Trump’s Fox News Cabinet – The Atlantic
The people around Donald Trump may be ready to be on television, but not ready to lead the country.
Some presidents turn to think tanks to staff their governments. Others turned to alumni from previous White Houses. Donald Trump has turned to Fox News to fill his cabinet positions.
previous fox and friends Host Pete Hegseth was confirmed as defense secretary on Friday night, a dramatic vote worthy of cable news if not the world's most powerful fighting force. Vice President J.D. Vance had to break a tie after three Republican senators voted against Hegseth, making it the most heated vote ever for a defense secretary.
Hegseth is unlikely to be the last Fox alum in the cabinet. Former frequent guest host Pam Bondi is expected to be confirmed as attorney general, while former Fox Business host Sean Duffy is likely to be confirmed as transportation secretary. The outlook is bleaker for Fox contributor Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump nominated to be director of national intelligence. Michael Waltz, a regular on Fox, has been named national security adviser, a Cabinet-level position. The list omits senior officials appointed or nominated to senior non-Cabinet positions, such as border czar Tom Homan, FDA Commissioner-designate Marty Macari and Surgeon General-designate Janet Neshevat, all of whom Hours at Fox TV.
Unlike other traditional top appointees, this group does not represent any clear political ideology. If cabinet officials lack a commitment to any strong ideology, which means the leader is able to think for himself, then that can be a good thing. Ideologues tend to be tunnel-visioned and closed-minded, and they can create policy and political problems for the president. Unfortunately, the foxes hiding in the White House are less than encouraging. Their political histories and answers at confirmation hearings suggest less independent thinking or pragmatism than fierce loyalty to the party itself, as does their collective history at Fox News. Wherever the Republicans are, Fox also tends to be. Whether Republicans lead Fox or vice versa is not always clear or consistent. The channel was neocon during the Bush administration, tea party during the Obama administration, anti-Trump before heavily supporting Trump…and briefly Trump-skeptic again after the 2020 election attitudes, then came back into fashion. As I wrote in November, Trump and Fox have rediscovered a symbiotic relationship that has brought both parties' influence back to the top.
One reason Fox makes such a good farm team for the administration is that Trump seems to choose many of his nominees based on two criteria: their loyalty to him, and whether they look ready to be on TV. The Fox host checks both boxes, but near-blind partisanship is not an ideal trait for a presidential adviser. Cabinet officials need to be generally aligned with the president, but they also need to be willing and able to disagree and deliver difficult news — something Trump didn't appreciate in his first Cabinet. Hegseth and Gabbard do have more developed ideologies, but they are troubling: for Hegseth, there are reports of bias against Muslims, opposition to women's equality, and Christian nationalism; For their part, they report on bigotry against Muslims, opposition to women’s equality, and Christian nationalism; for Gabbard, for his part, he has a strange fondness for figures like Bashar Assad.
Many Fox alumni have little relevant experience. Hegseth was a former Army officer, but he had no other government jobs and had never run an organization as large as the Pentagon — and the one he led didn't go well. Gabbard, who has served in the Army and the U.S. House of Representatives but has no intelligence experience, was nominated to oversee the entire intelligence community. Hegseth also faced extensive personal liability, including serial infidelities, sexual assault allegations (which he strenuously denied) and numerous reports of alcohol abuse. (Equally important is Fox News's reputation for hiring turmoil—a series of serious personal scandals have occurred within its ranks over the years, many involving allegations of sexual misconduct.)
During their confirmation hearings, both Hegseth and Bundy were able to use their experience on television to smoothly answer and avoid questions they didn't want to answer. For example, Bondi dodged questions about the 2020 election that might have made her seen as an election denier or angered Trump, but the result was holes in the public's understanding of her views.
Despite their flaws, most, perhaps all, of Trump's Fox appointments will be confirmed. The president will be able to thank Fox itself for that, as the network's coverage helped cheer Republicans on for his decision. Once the cabinet is in place, its members must take on the difficult job of governing. It might not be great for the country, but it should make for good television.