In the first week since his stunning election victory, President Donald Trump has begun assembling the team with which he will lead the United States. These first appointments give some sense of how Trump will govern for the next four years.
First, with the exceptions of soon-to-be border czar Tom Homan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, virtually everyone whom Trump has named so far has come without prior experience in the first Trump administration.
It is clear that Trump is looking for new energy and enthusiasm—and deep loyalty to him and to the Make America Great Again movement.
The first announcement was Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. She was central to Trump’s comeback after the 2020 election. Wiles ran the most effective presidential campaign in modern times. It included a decisive defeat of the other Republican candidates and a near-complete takeover of the Republican Party in every state.
Wiles is important because she really understands Trump and can anticipate what he needs to be effective. She also has the best ability of anyone other than Melania Trump, his wife, to talk with him candidly and keep him focused on winning.
It was interesting that the next two announcements were both New Yorkers. Trump’s love for his home state has grown in recent years, and he is determined to make New York a much more competitive state for Republicans. Announcing House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, from upstate New York, as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was a brilliant move. Stefanik proved in the public hearings on anti-Semitism on college campuses that she is bright and tough. At least three university presidents lost their jobs after tangling with her. I expect she will be the most dynamic U.N. ambassador since Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Next, Trump picked former Congressman Lee Zeldin to head up the Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin ran a great campaign for governor in 2020. For a Republican in New York, he did remarkably well. Zeldin is smart and tough—and he will reorient the EPA toward practicality, common sense, and results.
Callista and I were delighted when we learned that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) may be named secretary of state. We chatted with Rubio at the Convention Center while we waited for Trump to make his victory speech. Rubio is keenly aware of the collapse of the Cuban economy as its Soviet-era power grid increasingly fails. There may be an opportunity for the United States to work with the Cuban people and replace the eight-decade old communist dictatorship. That would have a revolutionary effect on Latin America.
Rubio has been solid in his opposition to Chinese communist activities. Having served on the Senate’s foreign relations and intelligence committees, he would approach his new job with an enormous amount of knowledge—and a mature determination to protect the United States and our allies and undermine our opponents.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was a surprise choice for secretary of homeland security, but if you consider the importance that Trump places on communicating with the American people, her selection makes a lot of sense.
The media will almost certainly criticize (and exaggerate) the Trump administration’s work on the border. The administration will regain control of the border (as Trump did in his first term) and engage the largest illegal immigrant deportation program in U.S. history—starting with convicted criminals who threaten Americans. Only President Dwight Eisenhower’s deportation project in the 1950s will be comparable.
Noem will balance Holman’s toughness and directness with a people-oriented effort to explain what is happening. There will undoubtedly be deeply human stories that emerge while controlling the border and deporting people who have come here illegally. Having an articulate and sympathetic governor, who has the skillset that comes from working directly with voters, will make it much easier for Trump to sustain popular support for what is inherently a difficult policy to implement. Noem will be an effective advocate for a firm but humane program of returning the United States to a legal system of legitimate immigration.
The first days of the transition have been encouraging. Trump is making solid, sound personnel decisions—and he is building a team capable of helping America move to greatness.
