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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - December 16, 2016

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Trump Administration (first term)

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President Donald Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
Cabinet • White House staff • Transition team • Trump's second term
Policy positions
Domestic affairs: Abortion • Crime and justice • Education • Energy and the environment • Federal courts • Firearms policy • First Amendment • Healthcare • Immigration • Infrastructure • LGBTQ issues • Marijuana • Puerto Rico • Social welfare programs • Veterans • Voting issues
Economic affairs and regulations: Agriculture and food policy • Budget • Financial regulation • Jobs • Social Security • Taxes • Trade
Foreign affairs and national security: Afghanistan • Arab states of the Persian Gulf • China • Cuba • Iran • Iran nuclear deal • Islamic State and terrorism • Israel and Palestine • Latin America • Military • NATO • North Korea • Puerto Rico • Russia • Syria • Syrian refugees • Technology, privacy, and cybersecurity
Polling indexes: Opinion polling during the Trump administration

This is the December 16, 2016, edition of a daily email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition team, potential cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.

How about a refresher?

Feeling lost in a sea of cabinet nominations and administrative appointments? That’s what we’re here for. Below is a refresher on several of Trump’s key nominees. Trump has officially announced 13 out of 15 cabinet nominations. The remaining two are the departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. All of these positions require confirmation from the Senate. Read more about that process here.

For each nominee below, we provide the individual’s name, the Senate committee that has jurisdiction over their department—the confirmation process begins in committee—and some of the basic info surrounding their nomination. For good measure, we have also included what we know about potential nominees for the as-of-yet-unannounced secretaries of agriculture and veterans affairs. The nominees are listed in alphabetical order based on their department.

Agriculture

  • Nominee: ?
  • Senate Committee: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • The basics: The Department of Agriculture helps to shape U.S. policy on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition. It oversees programs such as SNAP and WIC and agencies such as the Farm Service Agency and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Several names have been floated for this position, including Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R), Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D), Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R), Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R), former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R), and President of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Chuck Conner, who was the acting secretary of agriculture under George W. Bush from 2007 to 2008. Read more here.

Commerce

  • Nominee: Wilbur Ross
  • Senate Committee: Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • The basics: The Department of Commerce focuses on trade and economic stability. It has a $7.9 billion budget and employs 47,000 people in divisions such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office. Wilbur Ross is a billionaire investor and chairman of the private investment firm WL Ross & Co. Throughout the 2016 campaign, he was a supporter of both Trump and his views on the U.S. economy. Of Trump’s economic proposals, Ross wrote in September 2016, “It would cut taxes, reduce regulations, remove restrictions on energy development and eliminate our debilitating trade deficit. As growth rapidly accelerated, Trumpnomics would generate millions of additional jobs and trillions of dollars in additional income and tax revenue.” He also shares Trump’s views on international trade. In August 2016, he echoed Trump’s criticisms of trade agreements like NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying, “Free trade is like free lunch, there is no free lunch. Somebody wins and somebody loses and unfortunately we’ve been losing with these stupid agreements that we’ve made.” Read more here.

Defense

  • Nominee: James Mattis
  • Senate Committee: Armed Services
  • The basics: The Secretary of Defense works with the president and the National Security Council to decide security needs, as well as necessary plans of action to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of the country. James Mattis is a retired Marine Corps general. He most recently served as the Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) from 2010 to 2013 and has served in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His nomination conflicts with federal law, which requires secretaries of defense to have been out of uniform for seven years before holding the office. Congress will likely have to grant Mattis a waiver in order for him to be confirmed. Mattis once called Iran “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.” Mattis’ views on defense and foreign policy differ from Trump’s in some areas. Mattis, for example, has been more critical of Russia. He also disagrees with Trump on the use of torture. Throughout the 2016 campaign, Trump proposed reinstating the interrogation technique known as “waterboarding.” Mattis, however, is reportedly opposed to waterboarding. According to Trump, Mattis told him, “I’ve never found it to be useful. Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I’ll do better.” Read more here.

