The rope that will follow Trump to the summit

PublishedNovember 14, 2024, 11:09 am

Matt Gaetz for Justice, Elon Musk for the Department of “Government Effectiveness” and a former TV presenter, Pete Hegseth, as Minister of Defense: some of Trump’s shock appointments.

A very controversial elected official at Justice, a former TV presenter at the Pentagon, billionaire Elon Musk to slash spending: Donald Trump installs a gallery of colorful characters at the top of American power. A look back at the most sensational appointments of the president-elect.

The news caused an explosion, even in the Republican ranks: Donald Trump on Wednesday appointed Matt Gaetz, a loyalist among the billionaire’s loyalists, to the ultra-sensitive post of Minister of Justice. This elected official from Florida, regularly classified on the far right, is undoubtedly one of the most divisive in Congress. He is hated by the Democrats and even part of his own camp, for having provoked the dismissal of a Republican leader in 2023.

Its mission is clearly set by Donald Trump, convicted of criminal charges at the end of May: to put an end to the “instrumentalization” of the judicial system, in other words to become the armed arm of the Republican’s vengeance. Some conservative elected officials expressed their reservations about the possibility that the forty-year-old could be confirmed to his post by the Senate.

This appointment, although expected, also caused a shock wave. Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he was entrusting Elon Musk with the presidency of a commission responsible for cutting public spending, jointly with Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

The richest man on the planet played an absolutely unprecedented role in the president-elect’s campaign, spending more than $100 million of his personal fortune to get him elected. His libertarian, openly masculinist line and his virulent criticism of immigration have made him increasingly popular on the American right. Until seducing Donald Trump, who called him a “super genius” in his victory speech.

Placing a second Fox News knife at the head of the most powerful army in the world: by making the resounding choice to appoint TV host and former soldier Pete Hegseth as Minister of Defense, Donald Trump also shook up the Pentagon.

This 44-year-old author, who opposes the presence of women on the battlefield, has never headed a major institution. If confirmed to the post, he will lead 3.4 million troops and civilian employees and a staggering budget of more than $850 billion annually.

An infantry officer in the National Guard for 18 years, he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he earned two prestigious military medals. Arriving at Fox News in 2014, he now hosts the weekend morning show.

For his second term, the Republican billionaire chose to entrust the direction of intelligence to Tulsi Gabbard. This defector from the Democratic Party and former soldier is known for taking positions favorable to Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In a video published a few days after the start of the war in Ukraine, the former elected official from Hawaii called on the Russian, Ukrainian and American presidents to “embrace the aloha spirit” to end the conflict.

JD Vance supported Donald Trump in the race and will move into the White House as vice-president.

During this campaign, the atypical senator from Ohio was mired in a series of controversies with the resurgence of old videos. In one of them, the bestselling author accused the Democrats in power of being a bunch of “unhappy cat ladies” without awareness of the “direct interest” of the country, since they lacked offspring.