It might have been hard to notice buried within Trump's complaints about Hamilton and the "news" of him hanging out with Kanye, but the president elect has recently started a very important step in the process of taking office. He has begun to announce his choices of the people he is choosing to make up his cabinet as well as his choices to head some very important federal departments and agencies. So far these choices include Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, Scott Pruit as EPA administrator, Jame Mattis as Secretary of Defense, and Trump's former competitor in the presidential race Ben Carson as Secretary for Housing and Development. The president's cabinet serve as the top advisors to the president and have a large influence on the policies that the president advocates, especially American foreign relations policies. Because of this, Trump's decisions so far have many people, including myself, concerned about what kind of policies his administration will pull for.
Rex Tillerson has a long career as an international businessman but, like Trump himself, he has no prior experience with politics, international or otherwise. As Secretary of State it will be Tillerson's responsibility to head and organize the State Department as well as represent U.S. interests to foreign governments and to advise the president on action to take in regards to international affairs. Tillerson's position as CEO has given him as close relationship with many governments, however this is not necessarily a good thing. In response to Russia's involvement in the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, many governments including the U.S. motioned to press economic sanctions on the country. The aggressive foreign policy of Russia apparently doesn't bother Tillerson, however, as he has made both his friendship with Russia and his disapproval with the sanctions quite clear. His company's interest in the Russian oil industry to the extent that he is willing to alienate close U.S. allies in Western Europe suggests that Tillerson may not act in the best interest of America as Secretary of State, but rather in the best interest of large, multinational corporations like the one he currently heads.
The critiques of Trump's cabinet also include concerns about the domestic policy of his administration. The man that the president elect has chose as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, is an attorney with close ties to the fossil fuel industry. Like Trump Pruitt has been very vocal about his criticism of the opinion that the overuse of fossil fuels is contributing to global climate change, an opinion that is supported by a majority of scientists trained in the field. Pruitt has also made a career out of supporting companies in their attempts to reduce regulations that attempt to insure clean and safe air and drinking water for Americans. Trump has stated more than once that he plans to dismantle the E.P.A. and back out of the Paris Agreements, a multinational agreement to combat climate which was supported by former U.S. government representatives.
