The leadership of the new Trump presidency
As the dust settles on Donald Trump’s unexpected presidential victory, attention is turning to who the New York property tycoon will bring with him the White House.
- Former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani favorite to land secretary of state role.
- A look at his confirmed right hand men so far, political insider Reince Priebus and far-right Breitbart publisher Stephen Bannon.
- Trump has some big promises to deliver to expectant conservatives. Can he build that wall and deport thousands?
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Details are finally emerging about how Donald Trump’s administration will look come 2017 as former New York mayor and long serving Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani looks to clinch secretary of state.
“Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions,” Trump tweeted and referenced his Apprentice appearances, saying “I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!”
Rudy Giuliani
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani remained the favorite to serve as secretary of state, CNN reported. Trump is believed to still be considering former Republican State Department Richard Armitage or John Bolton, George W Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Giuliani is well respected within the Republican base and his appointment would certainly lend credibility to Trump’s fledgling administration, which is exactly what he needs right now.
The new secretary of state will face huge foreign policy challenges, drafting a new response to Syria while managing complex networks of allies fighting ISIS in the Middle East.
Reince Priebus and Stephen Bannon
Describing them as “highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory”, the president-elect introduced Reince Priebus and controversial Stephen Bannon, neither who have served in elected office before, to work as “equal partners to transform the federal government”.
Bannon was the executive chairman of the far-right website Breitbart News during its rise to prominence within alt-right media. Brietbart remains the most widely read conservative news site, but is often charged with accusations of racism, antisemitism and rampant sexism.
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Breitbart notably accused Obama of “importing more hating Muslims” compared Planned Parenthood’s work to the Holocaust and describes young Muslims in the west as a “ticking time bomb” amid further accusations of misogyny, fear-mongering and bullying, especially among its female usership.
The Race For Commerce Secretary
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is favored by some to become Trump’s commerce secretary. Ross, 78, is the founder and chief of WLRoss, & Co., a private-equity firm. His political reach is large as the ex husband of adviser and former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey.
Steven Mnuchin, who had served as national finance chairman for the mogul’s campaign, remains the media’s favorite for Treasury secretary.
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Can He Enact His Most Crazy Policies?
If Donald Trump follows through on the immigration pledges that helped drive the shocking election victory, he will enact an unprecedented and hugely expensive clampdown on illegal immigration. Not only would the massive operation be very difficult logistically, removing millions from the US would be a colossal budget drain.
We may see a softening of core Trump pledges based not out of political mollification but hard pragmatism. Because Trump has the power to enact some serious changes if the budget can accommodate them.
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For example, he could massively scale back the Obama administration’s efforts on immigration and reverse a program that has protected hundreds of thousands of children brought to the United States illegally.
He has the Republican power within Congress and the Senate to tear down a lot of what the previous president spent 8 years building up, so while key aspects of Obamacare are spared, the extensive changes to immigration reform will not be so lucky.