“Make America Great Again.”
Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States of America, is taking this slogan, originally championed throughout his 2016 presidential campaign, to a whole new level. Trump is set on completely transforming the White House establishment, starting strongly by revamping the Cabinet.
The United States cabinet has played a preeminent role in American government history. The cabinet is a group of senior officials whom the president chooses to head various government departments and provide guidance on key decisions. Additionally, they play a vital role in helping the President govern by offering expertise in specific areas, managing the implementation of policies, and ensuring that laws in their departments are properly enforced.
The president’s workload is heavy, so day-to-day work is delegated to Cabinet members to mitigate the overload of responsibilities. Each Cabinet member heads an executive department of the government, meaning they focus on their respective departments’ tasks. Thus, the president meets frequently with his Cabinet members to discuss their reports and suggestions and ensure everything moves smoothly.
In the weeks before his inauguration, Trump announced a series of cabinet nominations aimed at reshaping the federal government, drawing praise from some quarters and criticism from others. The picks, ranging from political outsiders to party stalwarts, signal Trump’s intent to prioritize loyalty, deregulation, and a business-friendly approach to governance.
Trump’s nominations reflect his campaign promises to “drain the swamp” and disrupt the Washington establishment. The public eye scrutinizes three nominees: Elon Musk, Pam Bondi, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Instead of being depicted as well-fit candidates, the narrative of loyalist behavior has been looming through Trump’s picks.
But why?
Some people, especially within the younger generation, argue that instead of these members being unbiased towards Trump and openly giving constructive criticism towards his policies, they will ultimately accept and radicalize whatever he sets out, ruining the balance and equity in our system.
Take Jaylie Cuevas ‘26 as an example of concern towards the cabinet nominees. When asked about her feelings towards Trump’s supposed loyalist approach, she stated, “I believe President Trump was extremely intentional with these cabinet picks. While the same can be speculated for his predecessors, Trump’s picks reflect the type of presidency he intends for the coming four years. He doesn’t want any challenge in his decision-making; instead, he wants to be enabled in his decisions.”
A pattern has been seen in Trump’s choices: “Trump wants influence,” Cuevas said. “It just so happens that his exact nominees have this influence through money and status.”
It’s not just some of the younger generation that has been displeased with Trump’s selections; the media has also contributed to the dislike by openly criticizing the candidates and conducting a background check on their qualifications.
Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has been selected to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk, an entrepreneur known for his work with companies like Tesla and SpaceX, has been a vocal supporter of Trump, especially reducing government regulation and fostering innovation in the private sector. However, his qualifications remain questionable. Although he is educated in technology and space exploration, he is unfamiliar with managing government agencies or federal bureaucracies. Musk’s appointment highlights Trump’s desire to deregulate the government by adding people with little policymaking and cooperation experience.
Musk also displeased the media because of his dubious behavior during the 2024 Presidential election. He handed out one million dollar checks to voters who signed his petition launched by the Pro-Trump Political Action Committee, supporting the First and Second Amendment, while being a registered Battleground State voter. Musk has spent 119 million dollars on Trump’s campaign to pool in voters.
Cuevas states that Americans should become familiar with the idea of “Transactional Government” as Musk’s new position will “be another way to put more money in his pockets, as well as the top 1 percent.”
However, Musk isn’t the only open loyalist to be Trump’s nominee. Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General, who has been selected as Attorney General in the Trump Administration. Bondi has been a vocal supporter of Trump, as she has defended him during his impeachment and played a role in his legal battles.
During her time as Florida’s Attorney General, Bondi was involved in controversial decisions, most notably her handling of the Trump University case. In 2013, Bondi was criticized for not investigating Trump University after Florida residents complained about being scammed. She received a $25,000 donation from Trump’s charity right around the same time. Many people believed she dropped the investigation because of the donation, suggesting she might have been influenced by it.
Bondi is also known for her conservative views, restricting abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. Her appointment raises concerns about her potential to influence legal decisions that could roll back protections on our healthcare system, abortion, and only further the authority and power of conservative appointees.
Bondi’s continued loyalty to Trump was on full display during her recent testimony, when she dodged questions regarding the legitimacy of the 2020 election. In a tense exchange with Senator Dick Durbin, Bondi stated, “President Biden is the president of the United States. He was duly sworn in, and he is the president of the United States. There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.” While she acknowledged Biden as president, she avoided directly stating that Trump lost the 2020 election, instead casting doubt on the election results, particularly in Pennsylvania. “What I can tell you is what I saw firsthand when I went to Pennsylvania … I saw many things there. ” The reluctance to definitively accept the outcome of the 2020 election underscores her deep allegiance to Trump and her ongoing support for the narrative of election fraud, which has become a key tenet of Trump’s political identity.
By choosing figures like Bondi, Trump deepens the loyalty within his administration, ensuring that policies are driven by allegiance rather than expertise, and further entrenching the influence of the political elite at the expense of the public sector.
Perhaps the most divisive nominee is Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old biotech multi-millionaire who started his Republican Presidential campaign in February 2023 but ended it on January 15th, 2024. When he ran, Ramaswamy’s vocal opinions in the press circulated questions about silencing young audiences in the future of politics.
“If you’re 16 years old or under, you should not be using an addictive social media product,” Ramaswamy stated confidently in his second debate, even comparing TikTok to “digital fentanyl.” Along with that, Ramaswamy has argued for raising the voting age to 25, ending birthright citizenship, and “reviving the mental health of this country.”
Sound familiar?
Although Vivek Ramaswamy’s vision for reforming the American government echoes the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, he has his distinct twist, centering on efficiency, deregulation, and privatization. His call to dismantle agencies like the FBI or challenge the official narrative surrounding 9/11 showcases his belief that the government is misleading the public and that a major overhaul is necessary.
This frustration aligns closely with Trump’s nationalist approach but takes it further with a focus on business-style reform, emphasizing the need for “radical” changes. In a proposal to create a “Department of Government Efficiency,” Ramaswamy envisions a streamlined, tech-driven government, leveraging private-sector innovation and cutting bureaucratic waste. He has often cited Musk as an inspiration, advocating for a shift toward data-driven governance.
Further, Ramaswamy has stated his interest in looking to the private sector for solutions to public sector problems. In fact, returning power to the people by taking it away from the government seems to be one of his prominent goals.
Yet, as his vision gains traction, concerns about his views have arisen. Ramaswamy has repeatedly asserted his desire to diminish the federal government’s authority through firing the majority of the federal workers, increasing power within the private sector. This has raised heavy concerns as Ramaswamy spreads the narrative of the federal workforce being oversaturated when in reality, it has been stagnant.
So, one question persists: can such ambitious, tech-centric reforms, which run off of profit incentives from the private sector, succeed without compromising the livelihood of those who depend on these critical government services and public sector workers?
Ramaswamy, since then however, has dropped out of the Department of Government Efficency to run for Ohio Governor. Yet his views still align with Trump’s goals. In fact, his campaign for Ohio has focused on endorsing Donald Trump with 3 million dollar advertisement blitz. Although he may not be as closely tied to Trump, he continues to praise Trump’s decisions and orders and hopes to expand on them as the potential Governor of Ohio.
Trump’s nominations reflect his campaign promises to “drain the swamp” and disrupt the Washington establishment.