'You have to be a believer’: How to get a job in Trump’s cabinet
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Will Donald Trump surround himself with MAGA loyalists in his new administration, or opt for a broader church to run his government?
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Read time: 4 minutes
In brief…
- Donald Trump has already made several appointments to his future cabinet, and they appear to be hardline MAGA allies.
- The News Agents speak to Trump ally Dan Cox, who is reportedly being considered for a role in his administration.
- It appears you need to “be a believer” to be offered a job, The News Agents say.
What’s the story?
With just a few months to go until Donald Trump is sworn in as president, the Republican must decide which politicians to place in his future administration.
While Trump achieved hugely successful results in the 5 November election, he was voted in on a radical platform.
Already, the future president has rejected people who he has previously not seen eye to eye with. This includes the ruling out of both his former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and Nikki Haley, one of Trump’s rivals in the Republican primaries, who is considered more moderate.
Meanwhile, he has confirmed positions for Tom Homan, a hardline anti-immigration border tsar and Susie Wiles, who is said to be the mastermind behind his successful campaign.
So what is the criteria to earn a spot in Trump’s cabinet?
Will he only surround himself with MAGA loyalists who have never said a bad word against him?
What might a typical politician in Trump’s White House look like?
Dan Cox was the Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates until 2023. He later stood for the governorship in 2022 and was heavily backed by Trump.
He tells The News Agents he has already been in touch with Trump’s team about a potential spot in the next government.
Questioning Cox, Jon Sopel points out that he has echoed Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen, has expressed support for the leader of the hard-right fascist Proud Boys group, opposed Covid 19 lockdowns and rejects the global consensus on climate change.
Cox admitted to contacting the Proud Boys, did not reject that he made those claims about the election, and like Trump, called Mike Pence a traitor for certifying the result.
This essentially means he is firmly in the MAGA camp. He aligns with Trump on policy, including the one to deport 11 million immigrants.
Cox says: “Any criminal, illegal alien should be deported. One of the things that is discussed regularly in the media here is, does that include children?
“And I think that children who are part of a family that have come across the border illegally need to understand that there's a way to legally do it.”
Trump also has strong views on the Department of Justice, vowing to “fire” its special counsel Jack Smith, who had been investigating Trump’s alleged electron interference in 2020.
Cox says: “He's not in any way a legitimate person, and I think that Jack Smith needs to probably be investigated himself for what he's done. He's weaponised the Justice Department. So that's a big problem.”
Like Cox, Trump’s future border tzar Tom Homan takes a tough stance on immigration too.
He served as former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Trump's first term in government.
Homan said earlier this year he would "run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen".
Trump has also picked Elise Stefanik to form part of his administration, offering her the role of US ambassador to the United Nations.
The New York Republican is a long-time ally of Trump and was a vocal supporter throughout the campaign, even speaking at his controversial Madison Square Garden rally.
What’s The News Agents take?
“There seems to be a premium on loyalty. Are you loyal to Donald Trump? If you tick that box, then happy days,” says Jon.
Emily Maitlis says the fact that Cox is up for consideration is telling too.
“His views fit a fairly standard MAGA profile in terms of where he is on abortion, where he is on the far right, where he is on the proud boys, and where he is on Trump's stop the steal narrative.”
She later adds: “This is about tribes now, make no mistake.”
Emily notes that it is fairly common to hear presidents try to reach across the political divide by forming “government of all the colours and all the flavors”.
But what we’ve been hearing from Trump and those around him is the “exact opposite”.
Emily adds: “We know that there is a narcissistic temperament right in the centre of the president-elect, and he wants to see that reflected in those around him.
”They're not even pretending it is going to cross divide. They're not even pretending it's going to reach out. They are, in some sense, the angriest winners you've ever seen because they want the win to be complete.”
But there is an argument, Jon says, that Trump could go the opposite way.
He says well connected people in Washington have claimed: “Donald Trump, this time round, will be much more conscious about his legacy.
“He knows he's only got four years left. It's going to be a slightly softer Donald Trump, the language he used at the convention about wanting to unite the American people is real.
While they claimed that there will be some pure MAGA people in the administration, Trump’s team is “going to want to get things done, it's going to be more professional,” according toJon’s source.
The source, Jon notes, added: “It's not going to be the chaos that we saw when he came to power in January 2017. It's going to be an altogether different sort of administration, and you will be surprised by it,”
But Jon is not entirely convinced, arguing that based on the appointments we have seen so far, you have to “be a believer to have a job.”
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