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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Comment
Austin Sarat

Trump is marching into 2026 with the worst cabinet in history

Pete Hegseth Donald Trump Robert F . Kennedy Robert F. Kennedy Jr Kristi Noem Pam Bondi RFK Matt Gaetz Nicolás Maduro the Department of Health and Human Services
a large table with trump's cabinet members around it
‘Other presidents have assembled cabinets that have also not served the American people well. But none compares to what Noem, Hegseth, Kennedy, Bondi, and their colleagues have already done.’ Photograph: ABACA/Shutterstock

As 2024 ended and Donald Trump’s cabinet picks were rolled out, commentators scrambled to decide which one was the worst. Was it Matt Gaetz for attorney general? Or Pete Hegseth, for secretary of defense? Or maybe Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services?

Soon after, the White House crowed that Trump had assembled “the greatest cabinet of all time”.

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