Today, a week after securing his spot as president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump announced Reince Priebus as his chief of staff. This move is in line with post-election Trump behavior yet contrary to his anti-establishment positions during his campaign.
Reince, chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) is the definition of an establishment Republican. Trump built his entire platform on the campaign trail railing against the ineffectiveness of the party establishment and highlighting his unique perspective as a “political outsider.” Trumps potential cabinet picks are largely tea party Republicans, many of whom served under George W. Bush. A few of his top picks include – Newt Gingrich as Secretary of State, Ben Carson as Secretary of Education and Chris Christie as Attorney General.
Trump supporters have been duped. Trump does not represent the breath of fresh air in politics that he claimed. After a few short days as president-elect he started backtracking on his extreme policy proposals, most notably his position on the Affordable Care Act.
Trump claimed that after meeting with Obama for 90 minutes, he was adopting a more moderate position on Obamacare. If a 90-minute conversation can change a key pillar of his entire campaign, imagine what a few Google searches may yield? Trump now plans to keep two key provisions of the Act: ending discrimination based on preexisting conditions and allowing young people to remain on their parents insurance through age 26.
In the coming weeks it will be interesting to see if Trump makes further concessions to his 100 day plan and campaign promises. Hopefully he does as we have at least 2 years with a conservative house, senate, and executive, giving him the power to turn back the clock on almost a decade of consistent progress.
