Trump is filling his administration with former rivals. Here’s why that could matter

President-elect Donald Trump is filling his incoming administration with an unprecedented number of former rivals, many of whom were once highly critical of him.

Since winning the election, Trump has tapped at least a half dozen one-time political opponents — as defined by people who ran for president against him — to Cabinet and other high level positions.

This approach could foster debate and disagreement within his administration on a wide range of issues, political experts said. But, many believe dissent is unlikely given that they claim Trump’s old opponents have become ardent loyalists.

Team of former rivals

If confirmed by the Senate, Trump’s Cabinet will be filled with more former rivals than any president in recent memory, experts told McClatchy News.

These would be: Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Doug Burgum as secretary of the interior.

All four of them, when campaigning for president, expressed varying degrees of criticism toward Trump.

When Rubio ran for the Republican party nomination in 2016, he labeled Trump a “con artist.” Gabbard, while running for the Democratic party nomination in 2019, attacked Trump on foreign policy, saying in a debate, “This president and his chickenhawk Cabinet have led us to the brink of war with Iran.”

Similarly, when Kennedy ran for president as an independent in 2024, he castigated Trump on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he “presided over the greatest restriction on individual liberties this country has ever known.”

Burgum, who ran for the Republican party nomination in 2023, was less critical, though he called the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 “reprehensible.”

Trump has also elevated former rivals to other key posts in his administration.

For example, he tapped Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead a newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Ramaswamy ran for the Republican party nomination in 2024, during which time he occasionally clashed with Trump. He described him as “wounded” and said he had been “duped” by the Washington establishment.

Similarly, Trump nominated Mike Huckabee to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel. Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, ran for the Republican party nomination in 2016, around which time he likened Trump to “a car wreck.”

Expert analysis

The addition of these old rivals — many of whom have strong personalities — could have several effects on the incoming administration, David Lewis, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, told McClatchy News.

“These are not shrinking violet kinds of people, and they do have different views from one another,” Lewis said. “So there will be some ideological and policy disagreements in the Cabinet.”

This would not be unprecedented for Trump.

“In the first administration, there was some reporting suggesting there were big internal fights between prominent people in the administration, and that the president kind of liked that,” Lewis said.

He added that Trump could benefit by absorbing the supporters of his one-time opponents, who represent various factions within the Republican party and beyond.

Multiple political experts, however, including Lewis, were hesitant to attribute major significance to Trump’s move.

Jim King, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wyoming, told McClatchy News that many of the president-elect’s “so-called rivals were never real threats to Trump’s ambitions…”

“The inclusion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard doesn’t represent a traditional ‘former rival’ dynamic — they didn’t run against Trump directly but instead served as critics of the Democratic Party, often positioning themselves as foils to Trump’s opponent,” Matthew McDermott, a Democratic strategist, told McClatchy News.

“Rubio, meanwhile, ran against Trump eight years ago in 2016, a distant political past that underscores just how long Trump has dominated the American political landscape,” he added.

Further, while they were critical of Trump in the past, these individuals have since publicly expressed their support for him and key aspects of his agenda, experts said.

For example, Kennedy — who has a lengthy history of criticizing Trump — praised many of his policy plans after endorsing him in August, according to CNN.

Additionally, “Rubio supported the Trump administration on 97% of the votes before the Senate in 2017-2020 and voted ‘not guilty’ on Trump’s impeachments,” King said.

He’s also recently defended Trump’s stance on the Ukraine-Russia war, calling for it to be brought to an end through a negotiated settlement, according to Politico.

“It seems that Trump is willing to forgive any number of outspoken insults to him, as long as the person changes their tune and praises him sufficiently,” James Pfiffner, an emeritus professor of public policy at George Mason University, told McClatchy News.

In response to a request from McClatchy News about Trump’s elevation of old rivals to key positions, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team said that “his Cabinet picks reflect his priority to put America First.”

“President Trump will continue to appoint highly-qualified men and women who have the talent, experience, and necessary skill sets to Make America Great Again,” the spokesperson said.

This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Trump is filling his administration with former rivals. Here’s why that could matter."