President-Elect Trump is hitting the ground running. Just over a week after winning the election, senior appointments are being announced. Susie Wiles will serve as Trump’s Chief of Staff. Stephen Miller, a speechwriter and policy advisor in the first Trump administration, is returning to duty as Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Policy. Tom Homan, also a first-term veteran, will return as “Border Czar.” Miller and Homan are known as “immigration hardliners.”
South Dakota’s puppy-killing governor, Kristi Noem, has been named as Secretary of Homeland Security. If America is attacked by vicious canines, Noem will be ready.
A wealthy “property investor” with no diplomatic or government experience, Steve Witkoff, has been named special envoy to the Middle East. I wonder if Mr. Witkoff could show us where Syria is on a map. Forgive me, but seeking peace in the Middle East might be better handled by an experienced diplomat.
And just last night, we learned Trump will have a “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. DOGE is the name of Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency. The new entity may not even be an official government agency but will be charged with cutting the federal budget by $2 trillion (over what period?) and identifying problematic regulations to get rid of.
Neither Mr. Musk, a major beneficiary of federal contracts with Space X, nor Mr. Ramaswamy, have ever worked for the government, any government, at any level. Trump must have concluded both gentlemen are quick studies, just like himself.
And Pete Hegseth, described as an “anti-woke” Fox News commentator, has been nominated as the next Secretary of Defense. If you believe “wokism” is the number one national security threat to the U.S., be sure to send both Trump and Hegseth congratulatory notes.
Other appointments rumored include “Little” Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and Kash Patel, an extreme Trump loyalist who led efforts to fight Democrats’ investigations of Trump during his first term. Patel is under consideration for CIA director.
Eastern Shore residents (that should be all of us) worried about climate change should be particularly worried about Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, former Congressman Lee Zeldin. Politico commented: “At EPA, Zeldin will carry out Trump’s energy and environmental agenda, which includes pulling back Biden-era rules on climate and air pollution and potentially rescinding millions of dollars in funding for clean energy under the Inflation Reduction Act. And the administration is expected to take a more aggressive stance in challenging California’s autonomy in enforcing environmental standards that are more stringent than those set by the federal government — many of which picked up as models for more than a dozen other blue states.”
Other names circulating for appointments include right-wing extremist Laura Loomer, Jeffrey Clark, the former Department of Justice attorney who volunteered to help Trump overturn the 2020 election, and, of course, RFK, Jr.
Did Trump learn nothing from the chaos of his first term? The clown cars 2017-21 have been replaced with buses. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary? Will Sarah Palin be named Ambassador to Russia or Hulk Hogan as director of the FBI?
This Trump administration is already differentiating itself from the first. Trump’s first transition into the presidency was a chaotic affair. He had not expected to win in 2016 and was slow in beginning the challenging process of putting a team together. His inexperience, and reliance on advisors he did not know well, led to dozens of appointments that, diplomatically described, “did not work out.”
This time, the Trump transition is much better organized. With help from groups like The Heritage Foundation, which authored the Project 2025 policy agenda, RFK, Jr. and Elon Musk, potential appointees are being better screened. There will be fewer surprises ahead.
Loyalty to himself, his family, and to the MAGA movement are non-negotiables. Any appointee questioning Trump or the MAGA agenda will be fired. Trump is assembling an administration to pursue an agenda that he expects will change America and its future—a transformation of the USA into the United States of MAGA. That is worrisome.
Early policy initiatives, many likely to be launched via Executive Orders on Inauguration Day, seek to remove regulatory obstacles to fracking and additional carbon-based fuel extraction. Trump’s “Border Czar” is likely to start implementing the administration’s top priority—mass deportations of “illegals,” including use of the U.S. military to catch, transport, and imprison “illegals” while they are “processed” and deported. The process is likely to be brutal and controversial.
Trump has not yet announced nominees for the Education Department or HHS. This suggests that his plans to end funding to schools “promoting transgenderism” are not his top priority, but don’t forget today is only November 13.
Since election day, a surprising number of friends and acquaintances have told me they stopped watching the news after the election. They remain in shock and are tuning out news about the transition. I find this sad. Fear is gripping large parts of America. Will many of these people leave the US? I hope not. Opponents of Trump and his policies are needed here to fight against his policies.
In coming weeks, as the shock of Trump’s unexpected win and Republicans controlling the House and Senate subsides, opposition to Trump will grow. Environmentalists, civil rights leaders, scientists, and defenders of the Constitution and reproductive rights will become vocal and will protest. Inauguration day will see organized protests that will grow if Trump implements promises made during the campaign.
For the next two years, Donald Trump will reign over a unified government. Only the election of a Democratic Congress, or at least one chamber of Congress, will put the brakes on the Trump Train. Work on the 2026 election needs to begin now.
