On Monday night, President-elect Donald Trump chose Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his nominee for Secretary of State.
That pick for one of the key jobs in the incoming president’s administration came more than a MONTH before Trump made his State Department choice following his 2016 win. (Rex Tillerson, the former head of Exxon Mobil wasn’t picked until December 13, 2016.)
And the Rubio pick is the rule, not the exception. In each of his Cabinet and senior staff choices so far in his 2nd term, Trump is moving faster — at times MUCH faster — than he did in 2016.
Here’s the list:
Secretary of State: Rubio (11/11/24), Tillerson (12/13/16)
National Security Advisor: Mike Waltz (11/11/24), Mike Flynn (11/18/16)
UN Ambassador: Elise Stefanik (11/11/24), Nikki Haley (11/23/16)
EPA: Lee Zeldin (11/11/24), Scott Pruitt (12/7/16)
Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles (11/7/24), Reince Priebus (11/13/16)
DHS: Kristi Noem (11/12/24), John Kelly (12/7/16)
What’s clear from those comparisons is that Trump was taken totally by surprise when he won in 2016 — no matter what he and his people say now. They were scrambling without much of a plan to fill the major roles in his administration.
By this time in 2016, Trump had already ousted former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the head of his transition effort and installed Mike Pence in the role!
The 2016 Trump transition team also often chose very, very poorly. Flynn was out by mid-February 2017 after admitting he had not been entirely forthcoming about a call with the Russian ambassador. Pruitt lasted until the summer of 2018 when he resigned amid an absolute panoply of ethics questions.
None of that is to say that Trump’s current picks will all be confirmed by the Senate. If history is any guide, at least one of them won’t be.
But the rapidity and orderliness of the roll-out does suggest a plan was in place before election day on who and how Trump would pick. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing largely depends on your partisan bent.
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