Washington’s top Republican says President-elect Donald Trump is tapping “troublemakers” to lead his incoming administration.
“They are the ones who are going to change the status quo,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “I think that’s by design.”
Trump continues to announce officials he wants to fill senior positions in his administration, appearing to favor close allies over those with relevant policy experience.
Some of those options have already been submitted shockwaves across Washington and caused bipartisan concern. But people close to Trump say there are contingency plans if these nominees cannot muster the support needed for approval.
Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth has denied one allegations of sexual assault and his potential attorney general Matt Gaetz is at the center of an ethics scandal. His nominee for Secretary of Health, Robert F Kennedy Jr.is under scrutiny for its vaccine skepticism.
The president-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr, defended his father’s nominees on Sunday, saying on Fox News that “we know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.”
“It was about surrounding my father with capable and loyal people. They would fulfill his promises,” he said. “They are not people who think they know better as unelected officials.”
He noted that some of the nominees were “controversial” and seemed to acknowledge some could face problems in the Senate, which is tasked with vetting thousands of presidential candidates and vote to appoint them.
“We have contingency plans, but obviously we will choose the strongest candidates first,” the president-elect’s son said. “You know, some of them will be controversial because they will actually get the job done.”
Donald Trump’s most recent pick, oil executive Chris Wright, whom Trump appointed secretary of energy, has no experience in government but is an ardent supporter of fossil fuels.
Mr Wright, founder and CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, is expected to work to fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to increase fossil fuel production – a goal summarized with the campaign slogan “drill, baby, drill”.
Mr. Wright’s nomination is likely to further concern environmental activists was worried about the impact of Trump’s second term.
And it provided a clear split screen on Sunday for the historic visit by President Joe Biden, who became the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon, the largest tropical rainforest world.
AFPBiden took an aerial tour over part of the Amazon and met with local leaders and indigenous people working to preserve the region’s ecosystem before making a brief appearance in Manaus, a city located in the heart of the tropical forest.
There, Biden described the fight against climate change as “the defining cause of my presidency” and praised landmark climate legislation passed during his administration.
Democrats also pledged new financial support to protect the Amazon, including an additional $50 million contribution to the Amazon Conservation Fund, bringing the US commitment to $100 million.
And while he did not mention Trump by name, Biden appeared to hint at a successor, saying that while “some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution underway in America. ..no one, no one can reverse it”.
“The question now is which government will stand in the way and which government will seize the huge economic opportunity,” he said.
