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To the relief of the country, let alone the candidates, the election is over. But with the Trump campaign pivoting to the Trump administration, the most profound presidential action — governing — now begins, starting with the appointment of cabinet and administration officials.
President-elect Donald Trump’s first call was wise, naming Susie Wiles, his de facto campaign manager, as his chief of staff. Wiles will make history as the first woman to hold the job, and already achieved another notable landmark by becoming the only manager to complete an entire campaign with Trump. This suggests that not only is she savvy in understanding the electorate but the man elected to lead the country as well.
Just as notable are those on the “no” list: Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo will not be part of his new administration, Trump posted on his social media platform. Haley served as U.N. ambassador and Pompeo had stints as CIA director and secretary of state under Trump. They were two of the more consistent, competent cabinet members during Trump’s term from 2017-2021. But Haley ran against Trump in the GOP primaries, drawing enough traditional Republicans that the voting cohort began to be referred to as “Haley Republicans.” Meanwhile, Pompeo publicly mulled a run but opted out.
Whether their political ambitions precluded Pompeo and Haley from serving during a second term is unclear. But from campaign rhetoric to initial appointments, including naming congressional defenders Elise Stefanik to U.N. ambassador and Lee Zeldin to EPA administrator or immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller to deputy chief of policy, this much seems certain: Loyalty to Trump is the key attribute for cabinet consideration.
Every president, of course, wants and deserves loyal appointees. But the country is served best when an administration is open to outside individuals, or at least influence. Most famously with Abraham Lincoln’s so-called “team of rivals,” which included three former political opponents in his cabinet. Other presidents of both parties have greatly benefited from intraparty and even interparty competitors being brought into the fold in order to offer at least a shade of gray to the White House.
The executive branch isn’t the only federal entity that should look beyond loyalty to competency. The Senate, despite decisively swinging back into Republican control, must do its due diligence, too.