Trump’s incoming White House is pretty white and hostile to racial equity. Here’s what you should know
"These are people whose main goal is to make sure that we ‘Make America White Again,'” Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross told theGrio.
A week after Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team have named several nominees and appointees for the second Trump administration, comprised of MAGA loyalists who are overwhelmingly white and some of whom have a history of trafficking in racism or hostility toward equity programs.
“These are people whose main goal is to make sure that we ‘Make America White Again,” Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross told theGrio.
Cross noted that as a candidate, Trump “ran on white supremacy” and made it very clear that he had every intention of installing an executive branch that would execute anti-Black policies fueled by a white nationalist agenda.
“To say that this was about the economy when you see that some of his first announcements of who’s going to be closest to him … there is no disillusionment that … economic anxiety was also wrapped in racism,” Cross explained. “It was also wrapped in xenophobia. It was also wrapped in anti-Blackness, anti-CRT, in anti-DEI.”
Former U.S. Congressman Mondaire Jones told theGrio, “Donald Trump made very clear over the course of the campaign and his last presidency that he’s got no problem surrounding himself with white nationalists.”
The former New York representative, who also sits on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, said of Trump’s selections thus far, “We see extremists who are going to advance an anti-American agenda that resembles much of a white nationalist agenda.”
Maya Wiley, a former civil rights attorney and New York mayoral candidate, told theGrio that the picks by Trump were “predictable” when you consider the racism spewed during the 2024 election cycle.”
“There was explicit racism, explicit sexism, explicit homophobia, explicit xenophobia,” said Wiley.
“We see an administration coming in with a transition plan from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which has said it is going to weaponize government for an agenda that fundamentally wants to protect the status quo.”
She added, “I don’t think we should be surprised.”
Svante Myrick, president of People For the American Way, told theGrio that Trump’s picks are “grossly underqualified or unqualified,” adding that their “only qualification would be their blind loyalty to Trump.”
Democrats and civil rights leaders are also bracing for the incoming Trump administration to enact controversial policies in the Heritage Foundation’s pro-Trump Project 2025.
“He promised that he knew nothing about Project 2025; he didn’t plan to enact it. Didn’t know the folks who wrote it, he had nothing to do with it,” recalled Myrick. He continued, “Voters, some of them, might have taken him seriously and listened to him, and as they enact this agenda. I think the country will be horrified by the enormous U-turn that it will be taken.”
Here’s what you should know about some of the individuals tapped by Trump to be a part of his White House and their anti-equity records sources say stand to gravely harm Black, brown and LGBTQ communities.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services
To the dismay of many, President-elect Trump announced on Thursday that he would nominate former Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees important agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The major concern about Kennedy’s nomination is that, aside from pushing debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines, the son of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy Sr. has no degree or learned discipline in health care.
Kennedy falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism despite a host of scientific data and experts disproving the theory. Additionally, while running for the Democratic nomination for president, Kennedy also falsely claimed that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to spare specific Jewish and Chinese people.
“COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people,” said Kennedy, who suggested the virus was being used as a “bioweapon” and pushed conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 disproportionately affected Black, Hispanic and other ethnic groups in the United States, but health experts have explained that social determinants, such as health care access and some pre-existing illnesses, led to different recovery outcomes, not a specific or deliberate genetic virus composition.
As Daniel Dawes, health policy expert and executive director at Meharry Medical College’s Global Health Equity Institute, previously pointed out, “There is no evidence to sustain” Kennedy’s assertion that COVID-19 targeted certain racial and ethnic groups. He told theGrio, “That’s an erroneous conclusion.”
“We’ve never been able to tackle misinformation and tackle it well in this country — especially when it comes to vulnerable and minoritized, marginalized communities,” said Dawes. “Then, for the next pandemic, it could get even worse.”
