Two prominent members of the first Trump administration will not be part of a second, according to the president-elect.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday evening.
“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country.”
Both have criticized Trump since leaving power, displaying an independent streak the former president may not be willing to entertain for his cabinet.
After a popular stint as governor of South Carolina, Haley was Trump’s pick for U.N. ambassador where she acquired a national following. The former governor then ran a heated Republican primary campaign against her former boss, outlasting the entire field. She belatedly endorsed Trump in May after having suspended her campaign in March.
Pompeo had previously served under Trump as both Secretary of State and CIA Director but was rumored to be in contention for Secretary of Defense this time around. Pompeo also flirted with challenging Trump during the primary cycle but decided to keep his name out of the race.
One of the themes of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign was the subversiveness of officials during his first term who undermined his desired policy initiatives. Trump appeared on the Joe Rogan Show in October, claiming his “biggest mistake” was “[picking] a few people I shouldn’t have picked.” He described these individuals as “neocons or bad people or disloyal people”.
This announcement comes amid rumors that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is trying to push Donald Trump away from choosing Florida senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, per the EconoTimes. Kennedy is reportedly concerned about Rubio’s reputation as a foreign policy hawk.
Tom Cotton, an Arkansas senator who shares many of Rubio’s interventionist sympathies and was widely viewed as a prime cabinet position candidate, has already announced he will not have a role in the next administration. Many are waiting on President Trump’s cabinet selections with great anticipation as a likely sign of just how different a second Trump presidency will be.
Trump’s first executive staffing decision came down on Friday, with his presidential campaign co-chair Susie Wiles set to be the White House chief of staff. She would be the first woman to ever hold such a position.