Education

  • Nominee: Betsy DeVos
  • Senate Committee: Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • The basics: The Department of Education has a $68 billion budget and more than 4,000 employees. It oversees U.S. education policy, distributes federal financial aid for education in the states, and collects and analyzes education-related data. Betsy DeVos is a philanthropist and advocate for school choice and charter schools. In a 2013 interview, DeVos said she was a proponent of “as much freedom as possible” in schooling, indicating that this commitment extended beyond vouchers: “We think of the educational choice movement as involving many parts: vouchers and tax credits, certainly, but also virtual schools, magnet schools, homeschooling, and charter schools.” She is the chair of the American Federation for Children, a nonprofit that advocates for education choice at the state level. For six years between 1996 and 2005, DeVos was the chair of the Republican Party of Michigan, and the DeVos Family as a whole has been an influential group of donors for conservative causes and organizations, like the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and The Acton Institute. DeVos herself described these donations as intended “to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues.” Read more here.

Energy

  • Nominee: Rick Perry
  • Senate Committee: Energy and Natural Resources
  • The basics: The DOE oversees a roughly $30 billion budget and helps shape policy related to the production, consumption, research, and security of U.S. energy resources. This includes the country’s nuclear energy resources and weapons arsenal, which consumes more than half of the department’s budget. Rick Perry is the former Republican governor of Texas (2000 to 2015) and sought the Republican nomination for president in 2012 and 2016. Energy production has been an important part of Perry’s political identity. As the governor of Texas from, Perry was in charge of the top energy-producing state in the country. Perry has been critical of energy policy under the Obama administration, even going so far as to say he would eliminate the Energy Department in a 2012 Republican debate. He has been a proponent of increased oil, natural gas, and coal production as well as other forms of energy production such as wind energy. Perry has stated that the science on climate change is “not settled” and that it is “all one contrived phony mess that is falling apart under its own weight.” Read more here.

Health and Human Services

  • Nominee: Tom Price
  • Senate Committee: Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • The basics: The Secretary of Health and Human Services advises the president on health, welfare, and income security plans, policies, and programs of the federal government. Rep. Tom Price (R), an orthopedic surgeon and six-term House member from Georgia, has been an outspoken critic of Obamacare and began offering alternatives to the law as early as 2009, when Obamacare was first being debated in Congress. Last June, at an American Enterprise Institute event, Price said, “They believe the government ought to be in control of health care. We believe that patients and doctors should be in control of healthcare.” Price’s appointment underscores the likelihood of the full-repeal and replacement of President Obama’s signature healthcare law. Trump made the repeal and replacement of Obamacare a key part of his campaign platform. After the election, however, he suggested that he may propose keeping some aspects of the law such as the provision that requires insurers to sell coverage to people with preexisting conditions and another provision that lets younger people remain under their parents’ insurance plans through their mid-20s. Read more here.

Homeland Security

  • Nominee: John Kelly
  • Senate Committee: Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • The basics: The Department of Homeland Security’s mission is to prevent terrorism and enhance security; secure and manage our borders; enforce and administer our immigration laws; safeguard and secure cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. It oversees the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). John Kelly is a retired U.S. Marine Corps general. From 2012 and 2015, he led the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military activity in Central and South America. He has been outspoken about threats posed by “transnational criminal organizations and transnational crime.” In October 2015, when asked what global issues are currently not receiving enough attention, he said, “If we say ‘is not receiving enough attention,’ we can take China, Russia, and terrorism off the table. I think what’s left that is a huge threat is transnational criminal organizations and transnational crime. That’s the most important issue: from drugs to human trafficking to illegal coal mining to sex slaves.” He has also emphasized economic opportunity in neighboring countries as a potential tool for dealing with immigration problems and border security. In November 2016, he said, “we have a right to protect our borders ... Obviously, some form of control whether it's a wall or a fence. But if the countries where these migrants come from have reasonable levels of violence and reasonable levels of economic opportunity, then the people won’t leave to come here.” Read more here.

