(NewsNation) — President-elect Donald Trump will assume his second non-consecutive term on Jan. 20, and now the transition team is compliling a shortlist of possible White House Cabinet members.
How will Trump 2.0 be distinct? Ex-Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro explains what he believes the President-elect will do differently this time.
“I think the lesson of the first term was it’s important to get the appointments absolutely correct. We had some folks there early on that were very, very difficult,” said former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who served from 2017 to 2021.
Some likely cabinet contenders include Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.
Others have speculated Trump may tap Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran as an independent presidential candidate earlier in the race, and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, who campaigned for him.
What Donald Trump will do differently in second White House term
Navarro was the first Trump White House official to service prison time related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and was released in July after serving a four-month sentence. He joined NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert” Wednesday to discuss how Trump might choose his Cabinet.
“I think there’s going to be a battle between the MAGA folks and the Wall Street folks,” Navarro said. “I think if you see Wall Street-type people in key places like Treasury or the National Economic Council within the West Wing, that’s going to be very, very difficult. One of the problems we had in the first term is that Wall Street was continually fighting.”
Still, Navarro said he thinks Trump will bring on veterans from the first administration.
Who could be part of Donald Trump’s second administration?
“I think what the boss is looking for, and I’ve thought about this a lot … you want somebody to be loyal to the president … who’ll be honest and blunt when need be but loyal,” Navarro said. “Most importantly, they need to be loyal to the agenda, the Trump agenda, particularly on trade, particularly on border issues. He likes people who are good with the media, and if you’re in the West Wing, you really have to have a command of how the policy process works.”
The first 100 days of the second Trump administration could see “100 or more” executive orders, according to Navarro.
