President-elect Donald Trump has filled the key posts for his second term in office, prioritizing loyalty to him after he felt bruised and hampered by internal squabbling during his first term. Some of his choices could face difficult confirmation fights in the Senate, even with Republicans in control, and one candidate has already withdrawn from consideration. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was Trump's initial pick for attorney general, but he ultimately withdrew following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation he was embroiled in. Here's a look at Trump's choices: Trump would turn a former critic into an ally as the nation's top diplomat. Rubio , 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate before the slot went to JD Vance. Rubio is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His selection punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator once called a “con man" during his own unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. Hegseth , 44, was a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends Weekend” and had been a contributor with the network since 2014. He developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011 and earning two Bronze Stars. He lacks senior military and national security experience and would oversee global crises ranging from Europe to the Middle East. A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and has denied any wrongdoing. Bessent , 62, is a former money manager for George Soros , a big Democratic donor, and an advocate for deficit reduction . He founded the hedge fund Key Square Capital Management after having worked on and off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. Gabbard, 43, is a former Democratic House member from Hawaii who has been accused of echoing Russian propaganda. She unsuccessfully sought the party’s 2020 presidential nomination and left the party in 2022. Gabbard endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him. Gabbard has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. If confirmed she would come to the role as an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, spent several years in top national security and intelligence positions. Bondi , 59, was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist , Bondi also has served with the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-allied group that has helped lay the groundwork for his future administration. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush-money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appeared on Fox News and has been critical of the criminal cases against him. The Republican U.S. House member narrowly lost her reelection bid on Nov. 5 but had received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the department's workforce and budget and put forth priorities that affect workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of a few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act that would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and penalize companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws in more than half the states. Lutnick heads the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is co-chair of Trump's transition operation, charged along with Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, with helping the president-elect fill key jobs in his second administration. As secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. He would oversee a sprawling Cabinet department whose oversight ranges from funding new computer chip factories and imposing trade restrictions to releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. Noem is a well-known conservative who used her two terms as South Dakota's governor to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions like other states, instead declaring South Dakota “open for business.” More recently, Noem faced sharp criticism for writing in her memoir about shooting and killing her dog. She is set to lead a department crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda as well as other missions. Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. Ratcliffe , a former U.S. House member from Texas, was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump’s first term. He led U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. If confirmed, Ratcliffe will have held the highest intelligence positions in the U.S. Kennedy , 70, ran for president as a Democrat, then as an independent before he dropped out and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential campaign. Kennedy's nomination alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Rollins , 52, is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for Trump's second administration. She is a Texas attorney who was Trump's domestic policy adviser and director of his office of American innovation during his first term. Rollins previously was an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry , who also served in Trump's first term. Rollins also ran the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years , sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential campaign, but was acquitted by the Senate. Collins also served in the armed forces himself. He is a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. The North Dakota governor , 68, is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump after he dropped out of the running. Burgum then became a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice in part because of his executive experience and business savvy. He also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump said Burgum would chair a new National Energy Council and have a seat on the National Security Council, which would be a first for the Interior secretary. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. He also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. Wright said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling mogul , would make a return appearance in a second Trump administration. She led the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019 in Trump’s first term and twice ran unsuccessfully in Connecticut as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University. She has expressed support for charter schools and school choice. Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI" and "we will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.” Trump often attacked the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referred to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often said his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Greer is a partner at King & Spalding, a Washington law firm. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization. He previously was chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, who was the trade representative in Trump's first term. Wiles , 67, was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. She has a background in Florida politics , helping Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump’s defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary. Wiles’ hire was Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with him. Wiles is said to have earned Trump’s trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump’s three presidential campaigns. Waltz is a three-term Republican congressman from east-central Florida. A former Army Green Beret , he served multiple tours in Afghanistan and worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Hassett, 62, is a major advocate of tax cuts who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the first Trump term. In the new role as chairman of the National Economic Council, Trump said Hassett will play an important role in helping American families recover from inflation as well as in renewing and improving tax cuts Trump enacted in 2017, many of which are set to expire after 2025. Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. He led the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Trump's first administration. Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings in the first term, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Vought, 48, held the position during Trump’s first presidency. He the founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought also was closely involved with Project 2025 , a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that Trump tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump’s priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump’s first term. