Trump nominations revive his "island of misfit toys"
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Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Brett Carlsen, Andrew Harnik, and Theo Wargo/Getty Images.
In vintage 2017 fashion, President-elect Trump has set Washington ablaze by announcing, in rapid succession, three of the most provocative nominations in modern political history.
Why it matters: Early signs that Trump 2.0 was assembling a curiously conventional cabinet — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) for national security adviser — have gone up in flames.
- Instead, Trump has veered sharply toward loyalists and disruptors — Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.
- They're the types of unorthodox figures that Axios dubbed Trump's "island of misfit toys" during his first term — only this time, there are far fewer restraints.
The big picture: The picks announced over the past 48 hours all have one thing in common: A hunger to tear down and revamp the agencies Trump has tapped them to lead — and to do so in a way that's in line with his incendiary campaign rhetoric.
1. Gaetz, who resigned suddenly from the House last night, is a darling of the MAGA movement who's despised by many of his colleagues for his brash antics. His nomination set off outrage among both GOP and Democratic lawmakers.
- The Florida Republican was investigated by the Justice Department for alleged sex trafficking, but prosecutors declined to bring charges. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating him for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use and has been preparing a report on its findings.
- In a statement, Trump signaled Gaetz's top priority will be "ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System" — a reference to Trump's own criminal prosecutions — and rooting out "systemic corruption" at the Justice Department.
- Even while decrying the alleged politicization of President Biden's DOJ, Trump repeatedly has floated the idea of prosecuting his political enemies — and has suggested that his attorney general would lead the charge.
2. Hegseth, a decorated Army veteran and Fox News host, wrote a best-selling book this year accusing Pentagon leaders of sabotaging military readiness and recruitment by prioritizing social justice and diversity.
- Hegseth has called for the firing of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Brown — the first Black service chief in U.S history — and any officer "involved in any of the DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) 'woke' shit."
- He also declared on a podcast that women shouldn't serve in military combat roles, arguing it "hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated."
3. Gabbard, a former Democrat and Iraq War veteran, has been nominated to take on what Trump sees as his greatest adversary within the U.S. government: the intelligence community.
- Gabbard, an avowed anti-interventionist, has drawn criticism for secretly meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017 and suggesting in 2022 that the U.S. and NATO are to blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- She hasn't held any senior national security roles, but would be tasked with Trump's mission of purging the intelligence community — or what he and conspiracy theorists call the "Deep State" — of "corrupt actors."
- The news of Gabbard's nomination was gleefully broken by Trump ally Roger Stone on the far-right show "InfoWars," hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
What to watch: All three nominees, to varying degrees, could face a rocky road to Senate confirmations.
- Trump's fallback plan is to pressure the Senate to allow him to make recess appointments — essentially bypassing the nomination process — to have the nominees serve in an "acting" capacity for up to the two years of the congressional session that begins in January.
- Before his election Wednesday as Senate GOP leader, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said that "all options are on the table" for swiftly confirming Trump's nominees, including recess appointments.
Between the lines: Emboldened by his decisive victory in last week's election, Trump is testing just how far he can bend elected Republicans to his will.
- The uproar the nominations have caused in Washington and beyond — particularly the notion of Gaetz as the nation's chief law enforcement officer — will test the reach of Trump's post-election power.
- "He was elected to turn this place upside down. Americans don't trust the Justice Department right now, and Matt has the talent to go in there and make a difference," Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said on Fox News.
- "If Donald Trump says, 'Jump three feet high and scratch your head,' we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads," Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told reporters.
