The cabinet of the President of the United States is an extremely important and influential body. They are the main advisors and keys to power for the President, assisting him on the agenda that he tries to implement. However, when building a cabinet, there needs to be good material to work with. You wouldn’t fill a room with faulty picks the same way that you wouldn’t build your kitchen cabinet with faulty material. In my personal opinion, there are problems with the material behind this cabinet. As the 2nd Trump Administration comes to order, I grow increasingly concerned for the future.

Firstly, I want to address the concerns I have with the major four cabinet members. The Departments of State, Treasury, Justice and Defense are the first departments of our country for a reason, because they are the most important. Now I do admit, there are some choices within this cabinet that I am not too angry with. For example, the proposed heads for the State Department (Marco Rubio) and the Treasury Department (Scott Bessent) aren’t the worst. Rubio has been in government for a long time and is still an extremely prominent figure within the Republican Party, and Bessent has an extremely impressive resume, with a lot of experience within the financial sector. We begin to run into issues with the other two. Pam Bondi, while an upgrade from Matt Gaetz, still has an agenda to protect the president from legal problems that his administration is willing to create. And Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Secretary of Defense, is extremely inexperienced coming out of a media background (on top of abuse allegations against him).

Then we get to the main body of nominations. There are some that I do agree with. For example, I am glad that RFK jr. could lead the department of health and human services, because I think that just because he is a sceptic doesn’t make him the antichrist on these issues. I also agree with Doug Burgum, the nominee for the Department of Interior. Burgum is an advocate for the rights of Native Lands, and he wants to find a balance between conservation and consumption of natural resources throughout the United States, which I think is crucial to the climate crisis. However, as you get more into the meat of the choices, problems begin to occur more and more frequently.

For example, there are some inexperienced picks within the cabinet. We could talk about the NFL star set to run the department of housing, the reality TV star poised to control the department of transportation, the New York Trump Devotee with extremely little foreign policy experience, or the former Acting Attorney General with zero foreign policy experience wanting to be the NATO ambassador. But I think there is a bigger target among those who are inexperienced. Linda McMahon, former WWE CEO, may control the department of education. This choice is ridiculous and a clear sign to the Americans that she’s in a position to dismantle the department of education as Donald Trump intends to do. She has no experience in education besides teaching people how to do a fake headlock for Monday Night Raw. She’s also been mixed up with sexual violence cases against the WWE for sexual misconduct, which she has completely ignored. It is my firm belief that she is the wrong choice for the job.

Then there are people with experience, but they have bad track records following. I’m just going to list through them. Martin A. Makary could be the commissioner of the FDA, even though he has been opposed to vaccines in the past, especially during Covid. Tulsi Gabbard could lead the department of National Intelligence, even though she supported the release of Edward Snowden, a classified document leaker. Dr. Oz could lead Medicare/Medicaid; yes, you’re a doctor, but if you spend more time on TV than in the doctor’s office, it sort of shows how much you enjoyed being a doctor. Howard Lutnick could be the Secretary of Commerce, and there is a problem with all the businesses he owns, becoming a conflict of interest for the position. Kristi Noem could lead the Department of Homeland Security; no dog in America is safe. Janette Nesheiwat is a surgeon, but she’s the sister of another nominee.

Of those who are experienced, there are 3 that I take personal grievance with. The nominee for the head of the CDC, Dave Weldon, has promoted false claims that vaccines cause autism (much like RFK Jr.). If you are leading the center for disease control, there shouldn’t be such a skeptic running such a vital position; a position that needs quick responses, not debates on what we should do. Then there is the proposed leader of the EPA, Lee Zeldin; a man who has voted against clean water on numerous occasions. Lastly there is Chris Wright, the nominee for Secretary of Energy, who has publicly denounced climate change and has DOUBLED DOWN on such claims (he’s also an oil baron).

Overall, this cabinet really worries me. I wish I could say that I am optimistic for the next four years, but I really am not. I am scared that the rights of individuals whom I call friends are going to be threatened directly. I am scared that my opinions as a more moderate voice will be completely unheard. I am worried that the economy is going to skyrocket with prices (look up what Tariffs actually do), and I am worried that these cabinet members are only going to contribute to an administration bent on revenge from a loss they couldn’t deal with. There is only one thing I will give this administration, and it is that these choices are outsiders (the department of government efficiency will need to be its own article for me), but outsiders are sometimes equally as dangerous as the establishment. Tread lightly, America, this bag of apples isn’t a good one.