The DC Swamp is right to be terrified of Trump’s new model White House

“Trump is starting to fill top positions with loyal defenders,” the moralized New York Times earlier this week. The eminent Trumpians who will shape his second administration have been announced rapidly on Trump’s Truth Social platform and in email messages to his closest supporters, and often preceded by tantalizing media reports. the returning president’s policies.

This is by design. Trump loathes and distrusts the Washington establishment, especially its Republican supporters, whom he and his supporters often deride as “Republicans in Name Only” (RINOs). During his first administration, opponents in the Washington Swamp frustrated much of his agenda. Some joined Democrats in his impeachment proceedings. Many others tried to prevent his return.

In the 2024 Republican primaries, most RINOs supported other candidates, especially Trump’s former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who lasted the longest and won one of her two primary victories in Washington, DC. Last week she was consigned to the political wilderness with the announcement that neither she nor former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was also reportedly too close to Washington, would be invited to serve in the new administration.

Significantly, much of the new team now taking shape comes from Florida, where Trump has been present since 1985 as owner of the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, and where he officially became a resident in 2019. That’s more than enough to count as a “Florida Man,” which is both a state of mind and a geographical feature in contemporary American politics.

Now Mar-a-Lago – and Palm Beach in general – is practically a shadow of the White House, which will serve as the location where Trump’s presidential transition will be headquartered for the next ten weeks before he is re-inaugurated in Washington .

Susan Williamswho co-led Trump’s presidential campaign this year, is an old hand in the state, having managed Trump’s state-level campaign in 2016, as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ successful gubernatorial campaign in 2018, before returning to Trump after an argument with DeSantis. Trump’s first major appointment was Wiles’ appointment as White House chief of staff, a Cabinet-level position that directs the flow of personnel and information to the president and advises on issues of national importance.

Within days, Trump chose another Florida loyalist, Rep. Mike Waltz join the cabinet as national security advisorthe president’s senior international affairs official. Waltz, who succeeded DeSantis in his congressional seat when he ran for governor in 2018, is a decorated career Army officer who served as a Green Beret and remains on active duty as a colonel in the National Guard. In 2024, he was among a number of Florida congressmen who supported Trump over DeSantis.

He is a strong supporter of the returning president’s tough stance on China, having said that “we are in a cold war with the Chinese Communist Party.” Waltz has also migrated to Trump’s position on Ukrainethat should encourage a negotiated peace settlement, and has voted against several bills to provide additional aid to Kiev.

Importantly, both Wiles and Waltz will hold positions filled at the president’s pleasure and not subject to Senate confirmation. The main cabinet for foreign affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is subject to Senate confirmation, and it also goes to another Florida man, Senator Marco Rubio.

Rubio, who gained valuable experience in international affairs as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, has a controversial history with Trump, who derided him as “Little Marco” when Rubio ran against him for the 2016 presidential nomination But eight years is an eternity in American politics, and Rubio has embraced Trumpism. After also endorsing the returning president this year, he has gravitated toward the national conservative camp and has spoken at the 2022 conference in Miami.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has taken a tough stance on Latin America’s left-wing regimes, shares the new administration’s antipathy to China and has abandoned his initial support for Ukraine in favor of Trump’s preference for a negotiated peace.

On Wednesday, Trump nominated another Florida loyalist, Congressman Matt Gaetzto lead the Justice Department as attorney general, specifically tasking him with combating the weaponization of federal law enforcement and supporting the administration’s larger project to close the southern border.

Florida’s rise to the forefront of national politics, however, has not gone unchecked. In a secret vote, the Republican Senate Conference on Wednesday voted down a bid from Florida’s other senator. Rick Scottto serve as leader of the party’s next majority. Scott, who is also strongly pro-Trump with solid national conservative credentials, was reportedly the favored candidate at Mar-a-Lago and was endorsed by Elon Musk at X.

Nevertheless, the time seems to have come for Floridian solutions to America’s problems.

Paul du Quenoy is a historian and president of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute.

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