A senior official in Donald Trump’s campaign said appointees in the second Trump administration will need to prove “loyalty and loyalty.”
The official also sought to distance the former president from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan to create a far-right federal government if Trump wins the November vote.
Howard Lutnick, CEO of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of the former president’s transition team, told the Financial Times that appointees in the second Trump administration were “all on the same side.” They will stand and they will be on the same page.” Everyone understands the policy and we’re going to give people roles based on their ability and their loyalty and loyalty to the policy and to Trump.”
This comment comes as the Trump campaign faces internal conflicts and a staff turnover rate calculated to be 92% as of the day Joe Biden was inaugurated as president in 2021. The announcement comes amid efforts to dispel concerns that it will cause as much turmoil as the administration. .
“Those guys weren’t pure about his vision,” Lutnick told the magazine.
Lutnick’s comments are unlikely to allay the concerns of those who believe government officials should prioritize American democracy over Trump or any other president.
Lutnick joined Trump’s transition team in August, along with Linda McMahon, wife of former World Wrestling Entertainment president Vince McMahon and president of the Small Business Association.
He claimed that Project 2025 is “radioactive,” but its authors openly support Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance.
“Project 2025 is an absolute zero for the Trump-Vance transition,” the billionaire said. “You could use another word: radioactive.”
Democrats made this controversial document part of their campaign, strengthening the president’s powers and “cutting our freedoms by forcing states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions and cutting Social Security and Medicare.” He explained that it is a blueprint for a fast-paced program to “deprive people of their rights.” and abolish the Department of Education. ”
Although President Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, the Democratic campaign for Congressional seats has placed billboards in more than 20 districts using the document to inform Republican policy.
“All the data we have shows that Project 2025 is receiving more interest and attention than any other issue,” said Cal., who heads the task force opposing the project’s agenda. Congressman Jared Huffman told Axios.
The Trump campaign has sought to distance itself from the document and its author. But the core of the campaign is clear enough, including Vance’s foreword to Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ book Dawn’s Early Light.
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Lutnick told the FT that his job of choosing Trump’s nominees was like that of a “mosaic painter” and that the former president would have to prepare for a “ferocious” term if re-elected.
Lutnick said he has contributed more than $10 million to President Trump’s 2024 efforts and another $500,000 to the transition. He also said he has raised a total of about $75 million for his campaign.
Additionally, Lutnick appeared on President Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” show in 2008 and has previously donated to Democrats.
His company, Cantor Fitzgerald, lost 658 employees, including his brother, in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Lutnick said his experience hiring new employees is similar to his work on the Trump transition team.
“You go to world-class people that you think highly of and ask them for help,” he said.
