Future US Cabinet: Trump nominates next TV man for government office

A Wall Street financier, a TV doctor and a former wrestling entrepreneur as Minister of Education: Donald Trump is also surprising with his next candidates for positions in the future US government. At the same time, the President-elect is sticking to the controversial nomination of the radical Republican Matt Gaetz as Attorney General despite growing headwinds.

From Wall Street to import tariffs

The next Secretary of Commerce will be Howard Lutnick, one of Trump’s most important supporters on Wall Street. He runs the New York financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald and is currently co-head of the team preparing Trump’s inauguration in the White House on January 20th.

As minister, Lutnick would be responsible, among other things, for implementing Trump’s plans for new import tariffs. During the election campaign, the president-elect threatened high tariffs on goods from abroad, claiming that this would force companies to produce in the United States. Economists warn, however, that such measures – such as those imposed by Trump during his first term in office – are likely to lead primarily to price increases for US consumers.

According to media reports, Lutnick tried in vain to become US Treasury Secretary. He and Scott Bessent, also a financial manager, have been vying for the post with Trump in recent days. Lutnick brought on his side, among others, the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who supported Trump in the election campaign and has spent a lot of time with him since the election. Instead of his desired position, Lutnick should now take over the management of the trading department.

Ex-wrestling entrepreneur in the Ministry of Education

According to media reports, Linda McMahon, who was head of an authority responsible for small businesses in Trump’s first administration, would actually have wanted this position. Now, as Secretary of Education, the 76-year-old is supposed to make America “number one in education in the world,” as the future president wrote. Trump caused a stir during the election campaign by announcing that he wanted to abolish the Department of Education.

The majority of McMahon’s professional career has taken place away from education. Together with her husband Vince McMahon, she made the wrestling league WWE big. She was also the head of the WWE for a time, but then went into politics in 2009 and, among other things, tried unsuccessfully to be elected to the US Senate. Trump has supported them for years. McMahon is currently leading the power transition team alongside Lutnick.

TV doctor gets important health post

The controversial TV doctor Mehmet Oz is to become head of the Medicare and Medicaid health systems in Trump’s new government, i.e. responsible for the care of tens of millions of Americans. Medicare and Medicaid are something like government health insurance companies. Medicare is for people over the age of 65. Medicaid covers at least some of the costs of treatments and medications for low-income earners.

Oz has previously advocated for more private healthcare services. The 64-year-old made a name for himself as a heart surgeon and professor at Columbia University, but was criticized as host of the “Dr. Oz Show” for, among other things, spreading controversial views on alternative medicine and paranormal abilities. During the corona pandemic, he recommended untested treatment methods on television, such as the use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine – and got through to then-President Trump.

In 2022, Oz should win a Senate seat in the state of Pennsylvania for the Republicans. He was also supported by Trump in the election campaign, but clearly lost.

Oz is already the third television personality in Trump’s dream cabinet. With Pete Hegseth as a candidate for defense minister and Sean Duffy, who is to become transport minister, two presenters from the Trump-friendly conservative news channel Fox have already been nominated.

Trump is sticking with Gaetz as his preferred attorney general

Probably the most heated personnel debate continues to be about Matt Gaetz. In the US Senate, where applicants for government positions usually have to be confirmed, there are considerable doubts even among Republicans about his suitability for the office of attorney general.

The long-time congressman from Florida is accused of, among other things, sex with a minor and drug use, both of which he denies. The US Department of Justice ended an investigation against the 42-year-old without charging him. The House of Representatives Ethics Committee further investigated the allegations and prepared a report on them. It is unclear whether this report will be made public, as Gaetz immediately resigned his seat in Parliament after the nomination – which led to the closure of the proceedings.

Due to the circumstances surrounding his nomination, some Republicans also consider it highly questionable whether Gaetz can get through the Senate. Trump’s party holds a narrow majority of 53 of the 100 seats in the Chamber of Congress. A few dissenters in one’s own ranks could be enough to torpedo the personnel.

Trump was asked on Tuesday on the sidelines of a rocket launch by Musk’s space company SpaceX whether he might reconsider Gaetz’s nomination – and responded with a curt “no.” Musk also supported Trump’s preferred candidate and wrote on his online platform X that Gaetz would be “our judicial hammer.”