Trump's cabinet picks focus on immigration and foreign policy

Donald Trump decisively won the presidential election in the USA. Returning to the White House means that the Republican must form a new administration. American media are closely scrutinizing Trump's first selections, and they also recall his first term (2017-2021) in this context. A week after the election, at least several certain or almost certain candidacies can be discussed.

CBS News reports, citing "two sources familiar with the matter," that Trump will nominate Marco Rubio, a senator from Florida, as the candidate for Secretary of State. The 53-year-old Rubio competed with Trump in 2016 for the Republican presidential nomination. Despite sharp verbal exchanges, Trump and Rubio have improved relations in recent years.

Rubio, a member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, advocates a hardline foreign policy toward China. Initially, he championed the need for military support for Ukraine, but recently, he became one of the opponents of another military aid package for Kyiv.

You don't have to be a fan of Vladimir Putin to want to end the war, Senator Rubio said.

In the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Rubio emphasized that despite the brave resistance of Ukrainians, America should not fund a "stalemate war" and the conflict should be brought to an end. The New York Times reminds us that Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010 and adopted a "hawkish" stance in foreign policy, taking a steadfast position against Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba.

Donald Trump also officially announced in a statement that Susie Wiles would become the White House's chief of staff. She will be the first woman to hold this position.

The 67-year-old Wiles was responsible for both the current and previous Trump presidential campaigns. She also worked on Ronald Reagan's campaign in 1980.

Stephen Miller, former chief advisor to Trump on immigration, will take up the position of deputy chief of staff of the White House for policy in his second administration. This is according to CNN, whose journalists based their findings on "two sources familiar with the plans." As Trump's advisor, Miller propounded a restrictive immigration policy. CNN confirmed these reports with James David Vance, whom Trump appointed as the USA's vice president.

CNN reminds us that Trump's second administration aims to significantly increase the number of deportations - up to a million people annually. On Fox News, the 39-year-old Miller admitted to agreeing to mass deportations as quickly as possible. - They will begin on inauguration day, right after taking the oath, Miller said on CNN. Already in 2023, he announced that in Trump's second term, the U.S. military would also create centers for immigrants at risk of deportation. He said they would appear "in open areas of Texas near the border."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the president-elect has chosen Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, a former U.S. National Guard colonel, as his national security advisor. The WSJ reported this on Monday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The choice fell on a leading critic of China policy. First elected to Congress in 2018, Waltz chairs the Armed Services subcommittee and is also an Intelligence Committee member. He has not yet confirmed these reports.

Waltz is 50 years old. Before entering politics, he served in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa, but also worked at the Pentagon. In his opinion, the U.S. military is currently not prepared for a major conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Regarding Russia's aggression in Ukraine, his views have changed. After the invasion in 2022, he called on the Biden administration to provide Kyiv with more weapons, but by fall 2023, he became skeptical about further military aid. He wrote an article for Fox News titled "The era of congressional blank checks for Ukraine has ended."

In an interview with the Financial Times, he stated that Trump will force Russia to the negotiating table by threatening to "collapse its economy" by lowering oil and gas prices if the Kremlin refuses. - We have economic leverage over Russia, Waltz said. At the same time, he called Trump's promise to initiate negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv at the current stage of the war "completely reasonable."

Trump himself announced on his Truth Social profile that he has chosen Tom Homan, the former director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the border commissioner. Homan is a former police officer and immigration official and a Republican "hawk" on deportation matters.

He emphasized that the 62-year-old Homan will also be responsible for maritime and aviation security in his administration. "I've known Tom for a long time, and no one is better at overseeing and controlling our borders. Homan will be responsible for all deportations of illegal immigrants back to their countries of origin. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic and long-overdue job," Trump stated. He even called him "the border czar."

Media note that in Homan's case, Trump is acting quickly as this appointment does not require Congressional approval.

Trump also appointed a congressman from New York, 44-year-old Lee Zeldin, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin announced that he accepted the nomination. CNN reports that after Zeldin lost the 2022 New York governor race, he began maintaining close relations with Donald Trump. During the 2024 campaign, he regularly appeared at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

Zeldin voted against Biden's 2022 climate bill – as did other Republicans in the House of Representatives. The year before, he also opposed funding from the EPA for zero-emission school buses, cleaning up toxic industrial sites, and financing the replacement of lead pipes nationwide.

Trump also announced online that he has appointed a Republican congresswoman from New York, Elise Stefanik, as the U.S. ambassador to the UN. Born in 1984, Stefanik has Polish and Dutch roots. She has previously worked in fundraising for Republicans. She first entered Congress in 2014, becoming the youngest woman in U.S. history to hold a seat in the American parliament.

In recent months, during student protests, Stefanik called for the immediate removal of Columbia University's chancellor. This happened after demonstrators occupied a university building and blocked it from the police. Stefanik defended Trump throughout the impeachment process, which he underwent - as the only U.S. president in history - twice.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Trump's nomination for the new Secretary of Defense, who will take over from Lloyd Austin, remains unclear. AP notes that Trump will likely choose a "loyalist," a tried and trusted individual, making the Pentagon heavily dependent on the president. During the Republican's first term, five people held the position of Secretary of Defense.

Among the currently mentioned potential candidates are Republican Mike Rogers from the House of Representatives and retired General Keith Kellogg, a former national security advisor to the Vice President of the USA (2018-2021). Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also mentioned, but the president-elect dispelled these speculations, assuring Pompeo would not be joining the new administration.