Housing and Urban Development

  • Nominee: Ben Carson
  • Senate Committee: Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • The basics: Housing and Urban Development, HUD, is responsible for programs concerned with housing needs, fair housing opportunities, and the improvement and development of the nation’s communities. Ben Carson’s professional experience includes working as the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and running his own philanthropic organization. Carson endorsed Trump after suspending his own bid for the Republican nomination in March 2016. Carson has spoken critically of HUD policies under the Obama administration. In July 2015, he criticized a HUD rule that provided guidelines for communities to use to ensure their compliance with the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Carson, in an op-ed for The Washington Times, referred to this rule as an example of “government-engineered attempts to legislate racial equality,” which he said, “create consequences that often make matters worse.” Carson added, “There are reasonable ways to use housing policy to enhance the opportunities available to lower-income citizens, but ... entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous.” Read more here.

Interior

  • Nominee: Ryan Zinke
  • Senate Committee: Energy and Natural Resources
  • The basics: The Interior Department oversees most public lands and water, wildlife management, natural resources, and programs related to Native Americans. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R) is a first term member of the House, representing Montana’s at-large congressional district. Zinke, who was re-elected in 2016, served in the Montana State Senate from 2009 to 2013 and was a Navy SEAL from 1985 to 2008. He endorsed Trump for president in May 2016. Like Trump, Zinke has opposed selling federal lands to the states for management. He has, however, supported efforts to transfer some management of public lands to individual states. In July 2016, Zinke resigned his position as a delegate to the Republican National Convention over the party’s platform, which called for “universal legislation providing a timely and orderly mechanism requiring the federal government to convey certain federally controlled public lands to the states.” Zinke disagreed with the provision, telling the Billings Gazette, “What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting. At this point, I think it's better to show leadership.” Read more here.

Justice

  • Nominee: Jeff Sessions
  • Senate Committee: Judiciary
  • The basics: The United States Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the U.S. government and helps to shape policy on issues related to justice system. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) was an early supporter of Trump’s candidacy. First elected to the Senate in 1996, he served as the attorney general of Alabama from 1994 to 1996 and holds a seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sessions has been an ardent opponent of immigration reform in the Senate and has argued for slowing the pace of immigrants coming into the country. He has criticized DOJ initiatives under the Obama administration and has protested the president’s use of executive clemency to commute prison sentences for individuals convicted of drug-related crimes. Sessions opposes the legalization of marijuana. President Ronald Reagan nominated him for a federal judgeship, but, the Senate Judiciary Committee, with a Republican-majority, blocked Sessions' nomination 10-8 in the committee over allegations that he made racial remarks toward a colleague while serving as a U.S. attorney. Read more here.

Labor

  • Nominee: Andrew Puzder
  • Senate Committee: Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • The basics: The Labor Department oversees policy related to occupational safety, wages, hours and benefits and compiles economic statistics. Andrew Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns fast-food chains like Hardee’s and Green Burrito. He served as a trustee for a joint fundraising committee for Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee. At the 2016 Republican National Convention, he was on the Platform Committee as a delegate from California and was a co-chairman of the subcommittee on “Restoring the American Dream,” which focused on economic, labor, and tax issues. In 2010, he co-authored a book called Job Creation: How it Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It. In the book, he argued, “Private enterprise, unencumbered by excessive government intervention, will create jobs.” Puzder has been critical of liberal labor initiatives such as a $15 minimum wage and the Obama administration’s rule on overtime pay. He differs with Trump on immigration issues. In an op-ed from July 2016 that he wrote with Stephen Moore, an economic advisor to Trump’s presidential campaign, he said, “In our opinion, legal immigrants are an asset to the country. We believe that deporting 11 million people is unworkable, and we hope in the end Mr. Trump comes to this same conclusion. Deportation should be pursued only when an illegal immigrant has committed a felony or become a ‘public charge. Read more here.

