In the first weeks of his presidency, President Donald Trump is developing his new administration in terms of cabinet members and first-day policies. Trump has appointed a wide range of loyalists to influential CEOs to cabinet positions while also implementing sweeping policies like redefining the federal workforce and militarizing the southern border.
Members of the United States Cabinet act as advisors to the president. The president can’t be an expert on every topic and thus needs help to find the best solution for citizens. One of Trump’s priorities is building his cabinet. Trump can propose any one of his supporters, but the one-half senate majority must approve it.
“The president nominates. That’s under his discretion. Then, there are hearings in the Senate where they will be challenged or confirmed. In the event of a tie, the vice president or, in this case, J.D Vance, will act as that tiebreaker,” History teacher Mr. Moyer said. “Actually, it just happened recently with [Pete] Hegseth [the new US Secretary of Defense] where Vance acted as the tiebreaker.”
According to New York Magazine, the 2024 Trump administration has constructed the wealthiest administration in history, with an estimated combined net worth of $450 billion. This figure includes Elon Musk who serves as the unofficial head of the Department of Government Efficiency. This new cabinet dwarfs the Biden administration cabinet at $120 million.
Among the most contentious cabinet members are Pete Hegseth. According to The Guardian, Hagseth has had a history of sexual misconduct and fraud allegations and has advocated for the removal of women from combat roles. Hegseth has denied these accusations but did pay $50,000 to the woman who accused him. Pete Hageseth spent 13 years in the Army, where he was promoted to Major. Afterward, Hegseth was a Fox News host for the past three years before being nominated by President Trump to Secretary of Defense, wherein a 50-51 split, he was sworn in on January 25th.
Other members don’t have as much experience in their respective field, such as Department of Education nominee Linda McMahon, the wife of Vince McMahon, a wrestling promoter and co-owner of the WWE.
“One thing that strikes me is [Linda] McMahon. She doesn’t have experience in the area of education. She works in small business or entertainment”, Mr. Moyer said.
However, According to the Associated Press, other cabinet members passed through without issue. For example, according to the New York Times, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent passed the Senate with 68 votes in favor, and Marco Rubio, the new secretary of state, with a unanimous 99 votes in favor. Marco Rubio, a former senator from Florida and one-time political rival to Trump, was appointed to influence the growing economic rivalry between the US and China.
It is evident that the Trump administration is expanding the power of the executive branch.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is unofficially run by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The department aims to remedy the massive national deficit of 36 trillion dollars by reducing spending.
On Jan. 28, the Department of Government Efficiency sent a memo to over two million federal employees offering eight months’ pay in exchange for resignation, contingent on the deal being accepted by February 8th. If all employees accepted the deal, the federal government, which employs three million workers, would shrink by about two-thirds.
However, according to the Associated Press, this policy has caused some intense backlash. Many Democrats have claimed that this purge is an effort to rid the government of non-loyalists and replace them with unqualified loyalists who answer to the White House.
On the new administration’s first day, Trump and his administration also cracked down on immigration. According to the BBC news, among the new executive orders was a plan to secure the Southern Border by dispatching 1,500 troops on Jan. 20.
“I guess the largest changes seem to be surrounding the issue of immigration and the aggressive stance of that and border patrol,” said Mr. Moyer. “What’s new is the implementation of personnel, including military force. Rather than a grand wall like what was proposed in the 2016 election cycle. It’s more realistic.”
“Understanding what is going on is really important because as citizens and students, we need to make informed decisions about our country, Tyler Tang ‘26 said. “We should start now because we’re the ones who are going to be using them later.”