VP rejects: The Trump administration takes shape

They’re screened, they’re loyal and they’re ready to go.

Before President-elect Donald Trump tapped them for top jobs in his nascent administration, five of his nominees were in line to be his running mate. But four months after being passed over for that coveted role, they’re getting plum jobs to make up for it as he quickly puts together his Cabinet.

Elise Stefanik is the pick for U.N. ambassador, Kristi Noem for Homeland Security and Marco Rubio for secretary of State. Tulsi Gabbard is Trump’s choice for director of national intelligence and Doug Burgum for secretary of the Interior.

JD Vance got the VP nod over all of them — North Dakota Gov. Burgum was too bland, South Dakota Gov. Noem too toxic after writing about killing the family dog.

But Trump has found them fitting for other roles.

Most importantly, they already cleared the highest bar in Trump World: loyalty to the principal.

“The reason they were considered to be vice presidential material in the first place is because the president felt not only were they loyal, but they would be effective in getting his agenda passed,” former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

In the case of Stefanik, the president-elect picked a mainline Republican turned diehard Trump supporter for the prestigious role. Through her leadership perch chairing the House Republican conference, the New Yorker proved a useful surrogate for Trump on cable news shows this year, and publicly grilled university presidents over campus antisemitism. She didn’t didn’t make the cut for VP — but was quickly selected for the U.N. job.

“There’s been hundreds of news stories written about Elise and her rise from moderate to MAGA,” and it’s the same case with Rubio, said one person familiar with the discussions, who was granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. “Every reporter in town has exhausted every oppo pitch on those two people.”

Dusting off his list of possible running mates has helped Trump speed up his appointments faster than any recent transition, announcing top picks within a week of the election.

President Joe Biden didn’t officially announce any top Cabinet picks until Nov. 23, three weeks after Election Day, and 16 days after the race was called in his favor. Barack Obama likewise took three weeks to make appointments, while George W. Bush didn’t roll out any announcements until December, given the prolonged legal fight over calling that race in 2000.

Part of the reason for Trump’s second-term speed is how he used his time out of office — a stretch Spicer described as the GOP leader being “in the wilderness.” Trump, and the organization around him, took the opportunity to start thinking about “people, process and policies,” Spicer said.

Having a good sense about who might fill these spots is a big change from eight years ago, when his transition was marred by dysfunction, and appointments were announced later in the process. Trump himself told podcaster Joe Rogan in October that his biggest mistake during his first term in office was hiring certain people he said turned out to be “disloyal.”

Kevin Cabrera, a Miami commissioner who was Florida state director for Trump in 2020, pointed to that interview when asked about Trump’s latest selections. Some past personnel, Cabrera said, had been “people who were more concerned with their own personal agenda than his.”

“This time around,” Cabrera added, “I think he has done well in picking people who have put forth his agenda and shown he will be the priority.”

Trump has shown he cares little about personal scandals, as evidenced by his attorney general pick of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who faced a House Ethics investigation into alleged sexual contact with a minor and illicit drug use.

Gaetz, who led the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has long denied the allegations and blasted the committee in a lengthy letter he made public in September, calling it a “political payback exercise.” The House Ethics Committee does not plan to release its report on Gaetz, after he abruptly resigned from the House.

And in his unconventional pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump is almost daring establishment Republicans to buck him.

But anybody considered for vice president was already thoroughly reviewed by Trump’s campaign. “Imagine getting a root canal and a colonoscopy at the same time,” said the person familiar with transition discussions. “There’s your vetting.”

Choosing would-be veeps can help Trump World avoid the shock of a series of unflattering stories that can accompany a newer recruit — it’s already been reported that Noem shot her dog, while Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is getting new attention for his Christian nationalist tattoos. Known entities like Stefanik and Rubio are likely to sail through Senate confirmation as well.

Looming over Trump’s transition is the memory of his last transition in 2016, when he fired former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as chair of his team just days after winning election. Trump took 10 days to announce a top Cabinet pick — in Jeff Sessions as attorney general. The president pushed him out of the job two years later.

This time, Trump is in a position unprecedented in the modern era, setting up a full government for the second time, after having already served as president. And allies are insistent that the transition will be smoother.

“He didn’t have a moob like Chris Christie running the transition team without actually thinking about who would fill some of the important spots,” said Joe Borelli, the New York City Council minority leader who co-chaired Trump’s 2016 campaign in New York. “This go-around Team Trump knew they were in the catbird position and had a clear depth chart of folks for consideration.”

One person familiar with the application process, granted anonymity to talk about internal deliberations, said that prospects for jobs in the Trump administration have been asked to file not just a resume and cover letter but a document indicating everything they have done to support Trump — whether that be through positive media interviews, fundraising or volunteering.

That makes sense to Ed Cox, chair of the New York Republican Party and a born-again Trump ally.

“Dozens of people got him to where he is,” Cox said. “They were loyal to him, and he wants to be loyal to them. And put in place what he was elected to do,”

It’s not just loyalty, Cox insisted: “It’s much more a businessman making sure that the right people are in the right place.”

Offering vice presidential contenders other administration jobs isn’t new — Biden tapped Susan Rice as domestic policy adviser, and Trump himself picked Sessions. But the sheer number of VP contenders picked early for top positions is unprecedented. The Trump transition team did not return a request for comment.

Trump once helmed a TV show all about making the right hire for his business. He also ended up giving jobs to losing contestants on “The Apprentice,” including Omarosa Manigault.

The veepstakes also-rans may consider themselves lucky for losing out. Vance was relentlessly pilloried on the campaign trail. And Trump has turned against a vice president before — reportedly expressing support for the Jan. 6 rioters chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”

Figures like Stefanik, Noem and Rubio could be giving up their comfortable elected roles for far less predictable positions — and some of Trump’s other job announcements are proving that.

“My takeaway is that if you are shocked or surprised,” Spicer said on Wednesday morning, before the Gaetz and Kennedy nominations, “buckle up it’s going to be a heck of a ride.”

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