Trump's First Appointee Choices Should Set Off Alarm Bells

Harley Schlanger November 12, 2024 EST EIRNS

For those who worked for Donald Trump’s election, taking him at his word that he would reverse the control of foreign policy by neocons and war hawks committed to permanent war, his first appointments should be setting off alarm bells. The sighs of relief which greeted his announcement that neither former CIA Director/Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, nor former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley would have a place in his cabinet, was short lived. Both Pompeo and Haley are traditional war hawks, who turned against Trump after the 2020 election, only to seek a spot in his new administration.

On Nov. 11, it was reported that Trump has selected Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as Ambassador to the UN, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. The two had been harsh critics of Trump in the past, with credentials as neocon war hawks from the Bush networks. But they are also favorites of the Adelson family, one of the largest sources of contributions to the Trump campaign and to Congressmen supporting “Greater Israel settler colonialism.”

The late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson supported Rubio in 2016, when he ran for the GOP nomination against Trump; Miriam Adelson bestowed upon Stefanik the Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Defender of Israel Award at the Zionist Organization of America “Heroes of Israel” gala in March. At that time, she heaped praise on Stefanik, saying, “I recognized immediately that this is a young woman, very young, with the mettle of generations past, the vision to spot injustice, and the courage to call it out, the ability to rise to the moral challenges of a fast changing world.

“To Sheldon, Representative Stefanik would have been a perfect example of his favorite axiom, ‘Stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand up alone.’ But Congresswoman Elise, you will never stand alone. I thank you. The ZOA thanks you. The Jewish people thank you. America thanks you. Mazel Tov—and may you know much success.”

Stefanik has received more than $900,000 in contributions from AIPAC in past campaigns. She made a name for herself denouncing university presidents last spring, for not acting more aggressively to silence alleged anti-Semitism on college campuses. She demanded harsh crackdowns to stifle protests against Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Dr. Miriam Adelson, Sheldon Adelson’s widow, contributed nearly $100 million to the Trump campaign in 2024. She was born in Israel, served in the IDF, and holds dual citizenship.

Rubio was a particular target of Trump in 2016, who dubbed him “little Marco,” while trolling him as part of his assault against neocon war hawks of the Bush faction of the GOP. Rubio has received more than $1 million in campaign contributions from AIPAC. While recently declaring that he agrees with Trump that the Ukraine war must end, he said that it is necessary in order to concentrate on the threats to democracy from “authoritarian governments” of Iran and China.

In addition to the expected appointments of Stefanik and Rubio, Trump named Brian Hook to head the transition team at the State Department. Hook, who previously served under Pompeo as a coordinator of the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, coordinated the sanctions regime against it, along with sabotage and assassinations.

With these first appointments, it appears that Trump is replacing the Brzezinski Democratic war hawks from the Biden administration, such as Blinken and Sullivan, with more traditional Bush League permanent war “conservatives.”