Trump's return to the White House: his cabinet choices so far
CBC
Donald Trump, fresh off an election win earlier this month that capped a stunning comeback, is quickly announcing plans for an emboldened new administration.
Trump's first term as president between 2017 and 2021 was marked by heavy turnover, and he made strategic use at times of having people serve in an acting capacity in cabinet-level positions for several months.
Cabinet positions, along with several other administration roles, generally require Senate approval. In a social media post on Nov. 10, Trump said anyone seeking to be Republican majority leader must agree not to stand in the way of temporary presidential appointments.
So-called recess appointments are a practice generally shunned since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2014, and are meant to be used when the chamber has a legitimate break. At least one constitutional expert has expressed concern that Trump could be looking to circumvent challenging confirmation hearings on contentious nominees.
In addition to his cabinet choices, the fate of FBI director Christopher Wray will also be closely watched. Wray, a Republican, was appointed by Trump but has been criticized by the former president given the role of FBI agents in helping investigate cases that led to criminal indictments he faced.
Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, is the president-elect's choice to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform," Trump said in a statement Thursday.
Collins, 58, is a chaplain in the U.S. air force reserve command. The Republican served in Congress from 2013 to 2021 and helped defend Trump during his first impeachment process.
Trump said on Wednesday that he had chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a 43-year-old former Democratic representative and critic of the Biden administration, as his director of national intelligence.
Gabbard, who left the Democratic party in 2022 to become an independent and was considered a possible candidate to become Trump's running mate, would take over from Avril Haines as the top official in the U.S. intelligence community after the Republican president-elect starts his second term in January.
She is not expected to face difficulty being confirmed in the Senate, where Trump's fellow Republicans will hold a majority of seats starting early next year.
"I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights and securing peace through strength," Trump said in a statement.
Gabbard has little direct experience with intelligence work and had not been widely expected to be tapped for the post.
She was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as a major in the Hawaii National Guard and is now a lieutenant-colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.
