Former Trump appointees, former members of Congress, and former rivals are populating Trump’s Cabinet the second time around.
Doug Collins – Secretary of Veterans Affairs
What could be considered a more “conventional” pick, former Representative Doug Collins was announced by Trump to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. Collins is a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves and served in the Iraq War in 2008. Media outlets point to Collins’ work defending Trump in the 2020 election recounts and his role in defending the former President during impeachment proceedings.
Among Collins’ toughest tasks is to oversee the department’s efforts to transform how it handles veterans’ health records, transferring them into an electronic system. This goal eluded Trump’s first term and the Biden administration as the project ran over budget and was eventually paused.
Upon accepting the nomination, Collins posted on X that he will “fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA” and make sure veterans receive all their earned benefits.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – Health and Human Services
Liberal former Democrat—and former political opponent—Robert F Kennedy, Jr was nominated by Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is seen as a cynic on traditional public health tenets, often characterized as a vaccine skeptic, and a crusader for what he calls the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
RFK Jr’s nomination has received criticism across the political spectrum, with progressive groups calling him a “catastrophe” while the typically conservative editorial board of the New York Post wrote that his line of thinking on public health is “warped conspiracy theories.” In 2008, Kennedy was considered by Obama to head the Environmental Protection Agency. He was ultimately not selected.
Lee Zeldin – EPA Administrator
One of the first announced appointees of Trump’s second term, former Congressman and candidate for New York Governor Lee Zeldin will lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin’s mandate will be to “unleash the power of American business with “swift deregulatory decisions” while maintaining “the highest environmental standards.”
Mainstream and liberal outlets are criticizing the pick, saying Zeldin’s previous environmental concerns were for show and “did not translate to pro-environmental votes.” Others accuse Zeldin of “prioritiz[ing] corporate interests over the health and safety” of American communities.
While serving in Congress, Zeldin was a member of the Conservative Climate Caucus and bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. After his nomination, Zeldin told Fox News that the EPA can help the United States “pursue energy dominance.”
Tulsi Gabbard – Director of National Intelligence
Another former member of Congress, Tulsi Gabbard, who previously ran for President in the 2020 Democratic primary, was selected by Trump to be the Director of National Intelligence. Trump praised Gabbard’s “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career” as she advises the president on national security and intelligence gathering and analysis. The DNI’s office primary oversees and coordinates efforts among the U.S. Intelligence Community, a collection of 18 agencies involved in intel and surveillance activities.
Gabbard is also a veteran, an apparent theme among Trump’s Cabinet picks, who achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve and served in combat. The former Democrat Congresswoman was a critic of Biden’s efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. However, Gabbard also has a history of criticizing military actions taken by the Trump administration, saying there was “no justification” for the killing of Iranian terror commander and military official Qasem Soleimani.
Politically, Gabbard always hewed to the anti-establishment wing of her political affiliation. She backed Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary and eventually left the Democratic Party, throwing her support behind Trump in 2024, saying Democrats supported “anti-white racism” and woke ideology.
John Ratcliffe – Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Former member of Congress and prosecutor John Ratcliffe has been selected to run the CIA. Ratcliffe previously served as the Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term. As DNI, Ratcliffe’s actions and statement earned him the status of a “China hawk”, writing in a Wall Street Joural op-ed that Communist China “intends to dominate” America and the world “economically, militarily, and technologically.” Ratcliffe was previously nominated to head the CIA by Trump, but removed himself from consideration over concerns of his lack of experience.
Despite initial opposition to Ratcliffe in 2019, and Democrat objections in a 2020 vote to confirm him, career intelligence agency employees reportedly told CNN they were “cautiously optimistic” with Ratcliffe’s nomination, saying “it could have been a lot worse.”
When announcing his nomination of Ratcliffe, Trump said the new CIA Director will “ensure the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
Elise Stefanik – Ambassador the United Nations
Stefanik, another member of Congress, has been appointed as the U.S. Ambassador the U.N. The New York Republican is currently the 4th ranking Republican and fierce Trump defender in the House. As a Congresswoman, Stefanik repeatedly blasted the U.N. over its alleged anti-Israel bias and multiple resolutions condemning Israel in its war against terror group Hamas.
Stefanik’s star rose significantly as she badgered university officials over anti-semitic protests and violence on campus, saying the schools’ lack of action led to the harassment and bullying of Jewish students.
U.N. officials are already on record saying it will be important to create “the most constructive possible relationship” with Stefanik given her apparent closeness to Trump. Despite the upcoming charm offensive, some believe Stefanik’s elevation to U.N. Ambassador will be “angering and irritating all the right people” in “the world’s greatest international hotbed of ‘respectable’ Israel-loathing.”
Mike Huckabee – Ambassador to Israel
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian who calls himself a Zionist, has been tapped to be the American Ambassador to Israel, a top post in a region currently embroiled in war between the Jewish state and terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Huckabee’s appointment was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Previously, Huckabee visited Israel in 2017 for a ceremony establishing an Israeli settlement saying “there’s no such thing as an [Israeli] occupation”, that they’re neighborhoods.
Huckabee’s strong support for Israel was on display in his 2016 run for president, in which he told Jewish voters in Massachusetts that a Palestinian state should be carved out of current Arab countries rather than Israel, arguing that historically and ethnically “there’s no such thing as a Palestinian.”
Israeli media suggest Huckabee’s nomination could mean the Trump administration could support the Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
