Trump Looks for Loyalty as He Staffs New Administration

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

65% : In 2016, Trump filled much of his team with high-powered business leaders, many of whom had worked in the industries they were tasked with regulating.
58% : But he delivered a key endorsement for Trump and helped the Republican broaden his electoral appeal.
53% : Trump also tried to surround himself with a cadre of military brass he liked to refer to as "my generals."
52% : "When he was elected the first time," Trump "didn't have that kind of wealth of experience in D.C. or the relationships with people in Washington," said Marc Lotter, a former aide who now works at America First Policy Institute, which is closely tied to his transition.
48% : Bearing grievance, an appetite for retribution and a list of those he wants to target, Trump will enter office with far fewer guardrails and checks on his power than last time.
48% : Aides say Trump is choosing people he believes are committed to his America First agenda and those he thinks can best execute on it, and he delights that even his controversial picks are already shaking up Washington.
47% : "Now, Lotter said of Trump, "if he makes a decision, he wants them to execute on it.
47% : The degree to which Trump faced pushback from his own appointees was often a reflection of the extraordinary nature of his orders.
45% : As he works to fill his administration a second time, Trump has turned to a head-spinning mix of candidates.
39% : Other times, they dragged their feet, hoping Trump would forget what he'd ordered and move on to something else.
39% : Kennedy was a staunch opponent of the very COVID-19 vaccines whose production Trump jumpstarted in 2020.
37% : This time, Trump has gone in a very different direction.
34% : His first term was filled with examples of aides who tried to outmaneuver Trump by slow-walking or ignoring directives they saw as ill-advised.
33% : As He Staffs His Second-Term Administration, Trump Looks for Loyalty Above AllDonald Trump spent much of his first term feeling stung and betrayed by those he'd placed in power.
29% : But critics fear Trump is building an administration designed to root out any significant internal pushback to his policies and impulses.
25% : In his first term, Trump grated at efforts by aides and advisers to "manage" the newcomer to Washington and grew frustrated by the leaks that emanated from rival factions engaged in ideological warfare and competing for his ear.
23% : One major example came just weeks before leaving office: Trump signed informal paperwork drafted by some of his political aides ordering all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan immediately, only to face intense pushback from his national security team.
18% : Trump has long said the biggest mistake of his first term was choosing the wrong people.

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