President-elect Donald J. Trump has admitted that his attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz, has low chances of being confirmed by the Senate but is pushing ahead with other nominees anyway.
Trump’s cabinet picks have raised eyebrows due to their questionable pasts and policies. Health and Human Services Secretary designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made baseless claims about vaccines, while Defense Secretary candidate Pete Hegseth faces allegations of sexual assault.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for intelligence director, has blamed the US and NATO for provoking Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The president-elect is taking a “flood-the-zone” approach to cabinet nominations, betting that the Senate won’t dare to turn them all down.
This approach deviates from traditional presidential strategy, which involves working with teams to identify what the system will tolerate. Trump’s nominee choices are seen as a calculated risk by his former strategist Stephen K. Bannon, who warned of a “blunt-force instrument” being applied to the system.
As Trump prepares to take office for the second time, he plans to test how far he can push the boundaries of his power and what the Senate will allow.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/18/us/politics/trump-cabinet.html