948 in a small town in North Carolina, where her parents worked at a Marine Corps Air Station. In her hometown, 13-year-old Linda befriended 16-year-old mischievous Irishman Vincent McMahon. He was so rowdy that he had to join the army to avoid jail. When the lovers married in 1966, the bride was 17 and the groom 21. They both graduated from college, had two children, went to work, but lived so poorly that they received charity food stamps. Their attempts to start a business were so unsuccessful that the couple filed for bankruptcy in 1976.
Then, remembering that Linda’s husband’s father was a wrestling promoter, the family decided to try their luck in the business. Over time, the business took off; in 1982, they not only bought out McMahon Sr.’s company, known as the WWF — World Wrestling Federation — but also took it to a national level. The shows began to be broadcast on national television. Linda McMahon herself took part in several «fights».
Linda McMahon began her career in high politics immediately after leaving wrestling. Connecticut’s Republican governor, M. Jodi Rell, appointed her to the state board of education.
In 2007, the McMahon family invited Donald Trump to a wrestling show, not as a spectator, but as a participant. But the billionaires themselves did not wrestle; their representatives did.
After the show, the couple donated five million dollars to Trump’s foundation and later invested even more money in his campaign. It’s no surprise that the 45th president of the United States appointed Linda McMahon as administrator of the Small Business Administration.
In the spring of 2019, McMahon announced her resignation. However, she didn’t go far: she headed Trump’s organization America First Action, where under the chairmanship of the «Queen of Wrestling» they managed to raise 83 million dollars for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.
On November 19, 2024, the elected 47th President of the United States announced before his inauguration that he would appoint McMahon as Secretary of Education.
Billionaire close to Trump becomes Commerce Secretary
The newly elected President of the United States has proposed the appointment of billionaire investor Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce. «I am pleased to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my administration as United States Secretary of Commerce», Trump said.
Sixty-three-year-old Howard Lutnick is part of Trump’s inner circle; they have been friends for many years. Lutnick helped raise money for Trump’s campaign and is a co-chairman of the transition team. A billionaire investor, Lutnick spends most of his time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private estate.
In October, Lutnick traveled with Trump to the grave of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Afterward, Chabad rabbis said Trump won the presidential race thanks to the pilgrimage.
Howard Lutnick supports charitable and volunteer organizations in Israel, including the United Hatzalah emergency medical service and the Birthright program, which organizes educational trips to Israel for young people from the Jewish community.
There is nothing unusual about this Trump appointee: as usual in the US, first big money helps a candidate to get elected, then the newly elected president thanks them with a high position. The next Trump appointee is much more interesting.
First blonde U.S. Attorney General and Head of the Department of Justice
Trump initially nominated former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz for the position, but on November 21, he announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy. “There is no time for unnecessary and prolonged conflict in Washington”, he wrote, adding, “I remain fully committed to making Donald Trump the most successful president in history”. Donald Trump thanked Matt Gaetz for his decision to withdraw his candidacy to avoid creating problems in the new administration.
What is behind his voluntary refusal of a high position? First, Gaetz’s candidacy caused outrage among Jewish organizations. He was openly accused of anti-Semitism. He was also suspected of sexual misconduct with a minor. Although all charges against him were later dropped, the House Ethics Committee continued its own investigation and met with at least six women who testified about Gaetz’s attendance at parties where drugs and sex workers were present. One of the girls said she had an intimate relationship with the politician when she was only 17 years old. Allegations of anti-Semitism and sexual relations with a minor can end a political career in the United States.
Then Trump nominated the candidacy of former Florida state prosecutor, 59-year-old Pam Bondi, who worked on his legal team, for the position of U.S. Attorney General, recalling that Bondi had worked as a prosecutor for nearly 20 years.
«Pam will return the Department of Justice to its immediate purpose — fighting crime and restoring security in America», he said.
One aspect of «restoring security in the U.S.» for Bondi is the fight against Hamas; last year, she declared that Hamas supporters protesting at universities should appear before the FBI for questioning.
