President-elect Donald Trump has released a flurry of department secretary picks to make up his cabinet. As expected, they consist of people who are deeply loyal to him and the Republican party, often at the cost of having little experience or competency with their projected role.
Let’s get to know who the most controversial nominations are, what they stand for and what they’re expected to do once in office.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for the Department of Health and Human Services
Robert Kennedy, who was running for president as an independent before eventually dropping out, was nominated to the Department of Health and Human Services, a department tasked with monitoring the health of Americans through healthcare and public health programs.
Anticipated goals/actions
Kennedy is a strong advocate for removing fluoride from public water. He cites that it can cause cancer, arthritis and even lower IQ in children. He even announced on social media platform X that the White House should remove fluoride from public water.
A more strange goal of Kennedy’s is to make raw milk more accessible to the public. He stated that he only ever drinks raw milk. Raw milk can carry many disease-carrying pathogens, raising concerns for the FDA.
Kennedy is also a very well known anti-vaxxer, speaking out strongly about his belief that it causes autism. As department secretary, he will likely take steps to lower requirements for vaccines in children.
Linda McMahon for the Department of Education
Linda McMahon is married to Vince McMahon, whose father founded the wrestling company WWE. Linda McMahon became the chief executive of the company, but later stepped down to pursue politics, losing a couple Senate races in Connecticut. She also ended up donating millions of dollars to Trump’s 2016 campaign.
McMahon states that teaching was always a dream of hers, even serving a year on Connecticut’s Board of Education in 2009. However, McMahon has been largely criticized for having extremely little experience in the realm of education.
Expected goals/actions
Trump and McMahon alike aim to diminish the amount of federal power in education, leaving much more up to the states. Similarly to Trump again, McMahon will prioritize parents having a large say in anything their child does or participates in.
On the extremist side, Trump has personally stated that he would abolish the entire department, leaving education completely in the hands of the states. This is unlikely, however, because a feat of 60 votes in the Senate would need to be secured.
McMahon is also a huge advocate for school choice, where public school funds can be used to push students to any type of school, public or private.
Also in danger is Biden’s work towards relieving student debt. While McMahon hasn’t explicitly said anything of her position on this, Republicans largely disapprove of Biden’s work in this area.
Pete Hegseth for Department of Defense
Pete Hegseth, a former co-host on Fox News who supported Trump’s claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, has been selected to run the Department of Defense. Aside from serving in the military, Hegseth has been criticized for the inexperience of commanding a large group of people, even in a military-related area.
Another area of controversiality is Hegseth’s allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. An allegation even involves him paying money to an alleged victim to settle a civil case.
Expected goals/actions
Hegseth has continually criticized the modern military for being “too woke.” He has called for a return to its former masculinity, condemning the attempts at promoting diversity and inclusion in the armed forces. What’s more, Hegseth stated that women should not serve in combat, and that they harm the effectiveness of the military on the warfront.
He also dislikes the amount of money the US spends on its NATO allies, wanting the countries to fund their own nations.
Now, Senate confirmation is needed to appoint these nominees to the positions. The Senate is Republican-controlled making it unlikely that any of them wouldn’t be confirmed, but it’s possible. If four Republicans oppose the nomination, they will fail. This was seen as possible when former Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz was widely criticized in the Senate, even among Republicans, for his alleged sex trafficking of minors. This later caused him to step down from the nomination.
