President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to introduce the key players in his new administration, eliciting both excitement and controversy.
Some of Trump’s administration and Cabinet picks, like campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as White House Chief of Staff, former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Tom Homan as “border czar,” and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as Secretary of State were unsurprising, but others have been morecontentious. The president-elect’s choice of former Democrat and U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), decorated military veteran and Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, and firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as Attorney General have all raised eyebrows and caused some to speculate that even a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate might not confirm Trump’s pricklier nominations.
With his latest set of administration appointments, Trump is continuing the trend he has already set, choosing some expected stalwarts but at least one controversial figure. Here’s who Trump has added to his list of nominations and staff.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Late Thursday, Trump announced that environmental lawyer and health expert Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been asked to serve as his Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump stated.
He continued, “The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.” Trump added, “Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Kennedy responded by thanking Trump for his “leadership and courage.” He pledged, “I’m committed to advancing your vision to Make America Healthy Again.” Kennedy shared that, as HHS Secretary, he plans “to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic” and “to free the [federal health] agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth.” He continued, “Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families.” Kennedy added, “My commitment to the American people is to be an honest public servant. Let’s go!”
After his father, U.S. Attorney General and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated, the younger Kennedy developed an addiction to illicit drugs, including heroin, which he struggled with for 14 years, until breaking the addiction in 1984. Kennedy spent much of his life working as an environmental lawyer, largely focusing on cleaning up the Hudson River and other waterways in New York. In 2000, he became involved in a series of lawsuits targeting factory farms, initially for pollution, but later arguing that factory farms and food processors not only produce toxic waste but generate low-quality food that actually harms the health of consumers.
Kennedy has been outspoken on the detriments of processed and synthetic foods and chemically-altered drinking water, as well as the dangers posed by most drugs and vaccines. Since 2005, he has been an increasingly vocal opponent of vaccines, arguing that they are often poorly or inadequately engineered and tested, and at times linking childhood vaccinations to increases in cases of autism.
In 2020, Kennedy was critical of the product being marketed as a COVID-19 vaccine, claiming that billionaire Bill Gates and former Director of the National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Anthony Fauci were promoting the shot in order to profit from it. Kennedy has also argued that the COVID-19 breakout and resulting lockdowns were engineered in order to consolidate wealth in the hands of a cabal of billionaire technocrats. In his 2021 book “The Real Anthony Fauci,” Kennedy called Fauci “a powerful technocrat who helped orchestrate and execute 2020’s historic coup d’etat against Western democracy.” In a 2023 interview since removed by YouTube, Kennedy suggested that an increase in cases of gender dysphoria in children may be caused by an increase in endocrine disruptors artificially put into drinking water.
In response to Kennedy’s nomination as HHS Secretary, mainstream media outlets immediately began labeling Kennedy “one of the nation’s most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists,” calling him “a vaccine skeptic who has unorthodox views about medicine,” and even positing that Americans “will die if this kind of spokesmanship is elevated to the chief health department of the United States of America.”
It has also been reported that the stock of major pharmaceutical companies like Johnson and Johnson, Merck and Co., AstraZeneca, and Pfizer has started to plummet since Kennedy was named HHS Secretary. The HHS nominee has repeatedly pledged to investigate pharmaceutical companies and has even suggested using the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to prosecute corruption within the industry. Employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which will also be under Kennedy’s command and which he has long been suspected of corrupt collusion with pharmaceutical companies, have also reportedly been threatening to quit.
While many Trump supporters have been celebrating Kennedy’s appointment to the role, some have raised concerns over the former Democrat’s inconsistent past views on abortion. Although he identifies as a Roman Catholic and calls himself “pro-life,” Kennedy refused to condemn late-term abortions earlier this year, calling abortions even in the eighth month of pregnancy “morally nuanced and complex.” He said, “The solution of having the state come in and dictate choices that the woman is making is not — that’s not a good solution to me.” Nicole Shannahan, Kennedy’s running mate prior to ending his presidential campaign and endorsing Trump, said in an interview that Kennedy “absolutely believes in limits on abortion, and we’ve talked about this.” But about a week later, Kennedy said in an interview on the same show that he supported a “right” to abortion “even if it’s full-term.”
National Review’s Philip Klein called the pick of “pro-abortion” RFK Jr. “disastrous.” If Kennedy bucks the party’s conservative stalwarts and leans into a liberal position on the unborn, Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins told The Washington Stand, “RFK’s selection as the head of one of the federal government’s largest agencies that oversee matters of health would be appropriate for a party that had jettisoned the prioritization of advancing a culture of life from their platform and policy.”
CNN commentator Scott Jennings suggested that Republican senators may have a difficult time confirming Kennedy as America’s Health Secretary, less due to his controversial positions on vaccines and medicines, but more due to his inconsistency on abortion. “A lot of what he talks about, there is widespread agreement with on the Left and Right about: if we just improve[d] the way we ate in this country, we would solve a lot of health problems and it would be really good, so you will get widespread bipartisan agreement,” Jennings opined.
