To account for his inability to “drain the swamp,” Donald Trump has pointed to the purportedly feckless or treacherous members of his first-term cabinet, even describing his appointments as the primary failing of his presidency. Should he win reelection, he seems determined to avoid making the same mistake, and instead fill his potential future cabinet with unequivocal loyalists and hard-liners.
According to a Thursday report from Axios, the former president has privately discussed granting top positions to Stephen Miller, Trump’s former immigration czar; J.D. Vance, a Republican senator who was once a critic of Trump but has become an America First evangelist; Steve Bannon, a popular right-wing media personality who had a short-lived advisory stint in the Trump administration; and Jeffrey Clark, a former Trump assistant attorney general who is currently under indictment for his role in the Georgia election interference scheme. Clark has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Despite his rocky and often servile relationship with Trump, Vance was reportedly among the names floated for Trump’s vice president; also mentioned were failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Republican governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kristi Noem, and Republican representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Byron Donald. In an odd flourish, Axios reported that Melania Trump favors former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for the role. Of course, that arrangement would mean Trump sharing the spotlight with another ex-television star. But he does not appear entirely opposed to the idea. “I like Tucker a lot,” he said in an interview last month when asked about Carlson serving as his running mate. “He’s got great common sense.”
If Trump regains power, he has suggested that the Justice Department would serve as the personal attack dog in his plan to destroy “every Marxist prosecutor in America” and “the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”
No doubt suited for a top job is Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist who served on the National Security Council and in the Defense Department. Patel has said he would use a second Trump term to go after those in the media and government who supposedly conspired to help Joe Biden “rig” the 2020 election. “We’re going to come after you,” he warned during an appearance on Bannon’s podcast. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.” Patel made the comments two days before Axios mentioned him as one of Trump’s potential picks for national security adviser or CIA director.
Miller, the architect of Trump’s migrant family separation policy, is reportedly being considered for attorney general. A shrewd operator with his own autocratic fantasies, Miller told The New York Times last month that a second Trump term would see “the vast arsenal of federal powers [unleashed] to implement the most spectacular migration crackdown.”
As for Bannon, some in Trumpworld reportedly view him as an ideal candidate for White House chief of staff. Speaking to Axios, Carlson said that Bannon has the doggedness to ensure Trump follows through on hard-to-implement campaign promises that he might otherwise desert. “Steve believes: If you said we’re building a wall, we’re building a wall,” Carlson added.
While hugely influential during the early months of Trump’s presidency, Bannon was eventually forced out and experienced a subsequent rift with Trump that is now ancient history. Since his return to right-wing media—he steered Breitbart News before serving Trump in a more direct capacity—Bannon has become something of a MAGA street prophet, spouting fanatical jeremiads about evildoers in the deep state and a war he imagines already raging within the United States. He has also used his streaming show to declare who he believes would best serve Trump in a second term. During the Tuesday interview, for instance, he fingered Patel as the probable future “head of the CIA,” shortly before asking his guest how long it would take for a reinaugurated Trump to roll out “criminal prosecutions” against their enemies.
Most of the prospective cabinet heads reported by Axios, including Patel, Miller, and Clark, would likely struggle to survive a confirmation vote should Democrats remain in control of the Senate. But it is unsurprising why Trump would feel the need to fill his cabinet with unflinching loyalists. Many of his past appointees, particularly those cut from establishment cloth, have since distanced themselves from him or issued outright disavowals and condemnations. Over the summer, NBC News asked 44 people who served in his cabinet whether they would endorse his current run for the presidency. Only four expressed their support.
Caleb Ecarma
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