President-elect Donald Trump has been nominating people to be a part of his cabinet, which will start setting the tone for his presidency and the values of his administration.
Trump chose Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus to be his new chief of staff and Steven Bannon, the current Trump campaign CEO and the executive chairman of Breibart News, as his chief strategist and senior counselor, according to CNN
Senior international business major Phillip Todd said that opinion coube varied on Preibus, but was largely positive. “There may be mixed emotions about Priebus, however, the general consensus of the Republican party, pro-Trump and anti-Trump, has been favorable towards him and his administrative ability and his efforts to unify the party under a divisive election year and primary.”
“Trump most likely picked him as the chief of staff because of these administrative ability and the early support of Priebus as soon as Trump acquired the GOP nomination,” said Todd.
Priebus was the go-between for the Republican Party members, such as Paul Ryan, that were for and against Trump during the election.
“Priebus has served as a negotiator between the party and Trump. When Ryan did not initially endorse Trump, Priebus organized meetings and helped diffuse tension between the two when Ryan criticized Trump and Trump hit back,” reported CNN.
For his chief strategist, Trump selected Stephen Bannon,a retired Navy officer, Goldman Sachs investment banker, and executive for Breibart, a right wing news network which Briebart has called, according to Time Magazine, “the platform for the alt-right.”
Chipper Via, a juior music major at JBU, said he was nervous about Bannon as a pick for Trump’s chief strategist. “I don’t understand tbe Bannon pick. I don’t understand what that does for people, for Trump’s strategy. Bannon’s been on the record being racist time and time again.”
Trump has selected retired Lt. General Michael T. Flynn as his national security adviser, a position that will not need to be confirmed by the Senate, according to the Washington Post.
“Flynn has spoken out frequently against radical Islam and clashed with the Obama administration while serving as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, from where he was ousted in 2014,” reported the Washington Post.
Trump said he hopes to work with Flynn to defeat radical Islamic terrorism, navigate geopolitical challenges and help keep Americans safe at home and overseas, according to Washington Post.
Trump also narrowed down his choices for Treasury secretary to Steven Mnuchin and Jonathan Gray, according to CNN.
CNN reported that both choices, Gray and Mnuchin, are seen as “political moderates.” Gray is a registered democrat and Mnuchin helped both parties. Since the Treasury secretary is a cabinet-level position, whoever Trump nominates would need to be confirmed by the Senate.
Mnunchin worked at Goldman Sachs for 17 years and worked for the Trump campaign as the finance chairman since May. He is also a Hollywood producer who has released films such as “Suicide Squad,” “American Sniper,” “The Lego Movie” and others.
Gray, on the other hand, built Blackstone’s real estate business from the ground up. He also owns part of the Hilton hotel chain.
Trump nominated Senator Jeff Sessions to be Attorney general and nominated Representative Mike Pompeo as the new director of the CIA. These positions will need to be confirmed by the Senate.
Currently, Mitt Romney is under consideration for Secretary of State, reported the Chicago Tribune.