MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We want to talk about the new team that's expected to join President-elect Trump when he returns to the White House next year. He seems to be moving fast, assembling this team. He says he will nominate former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik to serve as U.N. ambassador and Congressman Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
But some of his choices are getting a lot of attention, like his plan to nominate a television host to be secretary of defense. Pete Hegseth of Fox News is a military veteran but has no senior military or national security experience.
MARTIN: Here to talk about this is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Franco, welcome back.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hi, Michel.
MARTIN: So we could do a segment on each of these picks honestly, but what about the big picture? What does this tell us about Trump's plans to change how the U.S. positions itself in the world?
ORDOÑEZ: Right. I mean, I think it's a few things. First, it clearly reflects Trump's focus on trust and loyalty. These are all big supporters, which his team does hope will eliminate some of the infighting that plagued his first transition. But they're also indicative of Trump's foreign policy priorities. It's a more nationalistic focus, more transactional. You can expect strong opposition to China, support for Israel and skepticism toward Ukraine. Here is Mike Waltz, for example, talking with our own Steve Inskeep about pressing for a deal between Ukraine and Russia.
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MIKE WALTZ: We have leverage like taking the handcuffs off of the long-range weapons we provided Ukraine as well. And then, of course, I think we have plenty of leverage with Zelenskyy to get them to the table.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, Waltz, though, is a former Green Beret, who is considered to have quite a depth of foreign policy experience.
MARTIN: So, well, OK so the national security adviser doesn't have to be confirmed by the Senate, but some of these other rules do. Do we have a sense of how this mix of, you know, lawmakers and personalities will be received, although, look, I do have to point out that the president's party does control the Senate, or rather will control the Senate when Trump takes office?
ORDOÑEZ: It's still a bit unclear, but I spoke about some of that with former Ambassador John Simon, who served in the Bush administration. He called Waltz, Stefanik and Huckabee leaders who have to be taken seriously. Simon also mentioned Senator Marco Rubio, who is widely reported to be the top candidate for secretary of state, as another who has real foreign policy credentials.
JOHN SIMON: These are people who have spent a lot of time in Congress and focused on many aspects of foreign policy, who have certainly met with a number of world leaders, who are people who will be known quantities among the foreign policy establishment.
ORDOÑEZ: But what's surprising is Trump naming TV host and Army vet Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.
MARTIN: OK, so how are Republicans reacting to this choice? I mean, in this position, you don't just advise the president, but you have to manage a huge agency. You have to manage relationships with other defense leaders around the world. What are Republicans saying about this?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, one House Republican committee chair expressed shock, saying Hegseth was not known, on the list of names under consideration. Indiana Senator Todd Young told reporters he didn't have a sense of Hegseth's background or vision for the department. But he also said he wanted to give all of Trump's nominees a fair opportunity to be heard.
MARTIN: Which raises a key point. I mean, I'm guessing that many Republicans aren't going to want to take a stand against Trump's picks this early in the process.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, it's not unusual for presidents to pull from out of, you know, different constituencies, but this is really an out-of-box kind of pick. The defense secretary leads over a million active duties troops. Hegseth is a decorated veteran but, as you know, lacks the management and high-profile national security experience. That said, Trump really cares a lot about who - those can present well on TV.
MARTIN: That is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Franco, thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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