Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) argued that people “can’t complain” about President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, noting that Trump had signaled his intentions regarding those choices before the election. Romney, a long-time critic of Trump, is set to leave the Senate in January after serving one term representing Utah. During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, he stated that since Trump won the election “overwhelmingly,” he should be allowed the opportunity to implement the policies he has proposed.
“Donald Trump won. He won overwhelmingly. He said what he was going to do, and that’s what he’s doing. I mean, people are saying, ‘oh, I don’t like this appointment or this policy that he’s talking about,’” Romney said. “But those are the things he said he was going to do when he ran. So you can’t complain about someone who does what he said he was going to do.” Romney added: “And I agree with him on a lot of policy fronts. I disagree with him on some things. But it’s like, OK, give him a chance to do what he said he’s going to do and see how it works out.”
When asked about his thoughts on Trump’s Cabinet selections, Romney acknowledged that they weren’t his choices. However, he pointed out that he lost the 2012 presidential election, whereas Trump has won the White House twice now. “Well, a very famous book talked about Abraham Lincoln choosing a team of rivals. This is a team of people who are very, very different, extraordinarily different backgrounds, different perspectives on issues, in some cases, I think even than the president, so an unusual collection of individuals, not the people I would have chosen,” Romney said.
“But I lost. He won, all right? I would like to revisit that and win, but I didn’t get that chance. And so these are the kind of people he wants to run. And he’s entitled to that,” he added. Romney stated that the Senate must fulfill its responsibility to thoroughly vet Trump’s nominees. Several of Trump’s nominees have been considered unconventional, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence.
In a significant departure from his 2016 transition, which allies believe will set the stage for a powerful MAGA-driven first 100 days, Trump has overhauled the White House hiring strategy to build a team dedicated to his agenda rather than the traditional Washington establishment. By assigning his closest advisers the responsibility of filling hundreds of key positions, Trump is moving away from the conventional practice of allowing Washington insiders to select his team—a strategy that led to disastrous outcomes in 2016 and even resulted in the firing of his transition chief, the Washington Examiner reported.
Consequently, a key adviser stated that Trump had assembled a “MAGA Dream Team” of Cabinet nominees and staff much earlier than during his first term, all fully supporting his change agenda. “We appointed the best and most diverse Cabinet ever, and in record time!” he noted last week on his Truth Social platform. “We will soon have the most AMERICA FIRST administration in history. The best is yet to come!”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.