President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration is coming into focus as the Republican announces, mostly via social media, who will serve in his cabinet.
Trump’s picks to take over the Washington, D.C. bureaucracy and the Intelligence Community have caused great consternation among left-wing politicians and officials — much to the delight of Trump’s hardcore supporters.
However, not everyone on the right has been pleased with Trump’s entire slate of cabinet picks.
Trump has selected Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to serve as his Secretary of State, angering many on the right who see him as a representative of the establishment and neoconservative wing of the Republican Party.
“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else,” said Sen. Rubio.
Rubio has historically favored more “hawkish” interventionist policies than many in Trump’s base, who favor isolationism.
After Trump announced his pick, social media users were quick to dredge up his old posts harshly criticizing Rubio.
“Marco Rubio is a total lightweight who I wouldn’t hire to run one of my smaller companies – a highly overrated politician,” said Trump in 2015.
He also faced harsh criticism from Ron Paul, the former presidential candidate much beloved by libertarian-leaning Republicans.
“There are the authoritarians, and there are the people who want to follow, you know, voluntarism and peaceful means, and I would put him [Rubio] in the category of authoritarianism,” said Paul.
He warned that Rubio’s more interventionist leanings could lead the U.S. into conflicts.
Prominent Libertarian Dave Smith, who endorsed Trump’s presidential bid, was highly critical of the pick.
“Marco Rubio is a disaster. Might as well give Liz Cheney the State Department. Awful sign,” said Smith on X.
Nether Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) nor Susan Collins (R-Maine), have weighed in on whether they will vote to confirm Rubio in his position.
Sen. King worked closely with Rubio in September to bring down the cost of prescription drugs and increase domestic manufacturing.
Sen. Collins has likewise worked closely with Rubio.
Rubio’s resignation from the Senate creates a vacancy that will allow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint his replacement.
Here’s a list of Trump’s other picks to serve in the MAGA 2.0 administration:
- Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth, Fox News host and Army veteran
- Attorney General: Matt Gaetz, U.S. Representative from Florida
- Secretary of the Interior: Doug Burgum, Governor of North Dakota
- Secretary of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental lawyer
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins, former U.S. Representative
- Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota
- Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Lee Zeldin, former U.S. Representative from New York
- Ambassador to the United Nations: Elise Stefanik, U.S. Representative from New York
- Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard, former U.S. Representative from Hawaii
- Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence
- White House Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles, senior campaign adviser
- National Security Advisor: Mike Waltz, U.S. Representative from Florida
- Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy: Stephen Miller, former senior adviser
- ‘Border Czar’: Tom Homan, former Acting ICE Director
- Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas
- Special Envoy to the Middle East: Steven Witkoff, real estate executive
- White House Counsel: William McGinley, former Cabinet Secretary
- Deputy Attorney General: Todd Blanche, personal attorney to Trump
- Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General: Emil Bove, former U.S. Attorney
- Solicitor General: D. John Sauer, former Missouri Solicitor General
- Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX CEO) and Vivek Ramaswamy (entrepreneur)
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="32509 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=32509">5 Comments
I think he’s in a position now and with lesions learned from his first term to just install people who aren’t twofaced deep state agents and deal with them as required later. It’s going to be an uphill battle as most of Washington is self servicing, two faced scum who couldn’t qualify for a walmart credit card or tell you one name of a person in their district who wasn’t a big time donor.
Trump won the election
Shut T F Up and let him go to work .
Kamala Harris sure as hell wasn’t going to do anything !
If a NEOCON believes in peace through strength, opposing communism and progressivism, then Rubio is a decent choice. Since the Hildabeast and Lurch recently served as Secretary of State, then Rubio is certainly a step up.
I think Trump learned the hard way that politics breeds a different kind animal, than business. Lying, backstabbing, weasels are abundant. In business that kind don’t last or are not tolerated.
Senator Rubio is a fine choice as Secretary of State. He will be easily confirmed, as most Senators have been in the past. None of the persons cited as criticizing Rubio carry any weight with me.