My Grades of Donald J. Trump's First Few Cabinet Picks for his 2nd Administration

Secretary of State -- Marco Rubio -- A+

Eight years after they traded barbs on the Republican Presidential Debate stage, President-Elect Trump has changed his tune on the three term Republican Senator from Florida and rightly so. While moderate Republican voters who tossed their vote on the Trump pile, (like myself), might be nervous about some of his cabinet picks, Rubio provides some comfort as potentially one of the most qualified nominees Trump has put forward. Rubio has been outspokenly supportive of America-First foreign policy throughout his tenure on the Senate, never shying away from calling out the communist regimes in China, Venezuela, and the one his grandfather fled in Cuba. Rubio is the first Hispanic-American to be nominated for Secretary of State, and the first non-caucasian to be given the nomination since George W. Bush nominated Condoleezza Rice in 2005. Rubio will also easily get through the Senate confirmation process where many of his current peers will vote to approve him, potentially including some Democrats, as Pennsylvania's John Fetterman has already stated he will vote to approve Rubio's nomination. As Secretary of State, Rubio will serve as the highest ranking diplomat in the United States besides the President himself, and I feel Rubio will do this job quite well.

For some additionally interesting information: Rubio defeated the incumbent Governor of Florida, Republican Charlie Crist in his first bid for the Senate seat. Rubio is married to a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, and together they have four children.

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Secretary of Defense -- Pete Hegseth -- C+

When the news broke that Donald Trump had selected a decade long television commentator to run the U.S. Defense Department, it caught many by surprise. This shouldn't be as surprising to those who voted for a decades long television star for President.

As uncomfortable a notion as this seems for most Trump opponents, Hegseth has held an extensive military career prior to his nomination, holding the rank of Major. Rather than selecting a puppet for the Military Industrial Complex, like many in the Pentagon and holding high rank in the Joint Chiefs; Trump selected a non-MIC connected veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces with combat experience. This is exactly the type of man George Washington sought for the position of Secretary of War (the less politically correct precursor to Secretary of Defense), and frankly that to me seems far better than the continuation of the disastrously-run Defense Department under the Biden Administration.

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Attorney General -- Matt Gaetz -- F

Perhaps no more controversial right-wing politician exists in American politics, besides Trump himself, than Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. Gaetz record of controversy includes accusations of involvement in sex trafficking, DUIs, and House Ethics investigations. Obviously, Trump voters didn't support the man because he prides himself on keeping the most ethically and morally correct company, but Gaetz is a new low, even for Trump.

Gaetz popularity among Republicans is low, because of his role in the extended soap opera surrounding the Speaker of the House, which almost gave the gavel back to the Democrats who were without a majority.

It's a disappointing selection for the man running the Justice Department, and feeds the fear we are likely to see continued political weaponization of the Justice Department, just against Democrats instead of Trump and his allies. A sad possibility for those like myself who hoped Trump would rise above seeking vengeance on the Democrats responsible for his phony convictions.

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Secretary of Homeland Security -- Kristi Noem -- B-

At one point a favorite to get the nod to be Vice President, the Governor of South Dakota has instead gotten the nomination to take over for the disastrous Alejandro Mayorkas in running the Department of Homeland Security. (Noem lost her shot at becoming just the 2nd female Vice President in U.S. History, over her stance as a staunch abolitionist of abortion and the confession in her memoir that she had shot and killed her healthy pet dog.)

Noem, a rancher and cowgirl who emulates the fictional Governor John Dutton of Montana in TV's Yellowtone, will have little involvement with abortion and dogs in her role at Homeland, and instead will likely spend the next four years focused on helping Trump in his goal of securing the southern border. Noem is wildly popular in South Dakota, and will likely be an effective leader in the fight against the border crisis, hopefully helping Trump achieve his goal.

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Secretary of Health and Human Services - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - B+

This nomination is sure to make headlines, the former Democratic Presidential Candidate got the cabinet nod from Republican President-Elect Trump after dropping his rather successful independent campaign to endorse the controversial ex-President. Kennedy is the son of former Attorney General and Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who was murdered in 1968.

RFK Jr.'s decision to endorse Trump and campaign on his behalf with a promise to "Make America Healthy Again," came as a surprise to many, and likely helped send some more swing voters back into the Trump camp and help drive him to what ended up being nearly a landslide victory.

What will a Kennedy-led Health Department look like? Well that's yet to be seen. Kennedy has been controversially tied to some anti-vaccine rhetoric in the past which makes him in this role scary to some. But truthfully, an anti-Big Pharma candidate running the Health Department could lead to changes that benefit the health of Americans on a broad scale. This added with his views on pure food and clean water will make him unpopular with the media and executives, but I see the potential for Kennedy being the most influential and popular Health Secretary in U.S. History, depending on which of his policies go in place. Kennedy's H.H.S. will probably give an idea of what Theodore Roosevelt's Administration would have looked like when dealing with the modern food and drug industries.

