Nearly 18 months ago, we warned in an editorial that former President Trump's poor personnel selections during his first term caused him much trouble. We advised him then that if he were to win back the White House in 2024, he should refrain from hiring from the swamp and make far better personnel choices.
As Trump makes staff announcements each day for his second term, primarily on his Truth Social site, it is evident that he is following our advice. His picks are stellar, especially when compared to his choices during his first term.
Here's a rewind to his first term. When Trump, in 2016, replaced his loyal campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, with ultimate Washington insider Paul Manafort, who had deep ties to the former President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, a Moscow-friendly politician, the Deep State and liberal media saw a nexus that ultimately became the Russia-Russia-Russia hoax.
Ridiculous as it may seem today, Trump was about to offer Never Trumper and TDS Senator Mitt Romney the job of Secretary of State. Even more outlandish, three close confidants of his—former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador— broke ranks with him so much that they ran against him for the nomination and got crushed. Today, they have been shut out of Trumpworld altogether and are pondering political retirement in the same mold as Liz Cheney.
There were other colossal failures. Trump offered former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions the role of Attorney General without sufficient assurances that Sessions would stand his ground against the brewing Deep State conspiracy to get Trump. That hiring decision turned out to be the most consequential of his presidency. Sessions caved, and the wily James Comey manipulated Washington's levers. Soon, Trump faced an incompetent but respected Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, whose investigation dragged on for 18 months to the day, until the infamous call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy triggered Trump's first impeachment. Zelenskyy has been a fixture in American politics ever since and will likely play an outsized role even during Trump's second administration.
In another head-scratcher, Trump replaced James Comey with Christopher Wray as the Director of the FBI for the standard 10-year appointment. By all accounts, Wray has been a disaster. We now know from Sen. Charles Grassley that the FBI knew about 17 audio tapes from a Burisma executive who had recorded conversations offering $5 million bribes each to Joe and Hunter Biden. A more honest FBI Director could have revealed this to Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority leader during Trump's first impeachment, and he would never have been impeached.
William Barr, Trump's second AG, appeared to be supportive of the Trump agenda until he wasn't. Barr did not adequately investigate if election procedures were fair when Democratic operatives filed over 145 lawsuits alleging that COVID-19 shutdowns would disproportionately disenfranchise minorities and other communities of color. Nor did the DOJ investigate Zuckbucks - the first time that a private foundation paid poll workers to the tune of $400 million. Two weeks before Election Day, 50 former intelligence officers provided cover to candidate Biden before a national debate avowing that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian 'misinformation.' We now know that the officials' letter was 100% false. Both Barr and Wray kept the Hunter Biden laptop under wrap when Twitter and Facebook censored the New York Post story and helped tilt the election to Biden.
Trump's second-term choices can be classified into two buckets—the first, which genuinely wants to Make America Great Again, and the second, which is more geared towards cleaning the Pentagon, Justice, and Intelligence communities of the Swamp. While the latter could also significantly improve America by ridding our agencies of Deep State interference, it has much less relevance to the average working-class voter who helped elect Trump in a landslide election.
In today's editorial, we will limit our analysis to picks from the first - the non-controversial bucket.
Leading the list is Susie Wiles, the Trump campaign co-chair and Chief of Staff designee. She is a supremely able administrator with a keen political eye, honed in the Ronald Reagan White House. Wiles will bring about order at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which was sorely lacking during Trump's first term.
Marco Rubio, the senior Florida senator and Secretary of State nominee, ran against Trump in the 2016 contest and was his bitter critic in the debates. However, Rubio has since made amends with Trump and worked hard to burnish his credentials in the Senate Intelligence Committee, especially as a hawk against China. Rubio is young and has a fluent TV presence that appeals to Trump, who could be copying Barack Obama's playbook in dispatching a talented politician (Hillary Clinton) to gain valuable international experience and readying Rubio to run again for president in 2028. The selection of Rubio deepens the GOP MAGA bench (Vice President-elect JD Vance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy) for future generations.
Kristi Noem, a loyal Trump campaigner and the current governor of South Dakota, is his Secretary of Homeland Security nominee. Noem will oversee the return of illegal immigrants to their home countries by closely working with Tom Homan, the Border Czar to whom we recently dedicated a piece. Noem is not from the swamp and could be a future Vice-Presidential nominee. The duo will be ably assisted by Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser nominee, who has been loyally by Trump's side since 2016.
In Noem's mold is the current governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgam, another non-swamp pick who himself wanted to clean the swamp when he ran in the 2024 GOP contest. A former businessman, Burgam respects Trump's acumen, is a China hawk, and is Trump's excellent choice for the Interior. Burgam, who campaigned heavily to promote America's energy sector, will be Trump's energy czar.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, two billionaires with extensive experience in business, will lead the quasi-government Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) agency. The duo has already begun seeking volunteers who will work 80-hour weeks for zero pay to eliminate fraud and waste in the federal government. The goal is to significantly reduce the federal budget deficit and long-term debt, both of which can have far-reaching consequences for America's global leadership.
Rounding out the picks are three outstanding choices for marketing the Trump White House. James Blair (ran the Trump 2024 campaign along with Susie Wiles) as the Deputy Chief of Staff for legislative, political, and public affairs. Steven Cheung will become the White House communications director, and Karoline Leavitt will become the White House press secretary.
The Washington elite would rather Trump appoint people who stick to their playbook of endless wars, wasteful spending, and out-of-touch elitism. However, Trump has a clear mandate from Americans and has every right to appoint people he trusts to deliver on his promises. The elite must tone it down—they’re not in power anymore. Trump shouldn’t let them get to him. Like they say, a barking dog doesn’t dim the sun. He just needs to do what’s best for the country.
