Trump’s Staff: what it says about his presidency

President-elect Donald J. Trump campaigned for outsiders and people who felt left out or forgotten in mainstream politics. People who lost their jobs to companies moving overseas voted for someone who championed the working class. He promised to drain the swamp of Washington insiders and elites, which appealed to voters nationwide; yet his staff picks may demonstrate otherwise.

Chief of Staff– Reince Priebus, longest serving chairman on the Republican National Committee in modern history.

Chief Strategist- Stephen Bannon, former CEO of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and former chairman of conservative website Breitbart News.

National Security Advisor– Michael Flynn, former Lieutenant General and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Attorney General– Jefferson (“Jeff”) Sessions, Republican Senator for Alabama.

Secretary of Education– Betsy DeVos, billionaire donor to the Republican Party and philanthropist.

Secretary of Commerce– Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor for the Republican Party.

Ambassador to the United Nations– Nikki Haley, South Carolina Governor.

Secretary of Health and Human Services– Tom Price, physician and Representative for Georgia since 2005.

Secretary of Defense– James Mattis, retired Marine Corps General, served as the 11th Commander of United States Central Command.

Homeland Security Transition Team– Katharine Gorka, president for the Council on Global Security and is a well-known figure among anti-Muslim campaigners.

Advisor– Kris Kobach, Secretary of State for Kansas and on the council with the Immigration Law Reform Institute.

Head of the Environmental Protection Agency– Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier

Secretary of Treasury– Steven Mnuchin, former chief information officer of Goldman Sachs and founder of the investment firm Dune Capital Management.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development– Dr. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and former candidate for president.

Secretary of Department of Homeland Security: Gen. John Kelly, retired four star general and former commander of the Southern Command

Administrator of Small Business Administration- Linda McMahon, co-founder and former CEO of professional wrestling company WWE.

Long-time politicians or those with history in Washington saturate Donald Trump’s staff list. These career politicians make up the swamp he promised to drain, leaving many people confused.

“People voted for him for the stuff he said he was going to do, but if he’s not even going to do it, then what’s the point?” freshman Melissa Reyes said.

Climate change denial is a platform of the Trump administration, as confirmed by Reince Priebus. Pulling out of the Paris Agreement, a program that unites nations to combat climate change, or repealing Obamacare, which taxes high income earners to give millions of people access to affordable health insurance are possibilities with a Trump presidency.

“Climate change is an important factor in general, but I don’t know if it’s necessary to be spending so much money on one thing and ignoring all the other things that are also going on,” junior Alejandra Licor said.

Conservative politicians and advocacy groups, such as Susan B. Anthony’s List, an anti-abortion group, and Amanda Carpenter, a former staffer on Ted Cruz’s campaign, applaud Trump’s pick. With Dr. Tom Price as head of Health and Human Services, women’s right to contraceptives and abortion may diminish. Price favors outlawing abortion nationwide including in cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother. Price supported legislation that would ban most common forms of contraception, Planned Parenthood and In Vitro Fertilization. 

Trump promised to appoint a Supreme Court judge who will favor giving abortion access rights back to the states. Thus, residents of conservative states such as Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and more might have to illegally travel across state lines in order to attain women’s healthcare, a process many cannot afford. The purpose of Planned Parenthood is to provide these services to women who cannot afford to travel or take time off of work.

Donald Trump is expected to use his business experience to help grow the American economy and save jobs. So far, according to the New York Times, Trump negotiated with Carrier, air-conditioning company, to keep its Indianapolis plant open, saving one thousand jobs. Trump said during one of his rallies in Indiana he would save their jobs; he has succeeded to do something he promised in many other areas. His business experience in negotiating for his company may help save the American people’s jobs.