¶ What People Need to Hear About Trump's Nominees
They Don't Care About Everyday People
Trump's team comes from Wall Street, Congress, and D.C. think tanks.
They don't represent you, and they've put their own profits ahead of your well-being for their whole careers.
Their attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — programs that people rely on — are the perfect example.
Trump's Nominees Hurt Workers
-
Frank Bisignano, Trump’s nominee to be commissioner of the Social Security Administration, made tens of millions of dollars while laying off thousands of employees. In 2018, Bisignano earned over 2,000 times more than his median employee at First Data. More recently, Bisignano has spent the past two years firing thousands of workers at Fiserv where he serves as CEO.
-
Deputy Defense Secretary nominee Steve Feinberg's company, Cerberus, purchased Chrysler and took out billions in debt, which led to the layoff of 35,000 Chrysler employees.
-
Trump’s pick to chair the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, Devin Nunes, imposed a directive to hire only foreign contractors at the expense of American workers at Trump's social media company, according to a whistleblower letter.
Trump's Nominees Support Policies That Would Hurt Everyday People
-
Russell Vought, as director of the Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump administration, oversaw budgets that proposed significant cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The Trump FY 2021 budget, which Vought spearheaded, sought to reduce Medicare spending by $500 billion over ten years and proposed approximately $79 billion in cuts to Social Security and disability benefits. Vought, Trump’s nominee to again lead OMB, has continued to advocate for Medicare and Medicaid “reform” into 2023, prioritizing cuts to the "bureaucracy" and what he termed the "benefit hammock" of the social safety net.
-
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense, supported privatizing Veterans Affairs health care and veterans’ pensions. He supported an act that would negatively impact 22 million veterans and would make one-fifth of future veterans ineligible for VA care.
-
Michael Faulkender, the nominee to be deputy secretary of the treasury, supported making Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, which would lead to a huge tax break for the super-rich while costing American families over $4 trillion dollars
-
Billy Long, Trump’s nominee to be commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, co-sponsored bills that would give a massive tax cut to the rich and increase the burden on working Americans, including replacing income tax with a 23% federal sales tax.
Trump's Nominees Put The Needs Of Corporations Ahead Of Everyday People
-
Michael Faulkender defended corporations for raising prices during shortages, comparing it to an individual selling their home at a favorable time.
-
Steve Feinberg’s company, Cerberus, made a $790 million dividend from Steward Health Care, which later needed that money to fund its operating plan. Cerberus also threatened to shut down a Pennsylvania hospital unless it received a state bailout.
-
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee to be secretary of commerce, was described as "the most hated guy on Wall Street" for "pulling money from people" and "squeezing people."
-
Matthew Whitaker, Trump’s pick to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO, lobbied for Tyco against a bill that would have required materials used in public works contracts to be made in the United States.
Trump Picked Unqualified Candidates
Trump's picks’ inexperience doesn't make them outsiders.
They're all MAGA and Washington, D.C., insiders -- who just don't know how to do these jobs.
In the real world, you wouldn't hire reality TV stars to re-wire your house. Yet, in many cases, Trump is hiring his favorite FOX News stars for equally specialized work -- on Americans’ dime.
This is a symptom of how Trump is governing: it's about him and whom he wants to reward, not about you or your problems.
Proof points
Pete Hegseth, picked to lead the Department of Defense, is a former Fox News host and failed Senate candidate who is wholly unqualified. He pushed dangerous military plans, insulted veterans and current members of the military, and attacked women verbally and, allegedly, physically. He also has a history of alcohol abuse and womanizing. He also expressed controversial views on women in the military, suggesting they are less capable than men. He has none of the actual experience to run our vast and critically important defense apparatus.
Jay Bhattacharya, who was picked by Donald Trump to lead the National Institutes of Health, is not a practicing doctor and lacks qualifications in medical matters. He was dismissed as an expert witness in a mask-mandate case for being unqualified to make medical pronouncements, and a judge noted that he appeared to be advancing a personal agenda.
Frank Bisignano, nominated to lead the Social Security Administration, has no prior government experience. His nomination could change the fabric of the Social Security Administration — but despite having no background in Social Security, he did make a career of firing workers while collecting large paychecks.
Todd Blanche, nominated to be Deputy Attorney General, has been sued by former clients for forging signatures and overbilling. His nomination is one that makes sense if Trump intends to turn the Justice Department into his personal law firm.
Janette Nesheiwat, nominated for Surgeon General, lacked the career experience in medicine, public health, and policymaking typical of a qualified appointee for the position. Her medical career was largely limited to her tenure at a for-profit urgent care franchise. She also lacks experience in research institutions, hospitals, or medical schools.
Billy Long, nominated to head the Internal Revenue Service, has little tax experience aside from promoting the Employee Retention Tax Credit program in a way that cost taxpayers more than expected and may have placed his clients in legal jeopardy. His experience also includes efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.
Aaron Reitz, a Ted Cruz insider nominated to lead the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy, is unfit to serve in the Justice Department.. He was accused of sexual harassment while working for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and was suspended from his position twice for inappropriate posts on social media.