Democrats know they lost the 2024 election. There will be no insurrection this year, but Democrats also need to remember that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz received 71.8 million votes-48.07 percent. There was no landslide. There is no mandate for Project 2025 and the rest of Trump’s evolving agenda.
Thomas Paine said, “These are the times that try men’s [and women’s] souls.” He added, “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
We are in for a hard conflict. I hope to live to see the triumph.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s List on Medium and Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack.
Jim Moses CDR, USN (Ret.) says
The budget is only “The President’s Budget.” Congress must still appropriate, or refuse to appropriate, funds for what is proposed (underline that word). As you said, work on the midterms begins now. Will there be just enough (real) Republicans looking over their shoulders at 2026? And history?
John Dean says
Thank you for your comment. I expect a Democratic comeback in 2026, but, with Trump, who knows?
Maggie Andersen says
Every day is another kick in the gut. But your essay is spot on and now we get Gaetz for AG! God save us but thank you for your clarity. Maggie
John Dean says
Maggie, thanks for your comment. When I first saw the Gaetz news, I thought it was a joke. I had to double check by going to the Post and to Trump’s social media site. And Hegseth is an even worse nominee.
Wilson Dean says
This is scary. In trying to rectify his problem of pushback to his policies from knowledgeable experts during his first Administration, Trump is emphasizing extreme loyalty (to himself) over competence in this round of appointments. This will not turn out well for anyone.
John Dean says
I share your feat. My fingers are crossed that the Gaetz nomination will be defeated.
trudy wonder says
As Thomas Jefferson taught us, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.” So long as our Constitutional institutions hold during this next Trump presidency, voters will get another bite at the apple in two years to course correct if the majority wants a course correction – true to the design of our system.
Having said that, the Trump machinery is already signaling their intent to “federalize” our elections, which raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Trump will attempt this under the guise of combatting ‘fraud’ in our elections processes though elections experts continue to validate tat our elections are secure and Trump only claims they aren’t when he’s losing. He cried fraud throughout election day up until it became clear he would clear the hurdle; then, suddenly, his claims went silent.
‘
In 2020, Trump and the GOP claimed fraud, and a ‘stolen election at the presidential level only; they never once questioned the down ballot races that yielded Republican victories. It’s a ploy they use to grant them the ability to convince voters that they are under attack so they can secure their support in making changes that benefit them.
This same ploy will be used to make changes to our election systems and processes federally, and I have zero confidence that any changes they make will ensure election integrity. Quite the opposite. They have a clear model in Putin who secures 98% of the vote in Russia’s “free and fair elections” each time. And they seem to have deeper and deeper connections to Putin with every election. Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has been accused of “embracing” and “parroting” Russian propaganda.
Trump’s Defense Secretary pick calls the political left, “America’s domestic enemies” and “America-wreckers” and has criticised the Biden administration’s support for Kyiv. He has vowed to purge the U.S. military of non-Trump loyalists, removing yet another check and balance within our institutions – intentionally designed to secure the integrity of our democratic systems.
Trump himself has stated he intends to remove the restraints that have traditionally been placed on domestic use of the military, indicating he will deploy troops on ‘the enemy from within’ the U.S. He has called the political left as “the enemy from within” – going so far as to name names of non-criminal U.S. citizens such as Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff.
These are scary times. We must do everything we can to uphold our institutions so that all Americans of every political persuasion can continue to be the deciders of “the government we elect”, and thereby, “the government we deserve”.
These next two years will not be of my choosing but I accept that. What I will not accept is a coup from within that takes the power of our electorate to decide, with each election, away from we the people.
If you value living in a democracy as much as I do, stay alert and informed and do all you can to prevent that from happening.
trudy wonder says
One aspect of Trump’s appointments I have yet to see mentioned in the media – which surprises me – is his appointment of Elon and Vivek to head his DOGE committee (not a department after all – this way his friends can avoid having to divest their assets, circumventing conflict of interest statutes.
Beyond finding “efficiencies” (ironic that the department of gov. efficiency assigns two men to lead it when one would do but I digress), Elon and Vivek will be making widespread recommendations on “deregulation”. As tech industry titans, one of whom is developing his own AI engine (Grok) as we speak, the conflicts of interest here are not only stunning but massively dangerous for the U.S and beyond. Especially when same individual runs a satellite internet company. (See my other comment about ‘free and fair elections’ and it’s not hard to put two and two together.)
AI gone wild has the potential to change the world – and not in a good way.
Why has no media outlet picked up nor explored this angle of Trumps appointments, likely as a thank you to Elon for his nearly $200 million donation to Trump’s re-election campaign?