Questions of Kennedy's character have shown that he is historically a wild-card. It is safe to imagine his Senate confirmation hearings will be rather amusing, but with the other Trump cabinet nominees so far, that's sure to be par for the course.

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Secretary of the Interior -- Doug Burgum -- B

The software billionaire has been twice elected the Governor of North Dakota with more than 65% of the vote in both elections. Burgum has been outspoken on Energy, so much so that it was the core issue of his short-lived 2024 Presidential campaign. To many's surprise, Burgum is not headed for the position of Energy Secretary, but rather to manage the fifth oldest current department of the U.S. Executive branch.

The Interior Department oversees natural resources and federal land, while also managing native territorial agreements. Burgum has been outspokenly Pro-American oil and Energy, and now he will have the power to open up federal land to drilling. Domestic oil production can drastically help the American economy, but hopefully it will not deplete our natural resources in search of that economic prosperity. The Geography and Natural Ecology of America is perhaps one of its greatest qualities, and that needs to preserved just as much as the American economy.

Hopefully Burgum can manage this balance better than the previous administration's heavy tilt against the economy, but I fear a potential overcorrection.

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Secretary of Veteran's Affairs -- Doug Collins -- B+

The former Georgia congressman's appointment as VA Secretary is yet another surprise from the 2nd Cabinet of Donald Trump, but likely one of little controversy. Collins has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy Air Force reserves and spent five months in Iraq in 2008. During his tenure in Congress he did not serve on any Committees relating to Veterans and was relatively quiet on military issues. Instead, he was outspoken on supporting President Trump against impeachment and other issues; likely showing his appointment is based more on Trump-loyalty than specific achievement, which fits the tune of this cabinet.

Collins' VA policies will likely match Trump's desires, which should actually be pretty good for Vets. In an interview on Veteran's Day before his announced nomination, Collins said the "system is broken" and needs to go back to "putting patients first." The VA sees little change from administration to administration, but Collins will likely implement policies that help vets have more freedom and choice in their healthcare, as President-Elect Trump has pledged as well.

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Non-Cabinet Level Officials

Susie Wiles -- Chief of Staff -- A-

The first female Chief of Staff in Presidential History, Wiles will not need to be confirmed by the Senate to complete her transition from Campaign manager to White House manager. Wiles was responsible for a successful campaign, and hopefully will continue to be effective with keeping Trump under control when he returns to the Oval Office.

Tulsi Gabbard -- Director of National Intelligence -- A+

This is my favorite of Trump's nominations besides Secretrary-designate Rubio. Gabbard started as a Trump critic, and ran for President as a Democrat in 2020. According to polls, Gabbard was likely single-handedly responsible for Kamala Harris being eliminated from the 2020 race. Gabbard's record as a Congresswoman from Hawaii was stellar, and makes her extremely appealing to moderates and independents alike.

Gabbard, an ex-military woman known for not fearing walking the line as both a Democrat and a Republican, will likely bring wide-sweeping change in intelligence. This change is much needed as the involvement of the Military Industrial Complex's for-profit involvement in intelligence leading to disaster all over the globe for the last 60 years might be reaching its end. From Cuba to Iraq, the American image has been destroyed while members of our military was violently killed on the basis of bad intelligence. Gabbard, an outsider and known opponent of the MIC, has a chance to make American intelligence the best it has been perhaps, ever.

Elise Stefanik -- UN Ambassador -- A

Stefanik is one of Congress' more moderate Republicans, and has a history of being unafraid to oppose Trump, which makes her stand out amongst a cabinet of brown-nosing. These are exactly the kinds of foreign policy advisors the 47th President will need around him to truly give him the best opportunity to make informed decisions on the world stage.

John Ratcliffe -- CIA Director -- B-

Although Ratcliffe is a politician in nature, during his tenure as Intelligence Director in the first term of Trump he didn't burn the house down. Ratcliffe is a little more political than the types of individuals I prefer to run Intelligence agencies, but working alongside Gabbard, hopefully Ratcliffe can be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Lee Zeldin -- EPA Director -- D

This pick is disheartening for environmentalists and the stuff of liberal nightmares. Zeldin has regularly been rated one of Congress' least environmentally friendly members, and has said his goals for the term is to "slash red tape" and help fix the American economy. I, like many Trump voters, want to see the President-Elect make the American economy "Great Again."

That being said, we can fix the economical issues in our country without causing environmental issues. The belief that it is an either or issue is political misinformation perpetuated by both sides to make the American people feel that they have to chose. In the end, Liberal "environmentalist" EPA policies and Conservative "economy-first" EPA policies both line someones pockets, it is just a matter of who's.