Some members of the Republican Party are growing concerned about the post-election moves they're seeing Donald Trump making as he staffs his next administration not with experts but with political loyalists, according to a report Tuesday.
According to Politico, the list of appointees is seen by some as skipping experts for political loyalists, including Gov. Kristi Noem (R-ND), who will be taking over the Department of Homeland Security. The nonpartisan group Accountable.US said Noem has no experience on the topic.
Trump made it clear on TruthSocial that there won't be people like Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo in his administration this time around.
Also Read: Governor Kristi Noem didn’t have to shoot her dog — she wanted to
The move "presents an early test of how willing fellow Republicans and other traditional GOP allies will be to accede to Trump’s demands, or whether — and how — they might take a stand against parts of his agenda," the report said.
Trump ally Mike Davis has been posting on X that he wants to see the "dead political bodies" of either Democrats or liberals, dragged "through the streets. Burn them, and throw them off the wall. (Legally, politically, and financially, of course.)"
He is being considered for attorney general or White House counsel.
Speaking to Politico, he said: “Political appointments require both competency and loyalty. You cannot have one or the other; you must have both. Trump clearly learned his lesson from his first term by picking highly competent loyalists in his second term."
Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone similarly warned him of "infiltration" by his foes.
But behind the scenes, the report said, "some Senate Republicans and aides have privately bristled at Trump’s demands that they cede power to the executive branch" — including suggestions that they approve "recess appointments" which would effectively bypass Senate approval.
“I would encourage him to work within the norms of the Senate, as frustrating as it can be,” one Republican Senate aide told Politico. “If the Democrats object to the timely processing of his nominees, proving they learned nothing from the election, there are ways for the institution to deal with that.”
