Richard Arnold: US correspondent unpacks President-elect Donald Trump's unconventional Cabinet picks

Donald Trump's filling out his Cabinet - with some unconventional picks in the mix.

The President-elect's selections are raising questions over whether some people are up to the job.

It's thought locking in Trump's defence pick Pete Hesgeth and intelligence pick Tulsi Gabbard - both of Fox News - could prove difficult.

Meanwhile, US correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Pam Bondi has been put forward for Attorney General – after first pick Matt Gaetz withdrew after a slew of sexual assault accusations.

“This means that if they’re all confirmed, the top 3 officials at the Justice Department will all be people who work for Trump’s legal defence.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stateside. Richard Arld the morning to you what he mind?
Kate's out bonding in I think We're done, aren't we.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Yeah? There were a couple of others in the mix
of the weekend, but the President elect has now rolled
out the last of his florry of cabinet picks with
casting that looks well a lot like Fox News doesn't.
The two of his pic Sawn Duffy for Transportation and
Pete heg Seth chosen to run the Pentagon of Fox
News presenters straight off the airwaves. Mike Huckabee chosen for
Ambassador to Israel, had a six year contract hosting a

(00:26):
Fox News show. Tulsey Gabbard filled in for former Fox
host Tucker Culson From elsewhere in the entertainment world, Doctor
Oz hosted his TV Doctor Show for many years. Now
is chosen to oversee Medicare for Seniors and Medicaid for
the poor on TV. He was often accused of promoting
quack medical treatments. When COVID hit. He espouse the use

(00:46):
of hydroxy chloroquin at a time when he had shares
in a couple of companies that makes the anti malaria drogue. Anyway,
there is uh. Linda McMahon as well, who with her
husband helped to run the professional wrestling empire. They had
now chosen as Education Secretary, so a lot of cable
news regulars and entertainment folks. Pam Bondi was chosen quickly

(01:07):
for attorney General after the Matt Gates nomination dissolved amid
that slew of sexual abuse claims. This means that if
they are all confirmed, the top three officials at the
Justice Department will all be people who work for Trump's
legal defense in the many criminal cases he was facing
until he was re elected. Pambondi was Florida's Attorney general
and also defended Trump during his first impeachment trial. During

(01:30):
the first Trump convention, when the crowd chanted lock her up,
referring to Hillary Clinton, she said, yeah, lock her up.
I love that quote unquote. And now she says of
the Justice Department, prosecutors will be prosecuted the bad ones.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
The investigators will be investigators.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
So she is speaking there of the retiring januartor sixth
prosecutor Jack Smith, I guess and his aides. While Trump
nominee John Sour is the lawyer who argued the immunity
case for Trump before the U. S. Supreme Court. Another
recent pick is Sebastian Gorka, another Fox News regular, who
has chosen to be Deputy assistant to the President. His
advice on the Justice Department is this part.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Of my department. You identify the two worst criminals, you
arrest them, and you purp walk them out of the
building in facles like they did to Peter Navarro in
front of the CNN cameras, and they stand trial.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
So an enemy's list. Also during the election campaign, Trump
said he had no connection with what is known as
Project twenty twenty five, which calls for entire federal bureaucracy
to be placed under the president's control. It says many
government workers should be exchanged for political appointees. Trump said
during the campaign relation to this, I don't know what

(02:42):
the hell it is.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
It's Project twenty five.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
He's involved in project and then they read some of
the things that they are extreme, seriously extreme. I have
no idea what Project twenty twenty five is. I've never
read it, and then never will. But now Trump has
chosen the co author of the nine hundred page Project
twenty twenty five plan, Russell Votte, to lead the Office

(03:05):
of Management and Budget. Trump also is running his transition
team on secret money. We find, in a sharp break
from tradition, he refused to sign an agreement to limit
fundraising in return for federal funds. Trump is the first
American president to do that. Meantime, the richest man on Earth,
Elon Musk, still is hanging about Trump and Mara Lago,
and he just posted a meme on his ex or

(03:26):
Twitter platform, joking about buying the left leaning cable news
network MSNBC, which is about to be spun off by Comcast.
Here the Musk meme shows a caricature of a priest
looking luridly at at a woman with a caption lead
us not into temptation as the priest looks at a
woman's rear with a caption Elon Musk trying not to

(03:46):
buy and MSNBC is tattooed on who rear?

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Right house?

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Where are we at?

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah? This is ongoing man, pretty interesting. We've heard all
of the talk about the Trump mandate, of course and
so called landslides. Let us tally show is the Magat
team winning about forty nine point nine percent, so under
fifty percent. That means his margin over Harris was about
one point six percentage points, which is the third smaller
since eighteen eighty eight. Also, the final count still is
ongoing for the House of Reps, and Matt Gates demiers

(04:15):
could cut into the Magat team's House numbers. The present
tally shows Republicans with two hundred nineteen seats in the
DAMS two hundred and thirteen, but those numbers do not
take into account the Matt Gates departure. It will take
at least three months for replacement election for Gates. Also,
there are three outstanding House races yet to be called,
so that as well will eat into the size of

(04:36):
the Republican majority, which makes things pretty interesting politically.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
I reckon see Wednesday, Richindalds sit side Gates by the way,
could had taken a seat back once he pinged himself
out of contention seeing in clearly had something. It all
unfollowed really rapidly on Friday afternoon, seeing and clearly had
something about another person making a series of claims. He
could have gone back to a seat. He's chosen not to.
I suspect for reasons that we will become clear in time.

(05:02):
So as Richard said, they've got they're got to have
a boat to sort that one out.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
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