Donald Trump Jr. has become the most influential member of the Trump family in forming the most contentious cabinet in modern American history, several sources familiar with the matter said, citing from Reuters. According to them, Trump chooses inexperienced and loyal supporters for high positions in his administration rather than qualified candidates, writes BTA.
Trump, for whom loyalty is on a pedestal, has often relied on his family for policy advice, but it's hard to say for sure which of his relatives he listens to the most.
According to the sources, this time it is Don Jr. who has helped some contenders for cabinet posts to stand out or fall out – from defending Sen. JD Vance as a vice presidential nominee to blocking former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from joining the Cabinet.
Don Jr. played an important role in selecting his close friend Vance as the vice presidential candidate, with whom Trump was ultimately satisfied. This gives Don Jr. additional political capital as an adviser during the transition period to the inauguration of the new government, one of the sources added.
The young Trump will give advice to his father in the White House, the source added.
Two of the nominees that Don Jr. endorsed are likely to face difficulties before the Senate confirms their nominations – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump plans to nominate to be secretary of health, and Tulsi Gabbard, who Trump plans to select as intelligence chief.
Kennedy is an environmental activist who spreads misinformation about vaccines, and Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin had good reasons to invade Ukraine.
Not all of Don Jr.'s picks were nominated for cabinet.
According to a familiar source, Donald Trump Jr. wanted Rick Grenell, his personal friend and former ambassador to Germany, to become secretary of state. In the end, his father chose Senator Marco Rubio for the post.
Two employees close to Don Jr. explained that his word does not carry weight in all personnel decisions.
He is not expected to play much of a role in vetting candidates for lower positions either, one of the sources close to him said.
"The reality this time is that we actually know what we are doing," Don Jr. told "Fox News" earlier this month. "And it's about surrounding my father with people who are both competent and loyal," he explained.
Trump's daughter – Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were prominent in the 2016 campaign, as well as during Trump's tenure.
Kushner is his former senior adviser who dealt with Middle East affairs. Sources close to Kushner said they now expect him to be involved in Middle East politics in an unofficial capacity, with the goal of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of a 2020 expansion of the Abraham Accords, which Kushner helped broker.< /p>
Kushner, Ivanka and her brother Eric Trump, who runs the Trump Organization, do not plan to join the new administration, their representatives and sources said.
A source familiar with the transition to the new administration noted that Trump does not seem to need the advice of his family as much now as he did in the past.