Trump’s MAGA coalition bridges culture, conviction; common link among nominees is loyalty

President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one of the most ideologically diverse in U.S. history, a mix of conflicting worldviews and varied backgrounds that will bring a range of perspectives to his MAGA agenda.

If Mr. Trump’s nominees are confirmed, Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose family is American Democratic royalty, will work alongside Vice President J.D. Vance, who was born into poverty with a drug-addicted mother. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was heavily criticized for her record on LGBTQ issues as South Dakota governor, will attend Cabinet meetings with openly gay Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Mr. Kennedy’s pro-choice stance clashes with the beliefs of Mr. Trump’s evangelical supporters. Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer is so pro-union that her views align more closely with those of President Biden than her future boss.

“This Cabinet reflects the new coalition that sent him to the White House,” said historian Craig Shirley. “They are from all different walks of life. Kennedy is from a society of culture and privilege, while J.D. Vance is not, and even [Defense Secretary nominee] Pete Hegseth represents a different portion of American society.”

Mr. Trump’s assembly of ideological rivals resembles a European-style coalition government in which those with different viewpoints partner to run the country.

The administration will have plenty of establishment conservatives, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz.

It will also include a new breed of Republicans who strongly support Mr. Trump’s MAGA movement, such as Mr. Hegseth, border czar Tom Homan, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and disaffected Democrats such as Mr. Kennedy and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Mr. Bessent raised money for Democrat Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000 and served as chief investment officer for the firm run by liberal billionaire and campaign donor George Soros.

Traditional conservatives have bristled at some of the appointments. Mr. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, said Mr. Kennedy’s abortion views are “deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans,” and former Ambassador Nikki Haley called Ms. Gabbard a “Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer.”

The selection of Mr. Kennedy, a Democrat who launched an independent bid for the White House, marks the first time a president has chosen a Cabinet member from the opposite party since Bill Clinton nominated Republican William S. Cohen as defense secretary.

“Since [President] Kennedy’s death and over the years, Cabinets have become less and less bipartisan just as Congress itself has become less and less bipartisan,” Mr. Shirley said.

Mr. Trump’s picks also include notable firsts. Susie Wiles, his former campaign manager, will become the first female White House chief of staff, Mr. Bessent will become the highest-ranking openly gay official in U.S. history, and Kash Patel will be the first person of color to run the FBI.

Some fear inevitable arguments. Mr. Kennedy has called for significant changes to the farming industry, but Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins worked at think tanks that advocate for agricultural interests. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s pro-union views may not find much support with Mr. Bessent and Russ Vought, the incoming director of the Office of Management and Budget, who are fiscal conservatives.

MAGA influencers have called Mr. Rubio a neocon who supports overseas intervention.

Christopher Whipple, who has written books about presidential chiefs of staff, said the ideology of Cabinet secretaries is overblown because Mr. Trump ultimately sets the agenda. He said President Nixon had the last administration in which Cabinet secretaries held significant influence.

“Cabinet secretaries are important, but the notion that you are going to sit around the Cabinet room cross-pollinating and sharing ideas about how to govern is a fantasy. That doesn’t happen,” he said.

Mr. Whipple said the Cabinet members’ diverse ideologies are overshadowed by their overwhelming loyalty to Mr. Trump.

After being condemned and ultimately denounced by some of his first-term officials, the president-elect prioritizes loyalty over experience.

Mr. Hegseth, who served during the Iraq War, will be tasked with running the Defense Department and its $850 billion budget. Another career television personality, Dr. Mehmet Oz, was picked to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Mr. Trump chose two of his former defense attorneys for high-level Justice Department positions.

“Trump’s rewarding loyalty, but none of them will last past the day they decide to buck Trump,” said Mr. Whipple, pointing to several officials from Mr. Trump’s first administration who were quickly fired after challenging him.

Another theme that runs through Mr. Trump’s appointments is his embrace of people who share his contempt for government bureaucracy and mismanagement. Mr. Hegseth has blasted the military as woke, and critics of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic will lead the central health agencies.

Mr. Trump and his allies have talked about abolishing entire agencies, including the Education Department, which has been in the crosshairs of Republicans for decades. Billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are searching for $2 trillion to cut from the federal budget. Mr. Ramaswamy told Fox News that this could be accomplished through “mass reductions” of employees and said some government agencies could be “deleted outright.”

Perhaps no one in the Trump Cabinet symbolizes the ideological differences more than Ms. Chavez-DeRemer, an outlier in the Republican Party because of her strong union support.

Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination was championed by the Teamsters union, whose president, Sean O’Brien, spoke at the Republican National Convention as rank-and-file members abandoned the Democratic Party for Mr. Trump’s coalition. During her run for reelection this year, she won the support of about 20 labor unions, though her bid was unsuccessful.

She was one of three Republicans who sponsored a 2023 bill that would have protected workers seeking to organize union representation from retribution or firing.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers who offends many Republicans, lauded Mr. Trump’s appointment, saying Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s support for workers was “significant.” The conservative Job Creators Network, which often voices support for Mr. Trump’s policies, called her “unfit” and accused Republicans of selling out to labor unions.

Mr. Shirley said this shows that Mr. Trump is willing to listen to opposing points of view.

“Cabinets tend to reflect the character of the president, and Trump’s picks appear to say a lot about his security in himself to pick people who are going to challenge him,” Mr. Shirley said.