Far-Right Policies
Trump is trying to fill his administration with Project 2025 acolytes, not normal people.
They're seeking draconian restrictions on abortion.
They want to create new tax cuts for wealthy people, including the billionaires they’ve picked to run the government, instead of helping your family.
They represent a clear and present danger to Medicare and Social Security.
They tried to steal the 2020 election
-
Dan Bishop, Lee Zeldin, and several other nominees actively opposed the certification of the 2020 election results, with Zeldin and Billy Long taking additional steps by joining legal challenges that sought Supreme Court intervention to overturn the outcome.
-
Doug Collins, Harmeet Dhillon, and Pam Bondi, played key roles in promoting election fraud claims, with Navarro specifically pushing for Vice President Mike Pence to reject electoral votes.
-
The effort to challenge the results extended to legal and administrative channels, with D. John Sauer filing a lawsuit in Missouri, while Jeffrey Clark – with support from Russell Vought – faced charges in Georgia for his attempts to overturn results there.
They are anti-abortion extremists
-
Dan Bishop, Pete Hegseth, Russell Vought, and Lee Zeldin have made their anti-abortion policies and beliefs a core of their careers, pushing bans without exception, policies that would ban IVF, and calling for a special anti-abortion presidential assistant.
-
Pam Bondi, D. John Sauer, and Russell Vought have all pushed legal and legislative action against the right to choose, including tracking women’s periods, banning abortion medications, and requiring 24-hour waiting periods that make abortions impossible to get for many Americans.
They would harm veterans
-
Pete Hegseth’s efforts to privatize the Veterans Affairs’ health care system and pensions would reduce benefits and increase costs for veterans. His groups’ proposals would force many veterans to pay out-of-pocket costs for private health care and make nearly one-fifth of future veterans ineligible for VA care. Additionally, Hegseth advocated for transforming military pensions into a private-sector, 401(k)-style plan, potentially leaving veterans without adequate retirement benefits. These changes would undermine the VA's mission to provide care for service-connected disabled veterans.
-
Pete Hegseth’s misogynistic rhetoric and opposition to women serving in the military create a hostile environment and devalue the contributions of servicewomen. He has repeatedly made statements suggesting women are less capable than men in combat, that they are a distraction on the battlefield, and that the military has lowered its standards to allow women to serve. He has also claimed that women in the military have more abortions as a result of the military teaching them to be "life takers" rather than "life givers." Hegseth has attacked decorated women in the military, claiming they were given awards and attention solely because of their gender.
They are out of the mainstream on immigration
-
Tom Homan calls for "the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen" and supports workplace raids. He has explicitly stated immigrants should be "looking over their shoulder" and that having U.S. citizen children won't protect them from deportation. Russell Vought also supports "mass deportation" of undocumented immigrants.
-
Tom Homan was deeply involved in developing and implementing family separation as a deterrent, being called the "father" of the policy. He signed the memo recommending prosecution of all adults crossing illegally — this led to family separations, which he stated he "didn't give a s***" about, and has indicated he would implement such policies again.
-
Russell Vought advocates for a "Christian immigration ethic" and screening immigrants based on willingness to assimilate to a "Judeo-Christian worldview." Similarly, Pete Hegseth has called for immigration restrictions targeting Islam specifically and has characterized Muslim immigration to France as a "demographic invasion."
They support tax cuts for the rich
-
Michael Faulkender, who ran the Paycheck Protection Program during the first Trump administration, has supported making the 2017 tax cuts permanent. The Treasury Department found that the top 0.1% of earners would receive a tax cut of $314,000 under a full extension of the individual and estate tax provisions, with a total cost of $4.2 trillion between 2026 and 2035.
-
Billy Long, nominated to head the IRS, co-sponsored bills in Congress that would have resulted in a massive tax cut for the rich. One bill proposed replacing income tax with a 23% federal sales tax, which tax experts warn would mostly benefit the wealthy. Long also co-sponsored a flat tax bill, which would apply a low rate to all Americans, a measure that is considered regressive as it would lead to low- and middle-income taxpayers paying a larger share of their incomes than wealthy Americans
-
Russell Vought, who wrote much of the Project 2025 plan, oversaw Trump's 2021 budget as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, which sought to cut Medicare by $500 billion over 10 years, and proposed $79 billion in cuts to Social Security and disability benefits over 10 years. Vought has continued to advocate for Medicare and Medicaid reform, prioritizing cuts to the "bureaucracy" and what he termed the "benefit hammock" of the social safety net.
They want to cut Social Security
-
Frank Bisignano has no government or Social Security Administration experience, drawing criticism for this lack of background. The experience he does have — while leading First Data, he earned 2,028 times more than median employees while conducting mass layoffs — raises concerns about his ability to manage benefits for seniors.
-
Russell Vought, while leading the Office of Management Budget during Trump’s first administration, proposed nearly $80 billion in cuts to Social Security and disability benefits as part of the FY 2021 budget. He also advocated for reducing disability insurance participation by 5% and characterized social safety net programs as a "benefit hammock."
