Extremists and lunatics as ministers Trump's cabinet pieces make established Republicans tremble

It was already known before the election that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, would play a role in Donald Trump's cabinet. But the fact that people like Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth would become ministers comes as a surprise.

It has become apparent: Donald Tump is entering his second term in office much better prepared than he was in 2016. In contrast to his first election victory, his team is prepared - and nine days after the election has already filled several positions in the new cabinet.

There have been some nominations that have surprised the public and shocked the establishment. Naturally, there is also controversy surrounding them. The following list shows where there is resistance, what the contexts are and which people have left the general public gulping empty.

The fact that his appointment is controversial is shown by the reaction to the news in his own party: "When Matt Gaetz was announced by Donald Trump as Attorney General, there was an audible gasp in the room where Republicans from the House of Representatives were waiting," writes US journalist Emily Brooks.

What is the reason for this reaction? Gaetz's image was tarnished in 2020 when his longtime friend and partner Joel Greenberg was arrested. In 2021, he pleads guilty to 6 of 33 charges and admits to having sex with minors in exchange for payment. Greenberg cooperates with the FBI to mitigate his sentence.

The authorities are therefore also investigating Gaetz from 2020: it concerns sex with a 17-year-old in 2019 and drug use. However, the police investigation was closed in February 2023 - allegedly because two witnesses were not credible enough. Gaetz denies having done anything wrong.

However, the Ethics Committee in the House of Representatives remains on the ball. Gaetz therefore put pressure on the Speaker of the House of Representatives - and in October 2023 obtained the dismissal of his party colleague from the third highest office in the USA - after President and Vice-President.

"I'll tell you the truth about why I'm no longer Speaker," says Kevin McCarthy in April 2024. "Because one person wanted me to stop an ethics investigation because he slept with a 17-year-old girl. An investigation that started before I even became speaker. And that's illegal and I don't want to be dragged into it."

In order to avoid a continuation of the investigation, the 42-year-old has now even resigned his seat in the House of Representatives. The fact that Trump now wants to make him Attorney General of all people "astounds" even his own party, according to the Guardian. Republican Max Miller speaks of a "reckless choice": "I think he has a zero percent chance of getting through the Senate [for confirmation]." However, it is highly unlikely that Trump will even have his controversial ministerial nominees confirmed by Congress: due to an existing exemption, he could also appoint all of them when Congress and the House of Representatives are not in session.

The Pentagon is one of the most important ministries in the USA. The Secretary of Defense commands the strongest army in the world, handles vast sums of money and has to manage a huge, complicated bureaucracy. Despite the gravity of this office, Trump has opted for a man who has no political experience: Pete Hegseth is known as the presenter of the weekend edition of the TV show "Fox & Friends".

Hegseth studied at Princeton and Harvard. He has worked for Fox News since 2014. At the very least, the 44-year-old has been gaining military experience as a member of the National Guard since 2003: he is a major in the reserves and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fox News colleagues are enthusiastic about the nomination: "He hasn't spent his career climbing the ladder at the Pentagon, swimming in the swamp of Washington D.C. and selling his soul for a badge on his uniform. Instead, he's done a job away from that, in which he's become a philosophy warrior in the style of [Roman Emperor] Marcus Aurelius or Alexander the Great."

Hegseth is against women fighting in the army. When he is a guest on the "Shawn Ryan Show" on Nov. 7, he talks about what needs to happen at the Pentagon now. He wants to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "Any general, admiral, who was involved in any DEI woken SCH**** has to go."

DEI stands for the English words diversity, equality and inclusion. Such programs should disappear from the military just like CRT - critical race theory. This fits in with a report in the Wall Street Journal, according to which Trump wants to issue an executive order to weed out officers who are too woke for him as soon as he takes office. The decree, which puts all generals to the test, is already in the works.

The loyalty test is not going down well with those affected. "The military is run by civilians, but politics should be kept out of it," says a lieutenant general to the specialist publication "Military"."It could be very difficult for us to do our job if we have to constantly make sure we appease someone at the political level."

"Elon's not going home," Trump jokes about Musk in Washington on November 13. "I can't get rid of him - at least until I don't like him anymore."

What is meant to be funny has a real background: the richest man in the world will take on an important role under Trump. Together with Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also a billionaire, Musk is to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

This entails a number of conflicts of interest, as Musk has contracts with authorities such as the Ministry of Defense. On the other hand, in his role he could deregulate sectors in which he himself is active.

Furthermore, the native South African participates - sometimes actively - in phone calls between Trump and foreign heads of state, even though he does not have the relevant security clearance. On the other hand, an institution like the EU could run into problems if it continues to check whether Musk's Platform X is spreading hate or violating rules.

But rules currently seem to carry little weight. For example, the law stipulates that a President-elect and his team must have access to the institutions before taking office if they sign an ethics agreement. So far, however, the incoming president has no desire to do so.