Trump presidency: What his new team teaches us

Although the incoming president has to fill more than 4,000 executive branch jobs scattered across dozens of agencies, departments and bureaus, there are 21 top-level Cabinet positions that require Senate confirmation. So far the Trump transition team has announced nominees for 15 of the spots (a 16th, interior secretary, is reportedly going to Ryan Zinke of Montana).

First, the basics. Of those 16, 11 are white men. For the first time since 1993, none of the top four departments - state, defence, treasury or justice - will be headed by a woman or a member of an ethnic minority group.

Ben Carson, tapped for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is the only African American. Elaine Chao (transportation) and Nikki Haley (UN ambassador) are the only Asians.

Six have previously held elective office, and one - Ms Chao - has prior experience running a federal agency. That marks a significant change from past presidential administrations, which were well stocked with more experienced political hands.

Mr Trump's Cabinet is a mix of rich businessmen, former military leaders and conservative true-believers. He may have campaigned as an anti-establishment outsider, but he's mostly surrounding himself with powerful, wealthy, influential men. While many may be outsiders to the game of elective politics, they're not exactly drawn from the ranks of the angry populist masses.

Here's a closer look at how it all shakes out.

American voters elected a businessman with no political experience as their president, and he's filled many of his top administration jobs with businessmen who have no political experience.

Leading the way are Rex Tillerson, who has helmed the international energy conglomerate ExxonMobil since 2006, as secretary of state, and venture capitalist and former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin for Treasury.

Other notable picks include the so-called "king of bankruptcy", Wilbur Ross, for commerce and fast food mogul Andrew Puzder at Labor.

What we've learned: Mr Trump campaigned against a global elite that he said was stripping the working class of its wealth. By looking to Wall Street insiders and corporate chieftains for key administration spots, however, his post-election actions signal a decidedly different mentality.

Here come the generals

At one point during the campaign, Mr Trump quipped that he knew more about fighting the so-called Islamic State than many of the generals currently running US military operations. When it came time to fill out his national security apparatus, however, the president-elect has frequently turned to the military brass.

James Mattis (defence) and John Kelly (homeland security) are both retired generals, as is Michael Flynn, who Mr Trump has slated for national security adviser (a position that does not require Senate confirmation).

Taken individually, the picks are unremarkable - ex-military leaders sometimes wind up in the presidential administrations of both Democrats and Republicans. Colin Powell was George W Bush's secretary of state, and David Petraeus ran the Central Intelligence Agency under Barack Obama.

Together, however, Mr Trump's picks give his administration a decidedly martial bent. While he may have mocked Mr Obama's generals, Mr Trump, who attended military school as a youth, seems inclined to favour the spit and polish of military leadership.

The military is one of the few institutions still viewed favourably by the American public, and Mr Trump seems more than happy to march along with it.

What we've learned: Candidate Trump often espoused a less interventionist foreign policy on the campaign trail, but President-elect Trump's decision to surround himself with generals could indicate he will be quicker on the trigger.

The vanquished

Former presidential candidate Rick Perry once called Mr Trump a cancer on the Republican Party. Ben Carson, another primary opponent, questioned the business mogul's religious faith. Now Mr Trump has chosen both to head Cabinet departments in his administration.

There's a certain amount of irony in Mr Perry's selection, given that he is slotted to head the Department of Energy, which he famously forgot the name of when listing Cabinet-level posts he'd cut during a 2008 Republican primary debate.

Although Mr Trump has only named two former adversaries to his administration, he's also rumoured to be considering former computer executive Carly Fiorina for an intelligence agency post. Then there's New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was reportedly offered several Cabinet-level positions after being passed over for attorney general.

He's a foe-turned-friend who now, it seems, has been forgotten.

What we've learned: Facing off against Mr Trump in the past isn't necessarily a deal-breaker for the president-elect, but a subsequent bent knee - offered both by Mr Carson and Mr Perry - is a key to bygones being bygones.

(BBC)