They want to cut Medicare
-
Russell Vought, as OMB Director, proposed cutting Medicare spending by $500 billion over ten years in the FY 2021 budget, focusing on provider payment reductions. He characterizes social safety net programs as a "benefit hammock" and continues to advocate for Medicare reform.
-
Dan Bishop has taken multiple stances against Medicare and health care access, including opposing Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices, voting against bills to lower health care costs through PBM regulation, supporting legislation allowing substandard health plans, and opposing coverage requirements for newer cancer drugs.
Corruption
Trump's chosen the same old swamp creatures -- there's nothing new here.
They’ve already fleeced their investors, workers, and donors, and now their sights are set on the American taxpayer.
Trump's nominees have long histories of corrupt financial dealings
-
Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for Secretary of Commerce, and his firm Cantor Fitzgerald have been repeatedly charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading investors, violating anti-fraud laws, and failing to identify large traders. The firm also faced fines for bad record-keeping of off-channel communications. Lutnick’s Cantor Las Vegas sportsbook faced fines after a vice president accepted unlawful wagers. Insiders described Lutnick as "the most hated guy on Wall Street" for "pulling money from people." Lutnick reportedly planned to use his political clout to defuse regulatory threats facing Tether, a cryptocurrency firm under investigation for possible violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. As co-chair of Trump's transition team, Lutnick vetted candidates for top jobs that would involve regulating Tether.
-
Steve Feinberg, the nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, lobbied Trump in 2017 to enact a policy change in Afghanistan that would have directly benefited one of his military contracting companies. His company, Cerberus, also had a controlling interest in Steward Health Care, which was the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging shady and unethical business practices. Cerberus made $800 million when it sold Steward to the hospitals' physicians, who borrowed heavily to complete the deal and were saddled with debt.
-
Billy Long, nominated to head the IRS, purchased stock in a company that became the subject of an ethics investigation and the criminal conviction of Rep. Chris Collins.
-
Harmeet Dhillon, Trump’s choice for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, is CEO of the Center for American Liberty, a non-profit, and head of Dhillon Law Group, the non-profit's largest contractor, both of which make for huge conflicts of interest.
-
Mike Huckabee, the pick for Ambassador to Israel, received $50,000 to visit Qatar, and praised the country in a tweet without disclosing the payment As governor of Arkansas, he received 14 ethics complaints, including destroying hard drives.
Trump's nominees have abused previous trusted positions
-
Todd Blanche , nominated to be Deputy Attorney General, was sued by former clients for allegedly forging their signatures on documents and overbilling for legal services. He has also represented multiple Trump associates.
-
Pam Bondi allegedly used her position as Florida Attorney General to benefit herself and her political allies. She fired two investigators who were building a case against a company that contributed to her 2010 campaign, refused to investigate Trump University on fraud charges after the Trump Family Foundation donated $25,000 to her affiliated PAC, and convinced then-Governor Rick Scott to move a state execution because it conflicted with her campaign event.
-
Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to be director of the FBI, allegedly provided financial and career support to witnesses who made false claims of government weaponization against Trump through his non-profit, "Fight With Kash.”
¶ Trump's Nominees: Vetting Reports
- 📈 Paul Atkins | Securities and Exchange Commissioner
- 🥼 Jay Bhattacharya | Director of the National Institutes of Health
- 💸 Dan Bishop | Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Budget
- 👴 Frank Bisignano | Social Security Administration Commissioner
- 💼 Todd Blanche | Deputy Attorney General
- 📜 Pam Bondi | Attorney General
- 📺 Brendan Carr | FCC Chair
- 🎖️ Doug Collins | Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- ⚖️ Harmeet Dhillon | Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
- 📚 Michael Faulkender | Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary
Steve Feinberg | Deputy Secretary Of Defense- 💵 Andrew Ferguson | FTC Chair
- 🌎 Tulsi Gabbard | Director of National Intelligence
- 💱 Jamieson Greer | U.S. Trade Representative
- 📋 Alina Habba | Counselor to the President
- 🪖 Pete Hegseth | Secretary of Defense
- 🔍 Tom Homan | Border Czar
Mike Huckabee | U.S. Ambassador to Israel- 🚀 Jared Isaacman | NASA Administrator
- 💉 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. | Secretary of Health and Human Services
- 💰 Billy Long | IRS Commissioner
- 💸 Howard Lutnick | Secretary of Commerce
- 🏭 Peter Navarro | Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing
- 🩺 Janette Nesheiwat | Surgeon General
- 🕵️ Devin Nunes | President’s Intelligence Advisory Board Chair
- 🔍 Kash Patel | FBI Director
- 🕵️ John Ratcliffe | CIA Director
- ⚖️ Aaron Reitz | Head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy
- 🚜 Brooke Rollins | Secretary of Agriculture
- 🧑⚖️ D. John Sauer | Solicitor General
- 💼 Gail Slater | Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Division
- 💰 Russell Vought | Office of Management and Budget Director
- 🌎 Matt Whitaker | U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO
- 🌱 Lee Zeldin | Environmental Protection Agency Administrator