All Changes: Destroyer
Many of President Trump’s appointees have been given roles designed to actively challenge the status quo.
The president-elect has picked specific battles in each area he oversees: Kennedy at the Department of Health and Human Services and Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Health and welfare services
“Ultra-processed foods are driving the obesity epidemic. If we put President Trump back in the White House and put me back in Washington, we can fix our broken food system and make America healthy again. ”
President Trump chose a longtime lawyer and environmental activist from one of the most prominent Democratic families in the country.
Although he is not a medical doctor, he will have broad powers over U.S. federal health agencies, including the agency that oversees the approval of vaccines he wants to consider for use.
Some of President Kennedy’s stated goals, such as water fluoridation, are tied to misinformation.
On other issues, such as scrutiny of the food system and the use of additives, he has more public support.
Kennedy initially sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024, but has since switched to running solo for the White House.
He ultimately abandoned that campaign and endorsed the former president, cementing an unlikely alliance that could land him a key position in Trump’s cabinet, pending Senate confirmation.
Tulsi Gabbard
national information
“(Trump) has demonstrated the courage we expect from our commander-in-chief…to see war as a last resort and to have the courage to meet adversaries, dictators, allies, and partners alike in the pursuit of peace. Ta.”
Gabbard, a military veteran who served in the medical corps in Iraq, has routinely opposed U.S. foreign policy.
In 2017, while a Democratic congresswoman, she met with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and questioned U.S. intelligence assessments that accused him of using deadly chemical weapons.
After Russia invaded Ukraine five years later, she denounced NATO and echoed the Kremlin’s claims that there was a U.S.-funded biolab in Ukraine.
Her transition from a left-wing supporter of Bernie Sanders to a vocal supporter of Trump has been an unusual political move.
However, her anti-establishment and anti-interventionist stance remained consistent throughout.
Analysis: Use of bomb throwing
Kennedy and Gabbard may be among the most staunch supporters of President Trump’s plan to dismantle the bureaucratic “deep state.” Both appointees are frequently involved in intrigue. But bomb throwers can also make unruly subordinates. President Kennedy wants to tighten regulations across the food and agriculture industry, which could conflict with President Trump’s policy of criticizing the government. And Gabbard, a fierce critic of American power, will work for a president who is not afraid to use it against, say, Iran.
