Donald Trump's Cabinet- Ayoub and Frances

Since his election in November, President-elect Donald Trump has been selecting and announcing nominees for his cabinet positions. Each nominee has seemed to generate more controversy than the previous one. Here's our take on Trump's picks for Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Treasury, and Ambassador to the United Nations.

Secretary of Defense: General James Mattis 

Mattis most recently served as 11th commander of United States Central Command. Before being appointed to that position by President Barrack Obama, he served as commander of United States Joint Forces Command from November of 2007, to August of 2010. During this time he concurrently served as NATO's supreme allied commander. His political party is independent, meaning that congress's makeup should not affect him. Republicans have vowed to support Mattis, and there has been talk of using the threat of a government shutdown to sway Democrats to vote for him. Mattis has not suggested any new policy positions thus far, so many of his decisions cannot be predicted at this time. However due to Trump nominating him, there is likely similar views between the two men, as has been the case with many of Trump's nominations so far.

Secretary of Treasury: Steve Mnuchin

 Prior to his nomination as Secretary of the Treasury, Mnuchin was a successful banker. He's most prominently known for being the Executive Vice President at Goldman-Sachs, where he worked for 17 years. He has also been the a chief executive at Dune Capital Management, a privately owned hedge-fund management company. Mnuchin has also successful revitalized a failed bank, IndyMac, during and after the 2008 recession. Most recently he served as the Campaign Finance Chairman for the Trump campaign. His nomination incited tensions among Trump supporters, some of whom had lost their houses or businesses to Goldman-Sachs. Many Democrats in Congress have vowed not to approve Mnuchin, although he has donated to democratic politicians in the past. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Shumer pledged to stop Mnuchin's appointment, as did Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The Republican party does have the congressional majority, and are on track to confirm Mnuchin's appointment unless Democrats can turn votes. Steve Mnuchin has called for major tax reform and lifting regulations on banks, ideas that are supported by Trump and his allies. There aren't many specifics known about Mnuchin's policy ideas but he is very trusted and supported by Trump, so there is bound to be correlation between their views. 



United States Ambassador to the United Nations: Nikki Haley

Before she accepted Donald Trump's nomination for United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley was a critic of the President-elect. She endorsed Marco Rubio during the primaries and often called for Trump to release his tax returns. As for political experience, Haley is currently serving her second term as Governor of South Carolina. Prior to becoming the governor she served in the South Carolina House of Representatives for six years. Little is known about Haley's foreign policy views other than the fact that she is Pro-Israel and supports tough immigration policies. Although she supports tough immigration policies, she was a critic of Trump's proposed Muslim ban. Haley has virtually no international experience, which is worrisome considering her job would be to represent the United States international actions. It is not known what change Haley will bring, besides promoting isolationist ideas. By nominating Haley, Trump is including traditional Republican values in his cabinet and adding diversity (Haley is Indian-American). It is likely that Nikki Haley will be confirmed by Congress because of her traditional GOP status. She has support from the majority party and is seen by Democrats as one of the more moderate members of Trump's cabinet. 

Despite their differences the three nominees discussed above, they will all have to face congressional confirmation. According to The New York Times "such close scrutiny of nominees, now taken for granted, is relatively recent in the history of the Senate's exercise of its constitutional confirmation power." Although these candidates are likely to be confirmed, they will still face a hard road to confirmation, which will hopefully prove that they are ready for their jobs.

Frances Hubbard