The News
US President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments have generated controversy domestically and in financial markets, as they face scrutiny even before the Senate confirmation process begins.
So far, Trump has reportedly said he will stand by his candidate for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, whose lawyer revealed that the nominee had paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault. Hegseth says the encounter was consensual.
A Republican senator also called for a confidential congressional ethics report into Trump’s potential attorney general Matt Gaetz to be shared with senators who must vote on his appointment.
Deutsche Bank, meanwhile, downgraded the pharmaceutical giant GSK to a Hold from a Buy, citing risks to its vaccine business as a result of Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary; Kennedy has repeatedly questioned the safety of vaccinations.
SIGNALS
Trump camp questions Hegseth’s nomination
Some members of Trump’s transition team have raised questions about Hegseth’s nomination after information about a sexual assault allegation emerged, CNN reported, with people close to Trump speculating that Hegseth could withdraw his name from the running. The pick has also raised questions within the Pentagon over Hegseth’s belief that women should not be in combat roles, his comments about firing the most senior US military officer, and his lack of leadership experience. “It’s unlikely this warrior will do much good for American power,” a pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper wrote. Even so, Hegseth’s pick embodies the dissatisfaction with the Pentagon status quo that many veterans of the global war on terror share, a military reporter argued in The New York Times.
Attorney general choice faces rocky road to Senate confirmation
Former Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz, who Trump named as his attorney general, also faces a difficult pathway to Senate confirmation, with allegations of sexual misconduct and a congressional ethics probe complicating his prospects of securing a majority of Senate votes. “He’s not going to get confirmed,” staunch Trump ally Rep. Max Miller told CNN. It remains to be seen whether the congressional ethics report on Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use will be released publicly after he resigned from the House of Representatives last week, removing him from congressional jurisdiction. An attorney for one of the women who testified in the probe has called for the report’s release, saying his client told the committee she had sex with Gaetz while she was in high school.
Trump makes cabinet picks at record pace
Trump has raced to staff his next government, making a record 12 cabinet-level appointments in the first 12 days after the election, Axios reported. That is five times faster than Biden made his first dozen picks, and four times faster than Trump himself did in 2016. The president-elect either has “the best and most efficient transition ever,” an expert on transitions told the outlet, or “is blowing up all norms and making picks on the fly without vetting, research or Senate consultations.” One still-open post is treasury secretary, with Trump reportedly rethinking his potential picks after growing frustrated with the jockeying between the top candidates. Other cabinet roles including the secretaries of commerce and labor have also yet to be announced.