President Donald Trump’s Cabinet can be sorted into a variety of categories, including people named Steve, former Boy Scouts, and Goldman Sachs alumni. But four categories seem particularly instructive: the super-rich, the military men, the establishment foes, and the Washington insiders. Trump’s Cabinet and senior staff include representatives from each group who are poised to battle for the president’s favor.
A throng of D.C. insiders from Congress and the Republican National Committee would seem to contradict the president’s promise of a complete institutional overhaul, but they may be necessary for an outsider to navigate Washington’s political minefield. Then there are the populist true-believers determined to stop these members of the political establishment from co-opting Trump.
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The president has also picked generously from military ranks to fill positions normally reserved for civilians. These military men with a lifetime of service will work alongside others who spent their lives in the private sector making billions of dollars.
While the president can choose his own senior staff in the White House, most other senior positions require Senate confirmation. Five days into the Trump administration, the Senate has only confirmed three: CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. Rex Tillerson, the nominee to be Secretary of State, is likely the next to be confirmed.
Here’s Trump’s own Team of Rivals:
This story was originally published on Dec. 16, 2016. It has been updated to include more Cabinet picks and to reflect financial data courtesy of Bloomberg.