State

  • Nominee: Rex Tillerson
  • Senate Committee: Foreign Relations
  • The basics: The secretary of state is the top adviser to the president on foreign policy. The duties of the secretary of state include but are not limited to advising the president on diplomatic representatives; negotiating, interpreting and terminating treaties and international agreements; and representing the U.S. in international conferences, organizations and agencies. Rex Tillerson is the chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation. Much of the conversation about his nomination has, so far, been dominated by his ties to Russia. Tillerson has negotiated international business deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin—with whom he reportedly has a close relationship—and the Russian government. In 2012, Russia awarded him the country’s “Order of Friendship” decoration, an award given to foreigners who have worked to foster the relationship between their country and Russia. He also opposed sanctions against Russia in 2014. Several Republican senators—such as John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio—have voiced concerns over Tillerson’s relationship with Putin. He is said to support international free-trade agreements, which Trump opposed throughout the 2016 campaign, and has advocated for a carbon tax, which is at odds with the 2016 Republican Party platform. Read more here.

Transportation

  • Nominee: Elaine Chao
  • Senate Committee: Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • The basics: The Department of Transportation oversees national and international transportation policy and regulates U.S air travel. Elaine Chao, the spouse of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R), served as the secretary of the Labor Department under George W. Bush and as deputy secretary of transportation under George H. W. Bush. Since 2009, Chao has sat on the boards of several nonprofit and corporate companies and has been a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where she authored papers on labor, employment, and the economy. As the next transportation secretary, Chao could not only be responsible for overseeing a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that Trump has stated he plans to make a priority of his administration; she could also play a key role in the task of navigating the plan through Congress. Lawmakers and outside groups have voiced mixed reactions to Trump’s infrastructure proposals. Some conservatives have expressed concerns over the plan’s price tag and skepticism of its projected economic benefits. Some liberals have called it corporate welfare. Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, however, have indicated a willingness to work with Trump on the issue. Read more here.

Treasury

  • Nominee: Steven Mnuchin
  • Senate Committee: Finance
  • The basics: The Treasury Department manages economic and fiscal policy, handles government accounting and debt management, enforces tax law, and oversees U.S. currency production and national banks. Steven Mnuchin manages a capital investment firm called Dune Capital Partners, which he founded after spending 17 years at Goldman Sachs. Most of his firm’s investments are in real estate and Hollywood film production. He was the finance chairman for Trump’s campaign and was instrumental in developing Trump’s tax policy proposals. In September 2016, he explained Trump’s proposal to cut all corporate taxes to 15 percent, saying, “The intent of the plan is that big and small businesses have tax relief.” After Trump announced his nomination, Mnuchin told reporters that tax reform would be his first priority, saying, “Well our first priority is going to be the tax plan and the tax plan has both the corporate aspects to it, lowering corporate taxes so we make U.S. companies the most competitive in the world, making sure we repatriate trillions of dollars back to the United States, and the personal income taxes where we're going to have the most significant middle income tax cut since Reagan.” Read more here.

Veterans Affairs

  • Nominee: ?
  • Senate Committee: Veterans Affairs
  • The basics: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) oversees health care services and benefits for military veterans and their families. The VA was the subject of widespread criticism under the Obama administration due to reports of backlogging and long wait times in its administration of healthcare services. Potential nominees to lead the VA include Admiral Michelle Howard, former Alaska Gov. and 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin (R), former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R), and former CEO of the group Concerned Veterans for America Pete Hegseth. On Wednesday, a group of 20 veterans organizations sent a letter to Trump, asking him to consider retaining current VA Secretary Bob McDonald in the position.

See also

v • e
President Donald Trump's policies (first term)
OverviewsUS-WhiteHouse-Logo.svg
Domestic policy
Economic affairs and regulations
Foreign affairs and national security
Trump's second term overviews


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