Trump has said he will let RFK Jr. “go wild” on public health. Kennedy has already indicated that he would use his position in the Trump administration to fluoride from public water systems, despite it preventing tooth decay by strengthening and rebuilding weakened tooth enamel.
Matt Gaetz nominated as attorney general of the Justice Department
One of the more shocking selections among Donald Trump’s nominations is U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general, a pick that raised many eyebrows. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gaetz, 42, would be in charge of the same Department of Justice that investigated him in a federal sex trafficking case. The law enforcement agency ultimately decided not to charge the congressman.
The House Ethics Committee was set to release a report on Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct and drug use. However, Gaetz resigned from his House seat on Wednesday shortly after Trump announced his nomination, effectively killing the congressional investigation.
“Holy shit. Trump will nominate Matt Gaetz as Attorney General. The man who was at the center of a sex trafficking probe. God help us,” wrote Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., on X.
Former Congressman Jones also took to X minutes after Trump announced Gaetz’s nomination on Wednesday evening, writing, “I served with Matt Gaetz on the Judiciary Committee. He is utterly unqualified to be the Attorney General of the United States, and clearly would not even pass an FBI background check.”
A potential Gaetz DOJ would not bold well for Black and brown communities as it relates to civil rights protections, considering the congressman’s hostile rhetoric against Black Lives Matter and racial justice. During a FOX News appearance, Gaetz called attempts to remove symbols of the white confederacy a “cultural genocide.”
Rather than acknowledge BLM’s goal of eradicating police violence against Black Americans, Gaetz said its founders “pledge allegiance to the destruction of America.” If Gaetz becomes attorney general, his department will almost certainly do away with Biden administration probes of police brutality and racial bias, also known as pattern or practice investigations.
Stephen Miller appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of Policy
The most chilling appointment among critics is Stephen Miller, Trump’s former senior advisor in his first administration. Miller has been appointed as Trump’s deputy chief of staff of policy. The hardline conservative is the architect of Trump’s controversial Muslim ban, which included a majority of African countries. He was also the mastermind behind Trump’s controversial family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border and a strong proponent of Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizenship.
After leaving the Trump White House, Miller founded the conservative legal advocacy organization America First Legal, which is committed to ending what it called “anti-white bigotry.” The group has filed several lawsuits challenging racial equity programs intended to reduce racial disparities in business and education, including one that blocked President Joe Biden’s debt forgiveness program for Black farmers.
“Miller is a bonafide white nationalist who spent the first Trump administration masterminding horrific initiatives like the Muslim Ban and child separation at the border,” Markus Batchelor, national political director at People For the American Way, told theGrio. “We already have a window into what we can expect from him in a more influential role in our national security community.”
Congressman Mondaire Jones told theGrio that while he is heartened that Miller was not appointed as chief of staff, his being anywhere close to the White House would lead to the administration executing a “playbook from another century.”
“I think it will start with the mass deportations that Donald Trump ran on, which is something that people were well aware of when they voted for Donald Trump,” said Jones.
JD Vance elected Vice President
Critics warn that while the return of Donald Trump spells doom for Black, brown and other marginalized communities, his Vice President JD Vance – first in the presidential line of succession – stands to be a greater threat, considering the 78-year-old president-elect’s advanced age. Not to mention, Vance has a known connection to white Christian nationalism.
“He will be the oldest sitting president the United States has ever seen, and that, in and of itself, elevates the role of the VP in a way that nothing else does,” said Ameshia Cross. “JD Vance is heir-apparent. This is Donald Trump’s last hurrah.”
The Democratic strategist told theGrio, “It has yet to be seen whether or not MAGA can exist outside of Trump. So we’ll see in the next four years whether or not it’s going to transition to someone else. But the most likely person is the person standing next to him in JD Vance.”
Cross said Vance is an “astute politician” who is more covert and disarming. That would likely see him find more success in getting Republican sign-offs “behind closed doors and create some of the very policies that will turn America into a Third Reich.” She added, “That presents its own level of dangers and threats.”
