“People who don’t think that they know better”: Trump eyes loyalists for key cabinet positions

President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is huddled in West Palm Beach, Florida, already ironing out plans for the incoming administration. Throughout the campaign and after victory became apparent, Trump and his allies have made clear that his top priorities on day one include executive orders on deporting immigrants and revoking President Joe Biden's emissions standards — and the names being floated and vetted for key cabinet positions have signaled that they will follow Trump's instructions enthusiastically.

Chief among the contenders are Trump loyalists who had been considered for the vice president pick. Sources familiar with the process told The Washington Post that Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is being considered for secretary of state. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the one-time independent presidential candidate who endorsed Trump and regularly espouses anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and backs a national ban on abortion, was promised a significant role in shaping health care policy.

The Post reported that Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D., and primary rival-turned-ally Vivek Ramaswamy are also being considered for cabinet posts. People in Trump's orbit have suggested Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., for secretary of defense.

Other names being considered include former acting national intelligence director Richard Grenell, for secretary of state, and former national security advisor Kash Patel for a security-related position. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is reportedly lobbying for his surgeon-general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services, while former Trump advisor John Fleming, now Louisiana's treasurer, is lobbying for either that position or secretary of Commerce.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and former national intelligence director John Ratcliffe are being floated for attorney general. For secretary of the treasury or another high-profile post with authority over financial policy, Trump can pick from a number of close economic advisors, such as investment bank executive Howard Lutnick and investors John Paulson and Scott Bessent. All three have espoused unorthodox economic views, such as across-the-board tariffs that critics say would start trade wars and hurt American workers.

The names being seriously considered are all recommendations from Trump advisors, with the goal being to avoid disloyal picks would would try to slow Trump's agenda, one source told Politico.

“I’m going to be heavily involved on the transition," the president-elect's son, Donald Trump Jr., said Thursday on Fox News. "I want to make sure now that we know who the real players are, the people who will actually deliver on the president’s message, the people who don’t think that they know better than the duly elected president of the United States."