While the new Trump administration is taking shape, we know at least two people who aren’t being invited back for a second go-round.
According to a post on Truth Social, Trump is specifically barring former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from working in Trump 2.0:
This should come as little surprise but some speculated that it seemed like Haley and Trump had buried the hatchet, so to speak. What this mainly says is that Trump is not interested in bringing in people to the fold who will, at any given opportunity, turn on their boss when it becomes convenient to do so. That doesn’t apply to Pompeo quite as much but Haley went scorched-earth on Trump during the primary though eventually came around and delivered a glowing speech at the RNC supporting Trump’s quest for another term.
That’s not to say Haley or even Pompeo were necessarily asking for a job to begin with, maybe they weren’t. It did seem like at least Pompeo was working to restore his standing with MAGA faithful before Election Day and had kept his national profile elevated over the past few years for a reason.
Haley responded to the news on X in a way that makes it quite clear her political career is not done:
I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years. pic.twitter.com/6PhWN6xn1B
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) November 10, 2024
Pompeo hasn’t publicly commented according to reports.
As to why Haley and Pompeo were singled out exclusively for public mention, it could be related to their foreign policy views being more in line with the “neocon” wing of the Republican Party compared to Trump’s peace-through-strength vision, the WSJ reports:
The Pompeo ban makes more sense in light of the changing hierarchy behind the scenes in Trump world. Mr. Trump’s son, Don Jr., is wielding greater influence, as is the media provocateur Tucker Carlson and their coterie. They lobbied hard to make JD Vance Mr. Trump’s running mate, and they’re already pulling strings to make him heir apparent. They’d like to block anyone who might challenge Mr. Vance from gaining stature by holding a cabinet position in the second Trump term.
There is also a foreign-policy calculation at work. Mr. Pompeo and Ms. Haley believe in robust U.S. leadership in the world, including support for Ukraine, NATO, and alliances in the Pacific. The Don Jr. crowd and Mr. Vance want to pull back from some of those commitments.
One online MAGA acolyte tweeted Sunday that “The ‘stop Pompeo’ movement is great but it’s not enough. Right now we need maximum pressure to keep all neocons and warhawks out of the Trump administration.” Don Jr. retweeted his assent: “Agreed 100% 100% 100%!!! I’m on it.”
In other words, as with Trump’s comments on the Senate Majority Leader fight, he will not be accepting compromise appointments and personnel purely based on the future political goals of the Republican Party establishment.
In 2016, Haley’s promotion as U.N Ambassador for the Trump administration was widely seen as a way to shore up her foreign policy credentials ahead of a likely future presidential run. Trump acquiesced to Haley’s appointment at the time despite their differences of opinion on many subjects.
The public signal on Haley and Pompeo serves as a declaration that the new Trump administration will value loyalty and shared vision more than placating the establishment, a welcome change from 2016.
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