Myrick said that while Trump will “spend his time upstairs in the residence rage tweeting at whatever CEO has insufficiently flattered him this week,” Vance, who wrote the foreword to an upcoming book authored by the leader of Project 2025, will be “busy at work enacting the 2025 agenda.”
“I think that should worry the country deeper because Vance has very strange ideas of America,” said Myrick.
Elise Stefanik nominated as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations could spell trouble for U.S. foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and diplomacy in Africa and in the Caribbean.
“The great replacement theory, which is something Elise Stefanik subscribes to, is one of the most horrific forms of white nationalism that you can come across in the 21st century,” said former Congressman Mondaire Jones. “It would not surprise me if Elise Stefanik began to move away from our commitments to African nations and to countries like Haiti, which is, of course, going through a generational crisis, political and humanitarian in nature.”
Joseph Tolton, a Pan-African activist and African foreign policy expert, warned that Stefanik, under Trump’s direction, would become a “true partner of the broader Russian agenda,” which includes outcomes like annexing parts of Ukraine in its fight for democracy and sovereignty and weakening world bodies like the United Nations and NATO.
“Her position at the UN is going to be quite vital in advancing this new world order and advancing [Trump’s] global agenda overall,” Tolton told theGrio. “There’s a very racialized angle to this new world order, and she’s going to be one of the principal agents that will leverage her presence at the United Nations to drive that agenda.”
He especially noted that Stefanik would use her position to “cover” for Israel at the United Nations, which has been critical of its war against Hamas. To date, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, to the despair of Arab communities and advocates. The war in Gaza has been a major concern for human rights advocates, including those within the Black community who feel solidarity with Palestinians and their plight.
“That’s going to be a significant change in what that means for Gaza, what that means for the hopes of a Palestinian state. I think that the implications are alarming and chilling,” said Tolton.
Marco Rubio nominated as Secretary of the State Department
Like Stefanik, critics believe Senator Marco Rubio’s nomination as secretary of state would lead to a “new world order” on the global stage.
Joseph Tolton told theGrio that Rubio would likely lead the U.S. into a “new alliance of white strongmen,” particularly the leaders of Russia and Hungary. However, that new world order would include Latin countries like Brazil and Peru, which are experiencing signs of authoritarianism.
As a U.S. senator, Rubio has attacked the Department of State under the Biden-Harris administration for prioritizing a “woke agenda.”
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he argued that the State Department’s DEI policies come “at the expense of carrying out its mission to build international relationships and protect America’s national security.” He also argued that DEI policies abroad “violate the rights and beliefs of faith-based partner organizations and their beneficiaries.”
Pete Hegseth nominated as U.S. Secretary of Defense
The intended nomination of Pete Hegseth as secretary of the Department of Defense has sent chills in the U.S. military community. Though he is a former Army National Guardsman, Hegseth, a Fox News host, has no experience working at the Pentagon.
Hegseth’s lack of experience is concerning when you consider that the DOD is responsible for a budget of more than $800 billion and more than 1 million military personnel.
“I think it is concerning that they’re choosing someone with no real experience at the helm of the top parts of the military — it’s an industrial complex you have to manage like anything else,” Richard Brookshire, co-founder of Black Veterans Project, previously told theGrio.
Hegseth also joined a chorus of conservatives who have decried racial equity work within the U.S. military, calling it too “woke.” He also railed against President Biden’s nomination of Charles CQ Brown — the nation’s first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — as a diversity hire. Not to mention, if confirmed, Hegseth would replace General Lloyd Austin III, the nation’s first Black secretary of defense.
Markus Batchelor of People For the American Way condemned Hegseth for using his “platform at Fox News to attack equity and inclusion programs in the military, said women should not serve in combat, and that the U.S. should use first-strike capabilities on Iran and North Korea.”
Batchelor said Trump appointments like Hegseth and others in national security and defense are “the most dangerous for domestic security and the global order.”
