Former President Donald Trump and his inner circle are already mapping out who would get top slots in his second administration, reported Axios on Tuesday — and while it would be very different from his previous administration, a number of familiar names are in the mix.
According to the report, Trump has a number of people in contention for Secretary of State, including running mate runners-up Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), but also in consideration are Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) — the latter because Trump likes how "tough" he sounds on cable news.
Meanwhile, his top campaign strategists would also get roles, with Susie Wiles in contention for chief of staff, and Chris LaCivita considered for White House counselor, though that role could also go to Stephen Miller, the far-right immigration hawk who is one of the few in Trump's inner circle to stick with him through the whole first administration.
Other names include Ric Grenell, a Twitter troll who served as Trump's ambassador to Germany, for National Security Adviser.
The key theme of all these changes, according to the report, is "the increased power of populists compared to Trump's original West Wing, which included such establishment powers as former Goldman Sachs exec Gary Cohn" — as clearly evidenced by "the sway Don Jr. and Tucker Carlson had in pushing Vance over the finish line for V.P. It's not a coincidence that Don Jr. wants to screen top officials for loyalty."
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Trump has shown signs of regretting being talked into Vance as his running mate, according to reports.
The former president reportedly isn't yet clued into much of the jockeying going on in his inner circle and is focused more on campaigning, according to the report — however, he "constantly tells friends he felt burned by disloyal Cabinet officials and staff last time around," the report states.
"This time, he wants people he can trust both to implement his policies and never block his will."
