Karl Rove urges Trump to choose competent deputy department heads

Trump moved at breakneck speed in announcing key members of his second administration, with the Cabinet largely filled before Thanksgiving.

However, many of the appointees will not have the same experience leading federal agencies as most of their predecessors, hence Rove’s suggestion.

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“While his nominees prepare for their hearings, the president-elect must turn his attention to what is in many ways an equally important task: choosing the No. 2s for his secretaries and cabinet administrators,” Rove wrote in a press release. opinion article for the Wall Street Journal this week.

“It will be especially important for Mr. Trump’s picks to have competent No. 2s as undersecretary, deputy secretary and chief deputy administrator – titles vary from place to place – especially if the No. 1 is new to government or to the function of this ministry,” Rove continued.

Rove praised former Rep. Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, as a “smart and capable leader.” But Rove also warned that the EPA is a bureaucratic and complex department that won’t be easy to navigate.

“Mr. Zeldin will need a deputy who has served in the agency, who knows how it operates and how it will attempt to confound even the most motivated leader,” Rove warned. “The same can be said for all other positions held by Mr. Trump.

The former deputy chief of staff cited Jim O’Neill, Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, as an example of the president-elect surrounding nominees with experienced No. 2 leaders.

O’Neill’s experience on Capitol Hill, the White House and the Department of Education will likely benefit Robert Kennedy Jr., who faces an uphill climb to Senate confirmation as Trump’s nominee as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

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Several of Trump’s other cabinet nominees also lack some long-term experience in the departments they hope to lead.

Pete Hegseth’s path to confirmation as Secretary of Defense could face challenges due to his lack of experience. Although he is a decorated veteran, he has not held a high-ranking position on defense.

Sean Duffy’s biggest criticism if he were to be confirmed as transportation secretary would be his lack of experience. Duffy is a former representative from Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district, but is best known for appearing on several reality television shows and co-hosting. The essentials on Fox Business with his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy. Hegseth and Duffy are no longer affiliated with Fox News or Fox Business.

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) was chosen to lead the Department of Homeland Security, but Noem does not have direct experience working on the southern border.

Although voters gave the Republican Party the governing trio of the White House and Congress, Republicans have a slim majority in the House, 217 to 215, through April. And Senate Republicans showed some reluctance toward Trump’s agenda by scuttling Matt Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general.

Rove also pointed out that the 2026 midterm elections will likely become a top concern for lawmakers, meaning Trump’s agenda will take a back seat in priority.

Trump “needs people who have been in the trenches, dealing with bureaucracy and have some sense of its powers to distract, delay and divert attention,” Rove said if the president-elect wants his vision for the nation be implemented.

“Making change only works if it helps rather than harms the American people,” Rove said in his latest warning. “Doing the right thing, in the right way, matters. Who is #2 matters almost as much as who is #1.