U. Democrats, Republicans speak on Trump cabinet picks, post-election outlooks

In the weeks after President-elect Donald J. Trump's election win, Americans have been closely following his cabinet picks — some with dread and others with excitement.

Zack Korczak, a sophomore representative of Rutgers Democrats and a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, and Jeremy Li, the chairman of Rutgers Republicans and a Rutgers Business School senior, spoke with The Daily Targum about their outlooks on the nominees for some of the country's most powerful governmental positions.

Multiple potential members of the incoming administration — including former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who stepped down from the nomination, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Trump himself — also have sexual assault allegations against them, according to an article by AP News.

Given Trump's co-occurring position as the U.S. Army's Commander-in-Chief and Hegseth's nomination as Secretary of Defense, Korczak — who serves in the Army National Guard — gave his opinions on the two, as he would be legally prohibited from openly criticizing his superiors once they take office.

"They teach you about Army values and just generally being a good person in the Army," Korczak said. "To have someone at the second and first highest positions in the military command being sexual abusing, generally bad and incompetent people is quite worrying for me personally and obviously, for our country."

On the allegations, Li said it is important to investigate claims thoroughly, and if they are verified, the nominees should resign.

Korczak is dissatisfied with other cabinet picks, such as Kash Patel for director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as Gaetz. Trump's selections represent his increased willingness to stray from tradition, according to Korczak.

"There is never a bottom, there is never something that you think is so out of this world that it (wouldn't) happen," he said. "Like Matt Gaetz as attorney general … if Republicans had a couple more Senate seats, that would not have been out of the cards for America."

When asked to name any nominees that stood out to him, Li spoke in favor of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump's selection for Secretary of State, citing his extensive background in foreign policy.

"He's an incredibly stand-out person. I think that would really shine enough with a lot of other people," he said. "I think Marco Rubio would, more certainly than not, get confirmation."

Li also backed "border czar" Tom Homan, who was the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a member of Border Patrol, as well as Elon Musk, who will be co-chairing the government-adjacent Department of Government Efficiency. Li expressed faith that Homan would enact large-scale deportation and Musk would improve development and affordability.

When it comes to the election as a whole, Li noted that the results come from the will of the American people to "start putting Americans first." He said a big motivator for voters this year was the economy, as well as health care, criminal justice and unlawful immigration.

Economic issues, such as taxes on tips and overtime wages, are issues that affect working-class Americans across diverse platforms, Li said. While he said the Republican campaign has long spoken to such issues, the party communicated it well this year, according to Li.

More specifically, he praised Trump's speaking style, as well as his success as the Republican nominee.

"He's very good at communicating in a way that people can understand," Li began. "It's like he's talking directly to voters as if he was at your door and talking to you … I think we couldn't have asked for a better nominee to have done this. And obviously, he did it, and he did it successfully."

By contrast, Korczak expressed concern for a second Trump presidency. He discussed potentially negative impacts on immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and those seeking abortions. Korczak said he is also worried for others in the Army who may be affected by Republican policy, including working-class and immigrant soldiers.

He said the Army has seen progressive strides in recent years regarding soldiers' wellbeing, prompting doubt as to whether such attitudes will continue or be reversed under "people who are more concerned with starting a war with Iran … than caring after soldiers in our ranks."

Looking forward, both Korczak and Li reiterated the importance of continued advocacy for their causes.

Li said given the Republicans' narrow majority in the House of Representatives, it is important for them to continue campaigning in historically Democratic regions and protect the seats the party gained this year. On campus, Li said this advocacy would translate into meetings to discuss the contrasting ideologies and collaborations with other groups.

"We need to work harder, and we need to defend what we have now — we can't be complacent," Li said. "I hope Republicans that turned out this year, turn out two years from now and every single year in New Jersey."

Korczak said the election results do not indicate the permanent end of social causes. Rather, he said students should not lose hope — a stance he confirmed both immediately following the election and further out.

"It just means that the fight that has been taking place for decades before I was alive continues and is burning harder now than perhaps it did over the last four years," he said. "And I am still, I would say, optimistic and excited to take part in that fight in the ways I can, and I would still encourage people and almost beg people to do the same."