WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — President-Elect Donald Trump and his incoming administration are hitting the ground running in the lead up to the inauguration, announcing key cabinet additions this week.
"One of the things that Trump was criticized for in the first administration was they were very slow in making appointments," said Dr. Dan Mallinson, associate professor of public policy at Penn State Harrisburg. "In fact, there were many of those thousands of lower-level appointments that were either never appointed or their interims in those positions. They’re clearly moving very fast this time."
The president-elect has not yet named a White House press secretary, but Trump Attorney Alina Habba is seen as a front-runner to fill the role.
Habba has a Harrisburg connection, having graduated from Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2010.
She’s appeared on stage at the RNC after representing Trump in his New York civil fraud trial.
"He’s going to be picking people who are going to really push his agenda across the government and trying to avoid some of the push back that he got from some appointments in his last administration," Mallinson said.
Habba would join Trump’s chief of staff pick Susie Wiles, national security adviser selection Mike Waltz and FOX News host Pete Hegseth, who was chosen as Trump’s secretary of defense.
"That’s seen as a surprise to pull somebody out as a media figure into a position like Department of Defense," Mallinson said.
The president-elect earmarked Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to head his new Department of Government Efficiency, though its creation could face a challenge.
"Creating a new department requires Congress to act," Mallinson said. "The president can’t just create a department on their own. Now, he could create a commission or an office, which may actually be what happens here."
If it’s approved, the new department would be the first added since the Department of Homeland Security following 9/11.