He continued, “I’m certain the vaccine stuff will be the biggest flashpoint in the hearings and, like everybody else who gets nominated, he will have a chance to answer for those statements and the senators will have to decide whether that is satisfactory or not.” However, Jennings noted that “pro-lifers” in the Senate may feel “weird” about Kennedy’s past statements on abortion. “If I were the Trump people I would be coming up with something proactive to head that off because I think those attacks are coming,” he added.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R)
At an America First Policy Institute dinner on Thursday, Trump announced that he intends to nominate South Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R) as Secretary of the Interior. “We have a big announcement. I won’t tell you his exact name. I think he’s an incredible person,” Trump teased. “He’s got an unbelievably wonderful wife named Catherine. So I won’t tell you his name. It might be something like Burgum, Burgum. He’s from North Dakota. He’s going to be announced tomorrow for a very big position,” he added. The president-elect continued, “We’re going to do things with energy and with land, Interior, that is going to be incredible.”
Prior to beginning his career in politics, Burgum worked as an investor and venture capitalist, selling the North Dakota-based Great Plains Software company to Microsoft for over $1 billion in 2001. Burgum was elected governor of North Dakota in 2016 with 75% of the vote and spent the next four years focusing largely on the state’s energy production, relying heavily on fossil fuels and enhanced oil recovery, while also working to reduce carbon emissions.
Burgum was reelected in 2020 and announced his presidential bid in 2023, running in the Republican primary. He suspended his campaign in December and, in January, endorsed and campaigned for Trump. He served as an advisor to the Trump campaign on energy policy and was rumored to be a possible pick for Trump’s vice president, although that role ultimately went to Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
Over the course of his political career, Burgum has been an advocate for the use of fossil fuels, he has mobilized the North Dakota National Guard to assist with border control operations in Texas, has banned gender transition procedures for minors in his state, and has signed stringent pro-life laws, although he has also stated that he agrees with Trump’s assessment that the federal government should leave abortion regulation to the states.
Doug Collins
Also on Thursday, Trump named former congressman Doug Collins to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs (V.A.). “Doug is a Veteran himself, who currently serves our Nation as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command, and fought for our Country in the Iraq War,” the president-elect shared. He continued, “We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need. Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our Country in this very important role!”
Collins responded that he is “honored” to accept Trump’s nomination. “Our heroes deserve the best care and support. We’ll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they’ve earned,” he stated. He continued, “Together, we’ll make the VA work for those who fought for us. Time to deliver for our veterans and give them the world class care they deserve.”
In addition to having served as a military chaplain since the 1980s and fought in the Iraq War, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Collins has also served as a senior pastor at Chicopee Baptist Church in Georgia and used to co-own a scrapbooking store with his wife. He was elected to the Georgia state legislature in 2007, where he supported an effort to enact pro-life protections past 20 weeks. In 2012, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he became a staunch Trump ally and earned a 99% lifetime approval rating from FRC Action.
Under the incumbent Biden-Harris administration, V.A. Secretary Denis McDonough has weaponized the agency to promote and even fund abortions for veterans and servicemembers. Given Collins’s pro-life bona fides, conservatives are hoping that he may end the V.A.’s abortion activism.
Department of Justice
Following the controversial appointment of Gaetz as Attorney General, Trump announced further appointments to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Todd Blanche was named Deputy Attorney General Thursday night. Blanche defended Trump in his landmark criminal trial in Manhattan, which resulted in convictions on 34 felony counts. Blanche has announced his intention to appeal the conviction, alleging, along with others, that the trial was conducted improperly and possibly illegally. Blanche also used to work as a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.
“Todd is an excellent attorney who will be a crucial leader in the Justice Department, fixing what has been a broken System of Justice for far too long,” Trump stated. Constitutional lawyer and Article III Project founder Mike Davis commented, “Todd is a serious attorney, who … represented President Trump against the unprecedented lawfare and election interference against him. Todd is the perfect person to serve as the DOJ #2, where he will bring much-needed reforms.”
Trump also named former federal prosecutor Emil Bove as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, adding that Bove will be asked to serve as Acting Deputy Attorney General until Blanche is confirmed. “Emil is a tough and strong attorney, who will be a crucial part of the Justice Department, rooting out corruption and crime,” Trump said. Like Blanche, Bove used to work as a prosecutor for the DOJ in the Southern District of New York and also worked on Trump’s defense team in the Manhattan trial.
John Sauer, the former Solicitor General of Missouri, was appointed to be Trump’s U.S. Solicitor General. “John is a deeply accomplished, masterful appellate attorney,” Trump said in announcing the pick. Notably, Sauer represented Trump before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Trump v. United States, which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. Trump credited Sauer as being “key to defeating the unConstitutional campaign of Lawfare against me and the entire MAGA Movement.”
Trump also named Jay Clayton, who served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Trump’s first term, as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Jay is a highly respected business leader, counsel, and public servant,” Trump announced. He added, “Jay is going to be a strong Fighter for the Truth as we, Make America Great Again.” In addition to his experience with the SEC, Clayton is also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Carey Law School.
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.