Tulsi Gabbard nominated as Director of National Intelligence
President-elect Trump nominated former Congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
“Gabbard has long been rumored to be an asset for our enemies across the globe and her dangerous rhetoric on national security tracks,” said Markus Batchelor of People For the American Way. He told theGrio, “Having our secrets and our security under her control should concern us.”
Gabbard has been accused of promoting and embracing Russian propaganda by political leaders like former Secretary of State and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who famously called the former Democrat a “Russian asset.” Even Republicans like former Congressman Adam Kinzinger and Senator Mitt Romney have called out Gabbard for “parroting fake Russian propaganda.”
Though she served on the House Committee on Homeland Security for two years, Gabbard has no experience in national intelligence.
Lee Zeldin nominated as EPA administrator
Though Lee Zeldin, a U.S. congressman from New York, has positioned himself as a moderate Republican on the environment, Trump’s nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to carry out the president-elect’s vow to deregulate the oil and gas industry to “unleash” American energy and produce more business.
This is notable despite clear scientific evidence that the oil and coal industry’s burning of fossil fuels is contributing to the acceleration of climate change. Environmental justice advocates have warned that such deregulations would present clear harm to Black and brown communities that are disproportionately suffering from the health and economic impacts of climate change.
A Zeldin-ran EPA would likely not prioritize the unique dangers of climate change to Black and brown Americans.
“We need a steady, experienced hand at EPA to marshal federal resources to fight climate change and utilize the full power of the law to protect communities from toxic pollution,” said Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice President, an environmental justice advocacy group.
Dillen continued, “Lee Zeldin is not that person. His loyalty to Donald Trump indicates he will gladly take a sledgehammer to EPA’s most recent lifesaving regulations, putting politics over science and endangering our communities.”
Kristi Noem nominated as secretary of Homeland Security
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was named by Trump as his nominee for secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.
“The only qualification she could possibly have, in Donald Trump’s eyes, is her loyalty to him,” said former Congressman Mondaire Jones. He told theGrio, “If Kristi Noem is not murdering animals, she is trafficking in conspiracy theories that have been debunked.”
Jones added, “We are all going to be less safe because of people like Kristi Noem in charge of departments like Homeland Security.”
Noem was previously named as a contender for Trump’s vice president; however, her candidacy was marred by her admission of shooting her “untrainable” dog in a book released in May.
As governor, Noem has expressed hostility toward teaching about race and racism in classrooms in South Dakota. In April 2022, she joined several other governors in attacking critical race theory, which she called “divisive.”
“Our children will not be taught that they are racists or that they are victims, and they will not be compelled to feel responsible for the mistakes of their ancestors,” Noem said in a statement at the time.
Noem was also banned by tribal nations in South Dakota after she made broad statements about crime taking place on reservations in her state and that tribal leaders benefited from cartels in the state.
Thomas Homan appointed border czar
Trump tapped Thomas Homan, a former police officer and acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement, as his administration’s border czar.
The president-elect, who once praised Homan for looking “very nasty” and “very mean,” will look to the 30-year veteran of immigration enforcement to help carry out his plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, which could impact hundreds of thousands or more — including those from South America, Africa, and Haiti.
When asked by “60 Minutes” if it was possible to carry out mass deportations without separating families (a controversial policy during the first Trump administration), Homar said, “Of course there is. Families can be deported together.”
“[Trump] is utilizing him to basically design his policy of eradicating migrants and immigrants from America,” said Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross. She described Homan as “a guy who’s been known to be not only bombastic but extremely racist.”
Like many of Trump’s picks for his cabinet and administration, Homan is also embraced by white nationalist figures. In February 2022, he was invited to speak at the American First Political Action Conference, led by white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
Despite leaving the event after learning of Fuentes’ record, he told HuffPost, “I’m not saying this is a bad group.”
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