Back when he was still on the campaign trail (and still considered a joke by many), President-Elect Donald Trump made a number of outlandish promises to cater to the frustrated “everyday American.” From claims that Mexico would pay to build a border wall to repeatedly pledging that he’d lock up his political opponent Hillary Clinton, Trump seems to be unable to stay consistent with even his own unorthodox commitments and comments.
Last week, some of Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominees took part in a series of confirmation hearings to officialize their place in the administration. Interestingly enough, the President-to-be’s closest colleagues seemed to disagree with Trump on a number of policy issues. Let’s take a quick look at the glaring discrepancies between Trump and his cabinet appointments thus far.
Jeff Sessions – Attorney General Nominee
Perhaps the most frightening appointment for cannabis advocates, the controversial Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions’ hearing lasted two entire days. Aside from suspicion that he would further restrict federal marijuana laws, Sessions broke away from Trump on one other major issue. During the hearing, the attorney general pick asserted that he is against banning Muslims from entering the United States, and that he opposed a Muslim registry.
Rex Tillerson – Secretary of State Nominee
One of the most controversial cabinet nominations of all, Trump’s choice to nab oil tycoon and former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State has brought up major questions about the President-Elect’s potential ties to Russia. During his rocky confirmation hearing, Tillerson was criticized for failing to label Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, but still expressed some differences in views from Trump’s. For instance, the nominee believes that Russia was involved in the cyber-attacks that aimed to influence the U.S. Election. He also opposes the ban on Muslims.
James Mattis – Defense Secretary Nominee
Trump’s choice for Defense Secretary, retired four-star general James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, took a much more middle of the road approach to foreign policy during his confirmation hearing than the President-Elect. Mattis expressed his full-fledged support for NATO, his acceptance of the Iran nuclear deal, and stated that he considers Russia to be a major threat to the United Statese.
John Kelly – Homeland Security Secretary Nominee
During the confirmation hearing for Homeland Security Secretary, nominee and retired Marine Corps general John Kelly opposed a number of Trump’s policy issues. Kelly broke from the President-Elect on the border wall plan, deportation policies, and said he has “high confidence” that Russia hacked the election.
Mike Pompeo – CIA Director Nominee
The Kansas-based Republican congressman who Trump has chosen to lead the intelligence community disagreed with the President-Elect on several issues, taking a stand against waterboarding and criticizing Russia for meddling with the US election.
