Trump’s Cabinet
As members of the Trump cabinet are confirmed by Congress and rumors of how their policies will shape our country occupy the headlines of most major publications, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. Unfortunately, according to Vox, there isn’t much of a big picture to examine. As of February 21st, President Trump has failed to nominate 515 of the 549 major positions for Senate confirmation into his administration. However, of the 14 who have been confirmed, this is a short list of members of Donald Trump’s cabinet who will be in close contact with the president himself, as well as have a strong influence on the lives of students in places like New York City.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Price – Confirmed
An orthopedic surgeon of 20 years, Tom Price’s experience in healthcare is undeniable. Paired with 6 terms of political experience in congress, there is no doubt of his eligibility to fill the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump Administration. According to the New York Times, Price is a firm opposer of Obamacare, and has worked for years to block the Affordable Care Act. In place of the ACA, Price has made multiple suggestions of replacement bills that, according to him, would provide more room for decisions to be made between doctors and their patients.
As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Price is the overseer of all health-related federal agencies such as the FDA, CDC, and NIH. He now also will be the main advisor on topics such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Secretary of Education, Besty DeVos – Confirmed
Betsy DeVos has been an advocate for giving parents more choice for education for their children for decades. A long-time contributor to American Federation for Children, DeVos has invested much time and money in a voucher system that would direct public funds that would normally go to a child’s public education towards a private school tuition.
According to the Washington Post, In her home state of Michigan, Betsy DeVos has worked mostly in increasing the number of schools open to families outside of their zip codes, yet there is a notable pattern of the quality in education in these areas dropping, according to standardized test scores. Whether this pattern would be reflected in a larger-scale plan is yet to be seen, but it’s also possible that DeVos will use information from past attempts to make an improved voucher plan.
Attorney General, Jeff Sessions – Confirmed
Jeff Sessions was one of the first republicans to endorse Donald Trump in the presidential election. Sessions was a senator and attorney general in the state of Alabama. According to the Washington Post, Sessions is known to be harshly opposed not only to illegal immigration, but has also been known to fight against laws that encouraged documented immigration as well. Sessions believes that what America should be doing right now is focusing on “immigration moderation;” being extremely selective about who is allowed into the country and why to ensure that the job market is not affected by incoming immigrants.
Throughout his political career, one of Session’s greatest flaws has been his tendency to make racist comments or jokes. According to statements made by his colleagues, this includes claiming that he thought that the Klu Klux Klan was “okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana,” as well as using racial slurs in his day-to-day speech. It was these statements that cost him a seat as a federal judge. Defending himself, Sessions stated that he is “not racist” and “not insensitive to blacks.”
However, unlike many of his colleagues within the Trump administration, Sessions has been known to work across the aisle with people of other parties, a quality that could prove extremely helpful to democrats in the upcoming years.
Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson – Confirmed
A former chief executive of the oil company ExxonMobil, Tillerson is certainly an unusual pick for such a vital and esteemed position in the Trump cabinet. Tillerson is the least politically experienced of Trump’s final three choices which included former Mitt Romney and Sen. Bob Corker. His work at the multi-billion dollar company has taken him across the world, providing him with an awareness that could help him as Secretary of State, a job that focuses mainly on foreign relations and visits to different countries. According to the Washington Post, Tillerson has received praise from Russian president Vladimir Putin that has raised some suspicion of a conflict of interest due to his ties to the country, adding yet another layer to the questions around ties between the Trump administration and the Russian government.
Despite his obvious ties to the oil industry, Tillerson has acknowledged scientific studies and research that tie pollution and fossil fuel emission and climate change together, an admission that sets Tillerson apart from President Trump. This acknowledgement, as public as it was, provides a hope for environmental activists that there are at least some members of the Trump cabinet that do not deny the threat of global warming.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Scott Pruitt – Confirmed
Scott Pruitt, as the former Attorney General of Oklahoma, has a firm background of political experience. Appointing Pruitt as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator was a very controversial decision for which President Trump has faced a lot of backlash from the Democratic party in particular. Pruitt is an adamant believer that climate change due to global warming does not exist and is known to have close ties with major oil and energy producers. This policy poses a threat to the efforts that the Obama administration has made towards a global agreement on environmental protection, most notably in the Paris Agreements made in 2015 that involved a unified effort to decrease the human effect on climate change. According to the New York Times, Scott Pruitt is a smart and well-connected politician who was known during his time as Attorney General of Oklahoma for his ability to band together with other attorneys general to form alliances over certain policies. This tendency could help him to gain support in a field of government that is particularly politically polarized.
Although his appointment has caused uproar, what may be even more controversial is a bill proposed by a Republican senator of Florida to “terminate the Environmental Protection Agency” entirely. If passed, this bill would not only make Scott Pruitt’s job inconsequential, but nonexistent. This action, however, may not exactly be the kind of dismissal Pruitt’s biggest critics are hoping for.