Trump is weighing outsiders against elected officials as he builds a new cabinet

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares for a return to the White House, advisers mulling how to staff his administration weigh the merits of stacking Trump’s cabinet with elected officials against the mix of businessmen, political outsiders and loyalists, that fills his Rolodex, three sources involved in discussions about the transition said.

Two sources involved in the transition process said Trump is expected to place a premium on cabinet picks from outside government service, as opposed to sitting lawmakers, for two reasons. He sees some of his first outside picks, including investor Steven Mnuchin, whom he named to lead the Treasury Department, and Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as more successful and more loyal than many lawmakers. he plucked from Congress.

Trump never forgave Jeff Sessions, the Alabama senator who became his first attorney general, for recusing himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Former Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., who was appointed secretary of Health and Human Services, and Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, who was Secretary of the Interior, was dogged by scandal over how they ran their departments and used government resources.

Trump is also wary of special elections to replace sitting lawmakers, especially in the Senate. “He doesn’t want a Roy Moore situation,” one of the sources said. Moore was the Republican nominee in the special election to replace Sessions in the Senate, which Democrats won in a rare and dramatic victory in Alabama in 2017.

No decision is final or precludes the possibility that Trump will select certain members of Congress. Late. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is among those being considered for attorney general, according to multiple sources. Late. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is among those who have made it clear they will be ready to serve in any capacity Trump needs.

But already now a potential candidate has bowed out. A prominent surrogate during Trump’s campaign, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. has conveyed that he is not interested in joining the Trump administration, according to three sources familiar with the decision. Together with Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Mike Pompeo, who served as secretary of state and CIA director in Trump’s first term, Cotton was tipped as a top candidate to serve in a Trump administration as discussions began to gather steam in the final months of the campaign .

Cotton, who has two young children, weighed the potential impact on his family significantly when he decided to remove his name from consideration for a cabinet post, according to a source familiar with his thinking. Cotton is running for a leadership position in the Senate.

As Trump’s team weighs his personnel decisions, top of mind is what each choice would mean for his agenda.

A campaign official said drawing too many sitting lawmakers from Congress into the administration would affect Trump’s ability to get things done in his first 100 days in office.

And two sources also noted the role of Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as someone with potential veto power over decision-making. In a recent interview, Trump Jr. said he would work to stop people who could impede Trump’s agenda.

“My job is going to be to go out and stop the people who just want to slow roll — who are going to do the bidding of the swamp, not do the bidding of the duly elected president of the United States,” he said in October.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Rubio, a prominent surrogate for Trump in the final days of the campaign, has been coy about what might come next, saying he hasn’t spoken directly to Trump about a potential slot, but he made it clear that he would be open to a position if asked.

“I’m in public service. I’m not trying to play quiet,” Rubio said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday morning. “I’m in public service. I like to serve our country.”

A source close to Rubio said he is in a prime position to be selected because his long public service and his recent scrutiny as a potential running mate to Trump would shorten preparation for an appointment. Rubio would also have a relatively easy confirmation process because of his time in the Senate and his relationships with other members.

But as Trump’s team narrows the field, the math includes reminders of how many people Trump plucked from the ranks of Congress in his first term, other than Pompeo, ended up being disappointments and future political liabilities.

Several also put their Republican seats at risk.

Sessions, an adviser to Trump in 2016, was one of his earliest supporters when Trump elevated him from the Senate to lead his Justice Department. Not only did the special election to replace Sessions become an embarrassment for the GOP, but Sessions’ handling of his department also frustrated Trump, and Sessions ultimately resigned. Trump endorsed him when Sessions later tried to run for his old seat.

After spending lavishly on charter flights, Price ran afoul of Trump and his promise to “drain the swamp,” ultimately forcing his resignation. The special election to replace him also became a centerpiece of Democratic organizing against Trump. Although the GOP narrowly won the special election, Republicans lost Price’s congressional seat in the midterms and then saw Georgia turn blue in 2020.

Zinke’s tenure at the Department of the Interior was brief. Amid allegations of misconduct, Zinke said that two years after that he would step aside. He narrowly won re-election to Congress in 2022, winning a 3-point victory against an environmental advocate. He won a wider re-election victory this week.

As for Rubio and his seat, the source close to him waved off concerns about him in the Senate, especially given Sen. Rick Scott’s 13-point victory in the race for Florida’s other Senate seat.