Currently, Pam Bondi heads the legal department of the America First Policy Institute — a legal analysis center with close ties to Trump’s team. Bondi has overseen the filing of election-related lawsuits in key states.
As The Guardian writes, Bondi’s selection reflects President-elect Donald Trump’s determination to appoint a loyalist as the country’s top law enforcement official.
Secretary of the Treasury — crypto enthusiast, billionaire, Soros associate
This is the multifaceted individual Trump has nominated to be Secretary of the Treasury. His name is Scott Bessent. He became famous in the 1990s when he bet against the British pound and the Japanese yen while working for George Soros, helping him to «break the Bank of England». In 2011, Bessent was hired by Soros as chief investment officer of his Soros Fund Management. Under Bessent’s leadership, Soros’ firm made a profit of about $10 billion. Four years later, Bessent started his own fund, Key Square Capital Management. He was a major backer of the Democratic Party, but later enthusiastically supported Trump’s economic program.
If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent, 62, would be the first openly gay person to head the Treasury Department. His candidacy appeals to both Wall Street and voters eager for revolutionary change in the U.S. economy.
At the same time, he will have to return capital to his hedge fund clients to eliminate potential conflicts of interest, but as the wealthiest Treasury Secretary in U.S. history, he can afford such a whim — to stop earning billions while working in a government post.
Secretary of Health — doubted the danger of COVID-19
It seems that Trump intended to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for this post, but the authoritative newspaper The Washington Post, stating that its information is based on three informed sources, writes: The likely candidate for the post of Secretary of Health in the administration of the President-elect of the U.S., Trump, will be Jay Bhattacharya — an American of Indian origin, born in Kolkata. He has an encyclopedia of titles. He is a professor at Stanford Medical School, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a senior research associate at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, a lecturer at the Freeman Spogli Institute, and a research associate at the Academy of Science and Economics. So, as we can see, he is a scholar in the field of health economics.
During the pandemic, he opposed quarantine and co-authored the 2020 Great Barrington Declaration, which advocated lifting COVID restrictions for lower-risk groups to develop herd immunity. Jay Bhattacharya proposed allowing the young and healthy to return to normal life while imposing restrictions on the most vulnerable. He believed that the young and healthy would easily recover and develop herd immunity, for which he was severely criticized by the medical community.
It must be admitted that the story of COVID-19 is still not fully understood: neither where the virus came from, nor is there a 100% answer to the question of whether entire countries need to be quarantined.
Again, looking at the new candidates for top positions in the US, we see that not a single black person has appeared in Trump’s team, which is surprising for politically correct America; well, at least there’s an openly gay person, which might appease the proponents of tolerance. And it seems that such an almost «white administration» of Trump will lead to an even greater division in America. The slogan “Black Lives Matter” has no meaning for Trump in the formation of his government.
It is completely unclear how Trump, having assembled such diverse people, will be able to forge them into a united team. And already the Washington Post writes that conflicts, insults, physical fights and quarrels have begun in Trump’s team.
«The [Trump] team has returned to the style of his first term — with loud arguments, expulsions from meetings, mutual insults. All this is happening against a backdrop of public celebrations and photo ops», the newspaper reports, citing an example of a conflict with Trump’s lawyer and adviser Boris Epshteyn. At a meeting at the Florida residence, he was blocked by future Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who said Epshteyn was not invited. But he refused to leave and «pushed Lutnick aside with his forearm», according to the article. Well, good thing the potential Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, a former wrestler, didn’t intervene; just try to stop her when she’s «pushing with her forearm».
In addition, there is a report of a tense discussion between billionaire Elon Musk, who will head the Department of Government Efficiency in Trump’s new administration, and the same Epshteyn. The argument took place at Mar-a-Lago in front of those present.
How effective Trump’s new government will be is difficult to say at this point, but it is not hard to assume that we are facing an entertaining American show with scandals, resignations and mutual accusations. It won’t be boring!