When the news of the president-elect was announced that of Donald Trump initial nominees, I was pleasantly surprised and, frankly, delighted. The selection of Susie Wiles as chief of staff is not only historical — do you remember when it was important? — but a crucial indication that this administration will be far less chaotic than the first.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as Secretary of State is a fantastic choice for those who want a return to a foreign policy of peace through strength, rather than the shamefully weak fanatics of the apology tours we have endured under Presidents Barack Obama. and Joe Biden. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a more pro-Israel choice for U.S. ambassador to Israel than Mike Huckabee or someone better prepared to combat the insanity of international bureaucracy than Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as UN ambassador.

Then there are slightly more surprising picks, at least on the surface, like veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense.

And since it wouldn’t be a Trump administration without some crazy moments, there are some choices that can only be described as crazy. Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), as head of the Department of Homeland Security, was leading this race until Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was named attorney general.

But then, among other interesting appointments such as former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Tom Homan as “border czar” and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, there was the one that made headlines. : Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead an unofficial “Department of Government Effectiveness,” or DOGE — a nod to the satirical cryptocurrency popular among Musk fans.

First, it’s somewhat frustrating that there are politicians who have been leading this fight for years who are being outranked by two billionaire entrepreneurs with no real government experience. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is an obvious example, releasing an annual “Festivus Report” detailing federal spending folly. In 2023 That alone amounted to $900 billion, including “an NIH grant to study Russian cats walking on treadmills, Barbies used as proof of identity to receive Check Protection Program funds COVID pay, $6 million to promote tourism in Egypt and $200 million for “distressed.” artists like Post Malone, Chris Brown and Lil Wayne.

Second, the fact that Musk and Ramaswamy will maintain business interests that depend on government regulations – Musk, for example, will apparently continue to run Tesla, SpaceX and xAI – while recommending regulatory cuts is a bit absurd. Look, I know Elon Musk is “our billionaire” and I know his purchase of X (formerly Twitter) was a turning point in the conservative battle for free speech on social media, but are we just going to ignore the obvious problems with conflict of interest? Probably, yes. But imagine the outcry from the right if Vice President Kamala Harris entrusted billionaire Alexander Soros with her influence over government regulations.

Third, and here’s the key question: what is really going on here? After all, is cutting federal government spending a task worthy of our generation’s greatest entrepreneur, Musk? What about Ramaswamy, whose presence in the Trump administration probably has more to do with his friendship with Vice President-elect JD Vance than with his exhausting salesman routine, his ever-changing political views or the fact that before buying his way into politics, he made his fortune from what was basically (like Yale professor and Ramaswamy critic Jeffrey Sonnenfeld) a Big Pharma “pump and dump” project?

Why Musk and, to a much lesser extent, Ramaswamy are given this position has little (if anything) to do with the task at hand. It’s more about sending a message. Trump is a man who understands image, media and public relations. And that’s great communication, not just for Trump, but also for Musk and Ramaswamy. Think about the clicks!

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Ultimately, this is why Trump appointed hecklers to his cabinet. People who will disrupt the military’s descent into wakefulness, or the corruption of the intelligence community, or whatever Gaetz is supposed to do as attorney general. Whether they are confirmed or not is another matter.

Either way, Trump is making it clear that things will change and things will change under whatever banner he chooses. All we have to do is wait and see what this change entails.

Ian Haworth is a columnist, speaker and podcast host. You can find it on Substack and follow it on @ighaworth.