One month past the election, President-elect Donald Trump has moved swiftly with his presidential Cabinet and White House official selections. His choices continuously expand the terrifying reality of the second Trump administration the United States is facing.
Appointed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Lee Zeldin
Former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin accepted the position as administrator of the EPA on Nov. 11.
Zeldin’s goals for the position align with many of Trump’s controversial stances on the climate, and he has repeatedly stated he will aim to pursue energy dominance.
Zeldin has a history of voting against climate laws, and five years from the United Nations’ 2030 deadline to reduce greenhouse emissions, climate laws are the final life vests with a shot at protecting our planet from climate change.
Zeldin plans to continue scratching climate regulations he views as “left-wing” and harmful to businesses.
If Zeldin is true to his word, he will advance America’s energy production, and with it the greenhouse emissions, of a nation already leading globally in fossil fuel production.
The fundamental purpose of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment, as well as reduce environmental risks according to available science.
Selecting Zeldin as EPA Administrator defeats that critical purpose.
Appointed Attorney General: Pam Bondi
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was nominated as Trump’s attorney general on Nov. 21. Her nomination follows former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s self-removal from the selection.
Gaetz is currently being investigated for sexual misconduct and sex trafficking, the former an experience he has in common with the president-elect.
It does feel necessary to breathe a small sigh of relief ‒ every political leader not being investigated for sexual misconduct is a battle won. However, we can still expect Bondi to reflect the behaviors of other cabinet selections: intense and dangerous loyalty to Trump.
Bondi is among Trump’s supporters who deny the results of the 2020 election as well as the legitimacy of the trials which found him guilty of 34 felonies, vowing to prosecute the prosecutors in Trump’s case.
Appointed Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Despite warning that another Trump presidency would be a “threat to democracy” in the earlier months of the 2024 election, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will join Trump in the White House as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy now speaks in high favor of the president-elect.
And despite recently claiming not to be anti-vaccine, Kennedy’s history of spreading anti-vaccine sentiments and substantial involvement with the Children’s Health Defense ‒ an anti-vaccination non-profit ‒ begs to differ.
The fundamental role of the HHS is to protect the health of Americans through the scientific advancement of medicine and human health and by providing effective health services.
Kennedy, meanwhile, has contributed to spreading multiple conspiracy theories debunked by science, making his position in the HHS similarly out of place as Zeldin’s in the EPA.
Appointed “Border Czar”: Tom Homan
Trump has also announced a new role for his former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Tom Homan, selecting Homan as the administration’s “border czar” on Nov. 11.
Homan’s responsibilities as “border czar” have been relatively ‒ and alarmingly ‒ undefined, but Trump has stated Homan will be in charge of U.S. border control and maritime and aviation security.
Homan has been vocal about his goals for the position as well. The goals mirror Trump’s campaign promises for mass deportations, which could separate thousands of families, subject millions to racial profiling and expand unethical detention.
“You better start packing now,” Homan said in a message addressed to undocumented immigrants at the Republican National Convention. “Cause you’re going home.”
Two weeks past his selection, Homan has already taken aggressive measures toward achieving his deportation goals, including verbal threats against state and city leaders unwilling to lead mass deportation events.
Appointed Defense Secretary: Pete Hegseth
FoxNews co-host Pete Hegseth was picked for defense secretary by Trump, but ‒ falling into a classic pattern ‒ Hegseth is facing controversy similar to Gaetz’s.
Hegseth has faced sexual assault allegations, as well as concerns about previous inappropriate work behaviors including alcohol intoxication while at work.
The man suspected to be nominated should Hegseth step down would be no less concerning.
Ron DeSantis is expected to replace Hegseth as Trump’s selection for defense secretary. DeSantis, infamous for his blatantly homophobic Don’t Say Gay bill and aggressive border policies, would be a dangerous leader in office and a defense secretary position could set him on a powerful political track toward the top.
America is getting what it voted for.
Watching the new administration take shape continues to serve as a reminder that we’ve yet to wake up from the nightmare that began Nov. 5.
We’ll be fretfully sleeping for at least four more years, America, and if Trump’s new officials maintain their promises, the nightmare will persist far beyond that.
