Trump nominates additional staff: right-wing cabinet is taking shape

Washington/Berlin taz | The future US government of election winner Donald Trump is taking further shape. Three more nominations for senior government positions were confirmed on Monday, while two more are previously unconfirmed media reports.

Trump’s long-time companion and former advisor Stephen Miller is to become the new deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller, 39, made a name for himself as an anti-immigration activist during Trump’s first term in office. Under his leadership, the so-called “travel ban” was created in 2017, a series of decrees with which the Trump administration severely restricted the entry of foreigners from some predominantly Muslim countries.

Miller is one of the worst xenophobic rhetoricians in the Trump environment. In 2019, a former employee of the right-wing extremist online portal Breitbart Hundreds of emails from Miller were published in which he spread right-wing extremist positions and conspiracy theories.

After Trump’s election defeat four years ago, Miller founded the advocacy group America First Legal, which helped develop “Project 2025,” the 900-page blueprint for a conservative, authoritarian design of Donald Trump’s second term in office, which was coordinated by the Heritage Foundation.

Conservative hardliner for internal security

As deputy chief of staff for policy, the division of responsibilities between Miller and chief of staff Susan Wiles seems clear: Miller is responsible for developing policy goals and measures, Wiles for implementation.

Another confirmed nomination: Trump will nominate Kristi Noem, the conservative governor of South Dakota, as secretary of Homeland Security. At this point, too, a conservative hardliner will ensure that the Trump administration’s announced isolation and deportation policy is implemented.

Noem is known to most Americans through a book: In “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” she describes, among other things, how she shot her hunting dog as a teenager because the “ “was untrainable”. She later said in interviews that she wanted to use the anecdote to make it clear that she was absolutely capable of making and implementing even difficult decisions.

Next in line: Former Republican New York MP Lee Zeldin is set to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which Trump would like to completely dissolve. On Monday, Zeldin said on Fox News that he would roll back “left-wing” regulations and focus on generating economic prosperity.

What will become of Richard Grenell?

Reported by several media outlets, but not yet officially confirmed, were reports that Republican Senator Marco Rubio could become the new Secretary of State and Representative Mike Waltz could become National Security Advisor. Both come from Florida, both are considered hardliners, especially against China and Iran. Rubio also stood out with tougher rhetoric against Venezuela. He ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican primaries, but later loyally submitted.

The future of the former US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, remains unclear. During his two years in Berlin under Trump, he brought diplomacy between the two countries to a virtual standstill and declared that his mission was to build up European rights. He is considered destined for an important foreign policy position.