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump’s policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation’s economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people living illegally in the U.S. Scavino was an adviser in all three of the president-elect's campaigns and was described by the transition team as one of “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides." He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino previously ran Trump’s social media profile in the White House. Blair was political director for Trump’s 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and an assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump’s economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump’s 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Leavitt , 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. McGinley was Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and they were golfing at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Kellogg , 80, is a highly decorated retired three-star general and one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America First” national security agenda for Trump's second term. He has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues and served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence . Kellogg also was chief of staff of the National Security Council under Trump and stepped in as an acting national security adviser for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned the post. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests. Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Huckabee has rejected a Palestinian homeland in territory occupied by Israel. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served as White House press secretary in Trump's first term. Stefanik, 40, is a U.S. representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders dating to his first impeachment trial. She was elected chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021, the third-highest position in House leadership, after then-Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after she publicly criticized Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. A former acting attorney general during Trump's first administration and tight end on the University of Iowa football team, Whitaker , 55, has a background in law enforcement but not in foreign policy. A fierce Trump localist, Whitaker, is also a former U.S. attorney in Iowa and served as acting attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019 without Senate confirmation, until William Barr was confirmed for the role. That was when special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference was drawing to a close. Whitaker also faced questions about his past business dealings, including his ties to an invention-promotion company that was accused of misleading consumers. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. Oz , 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime TV talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz’s bid for elected office. Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor on Fox News. Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative after cardiac arrest, state should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Bhattacharya , 56, is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. As head of the NIH, the leading medical research agency in the United States, Trump said Bhattacharya would work with Kennedy Jr. to direct U.S. medical research and make important discoveries that will improve health and save lives. Bhattacharya is professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 open letter maintaining that lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic were causing irreparable harm. Gaetz, 42, withdrew from consideration to become the top law enforcement officer of the United States amid fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed by the Senate. In choosing Gaetz, Trump had passed over more established lawyers whose names had been floated as possible contenders for the job. Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump announced him on Nov. 13. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Zeke Miller, Farnoush Amiri, Lolita C. Baldor, Jill Colvin, Matthew Daly, Edith M. Lederer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Lisa Mascaro, Chris Megerian, Michelle L. Price, Will Weissert and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.Logistical issues meant that thousands of Namibians were still waiting to vote in pivotal presidential and legislative elections late on Wednesday as the polling stations were scheduled to close. The vote could usher in the desert nation's first woman leader even as her party, the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power. Some voters told AFP they queued all day, for up to 12 hours, blaming technical problems which included issues with voter identification tablets or insufficient ballot papers. According to Namibia's electoral law, those in the queue before the polls closed -- scheduled at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) -- should be allowed to vote. "We have the obligation to make sure that they pass their vote," said Petrus Shaama, chief officer of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). The main opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has blamed the ECN for the long lines and cried foul play. "We have reason to believe that the ECN is deliberately suppressing voters and deliberately trying to frustrate voters from casting their vote," said Christine Aochamus of the IPC. She said the party had "started the process" of approaching a court "to order the ECN to extend the voting time". At one polling station inside Namibia's University of Science and Technology in the capital Windhoek, hundreds of people were still in line at 09:00 pm despite some having arrived at 6:00 am, an hour before polls opened. It was a similar situation at the Museum of Independence, according to an AFP reporter, where one voter said he arrived 12 hours earlier and was still in line with hundreds of others. SWAPO's candidate and current vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was one of the first to vote and called on Namibians "to come out in their numbers". An estimated 1.5 million people in the sparsely populated nation had registered to cast their ballot. SWAPO has governed since leading mineral-rich Namibia to independence from South Africa in 1990 but complaints about unemployment and enduring inequalities could force Nandi-Ndaitwah into an unprecedented second round. Leader of the IPC, Panduleni Itula, a former dentist and lawyer said he was optimistic he could "unseat the revolutionary movement". "We will all march from there and to a new dawn and a new era of how we conduct our public affairs in this country," the 67-year-old told reporters after voting. More from this section Itula took 29 percent of votes in the 2019 elections, losing to SWAPO leader Hage Geingob with 56 percent. It was a remarkable performance considering Geingob, who died in February, had won almost 87 percent five years before that. Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but not many of its nearly three million people have benefitted from that wealth. "There's a lot of mining activity that goes on in the country, but it doesn't really translate into improved infrastructure, job opportunities," said independent political analyst Marisa Lourenco, based in Johannesburg. "That's where a lot of the frustration is coming from, (especially) the youth," she said. Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46 percent, according to the latest figures from 2018, almost triple the national average. For the first time in Namibia's recent history, analysts say a second round is a somewhat realistic option. That would take place within 60 days of the announcement of the first round of results due by Saturday. "The outcome will be tight," said self-employed Hendry Amupanda, 32, who queued since 9:00 pm the night before to cast his ballot. "I want the country to get better and people to get jobs," said Amupanda, wearing slippers and equipped with a chair, blanket and snacks. Marvyn Pescha, a self-employed consultant, said his father was part of SWAPO's liberation struggle and he was not going to abandon the party. "But I want SWAPO to be challenged for better policies. Some opportunistic leaders have tarnished the reputation of the party, they misuse it for self-enrichment," the 50-year-old said. While lauded for leading Namibia to independence, SWAPO is nervous about its standing after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favour with young voters. In the past six months, South Africa's African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority and the Botswana Democratic Party was ousted after almost six decades in power. clv/br/lhd/sbkWASHINGTON - As president-elect Donald Trump rattles his closest neighbours with threats of tariffs, he is also firming up the team of loyalists to put his plans into action. Trump’s team to lead his trade agenda and the American economy include trade lawyers, former advisers and Wall Street executives who have all expressed favourable views of tariffs. “He’s choosing a lot of people who are going to be loyal to him and his ideas,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont. “And that probably will lead to a lot more volatility than even we saw in the first term.” On Tuesday evening, Trump picked Jamieson Greer to be U.S. trade representative. The president-elect said Greer played a key role in the first Trump administration imposing tariffs on China and negotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. If confirmed, Greer will oversee the trade pact’s review in 2026. “Jamieson will focus the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on reining in the country’s massive trade deficit, defending American manufacturing, agriculture, and services, and opening up export markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement. Greer was the chief of staff to former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer as the trilateral agreement was being crafted to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was torn up last time Trump entered office. Greer’s nomination came the day after Trump said he will impose a 25 per cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. He has also announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China. Trump said the tariffs against Canada and Mexico would remain in place until both countries stop people and drugs, in particular fentanyl, from illegally crossing the border into the U.S. A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report suggested Trump’s previous pledge to impose a 10 per cent levy would take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy. More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. and trade comprises 60 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Some economists have warned across-the-board duties would cause inflation in the U.S., even though Trump campaigned on lowering costs for Americans. Greer was deeply involved in Trump’s original sweeping tariffs on China and subsequent negotiations on the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade agreement, online biographies say. In testimony about China’s trade agenda at a House trade subcommittee last year, Greer said he believes “good fences make good neighbours, and trade enforcement is an important part of establishing those fences.” On Tuesday, Trump also tapped Kevin Hassett to be the director of the White House National Economic Council. The role will be key in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to fix the U.S. economy. His announcement said Hassett will also “ensure that we have fair trade with countries that have taken advantage of the United States in the past.” Hassett served during the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and the president-elect has called him a “true friend.” The latest nominations round out an economic team that includes hedge fund executive Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, who was tapped for commerce secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick would oversee a sprawling cabinet agency and Trump’s tariff agenda. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s tariff plans. In an CNBC interview in September he said tariffs are “an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker.” Lebo said as Trump prepares to return to office he is removing any person who could prove to be a guardrail or check on his power. “These are people aligned with Trump,” Lebo said. “More and more aligned with his campaign rhetoric.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024. — With files from The Associated Press
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WASHINGTON — As president-elect Donald Trump rattles his closest neighbours with threats of tariffs, he is also firming up the team of loyalists to put his plans into action. Trump’s team to lead his trade agenda and the American economy include trade lawyers, former advisers and Wall Street executives who have all expressed favourable views of tariffs. “He’s choosing a lot of people who are going to be loyal to him and his ideas,” said Matthew Lebo, a specialist in U.S. politics at Western University in London, Ont. “And that probably will lead to a lot more volatility than even we saw in the first term.” On Tuesday evening, Trump picked Jamieson Greer to be U.S. trade representative. The president-elect said Greer played a key role in the first Trump administration imposing tariffs on China and negotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. If confirmed, Greer will oversee the trade pact’s review in 2026. “Jamieson will focus the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on reining in the country’s massive trade deficit, defending American manufacturing, agriculture, and services, and opening up export markets everywhere,” Trump said in a statement. Greer was the chief of staff to former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer as the trilateral agreement was being crafted to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was torn up last time Trump entered office. Greer’s nomination came the day after Trump said he will impose a 25 per cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. He has also announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China. Trump said the tariffs against Canada and Mexico would remain in place until both countries stop people and drugs, in particular fentanyl, from illegally crossing the border into the U.S. A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report suggested Trump’s previous pledge to impose a 10 per cent levy would take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy. More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. and trade comprises 60 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Some economists have warned across-the-board duties would cause inflation in the U.S., even though Trump campaigned on lowering costs for Americans. Greer was deeply involved in Trump’s original sweeping tariffs on China and subsequent negotiations on the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade agreement, online biographies say. In testimony about China’s trade agenda at a House trade subcommittee last year, Greer said he believes “good fences make good neighbours, and trade enforcement is an important part of establishing those fences.” On Tuesday, Trump also tapped Kevin Hassett to be the director of the White House National Economic Council. The role will be key in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to fix the U.S. economy. His announcement said Hassett will also “ensure that we have fair trade with countries that have taken advantage of the United States in the past.” Hassett served during the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and the president-elect has called him a “true friend.” The latest nominations round out an economic team that includes hedge fund executive Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary and Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, who was tapped for commerce secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Lutnick would oversee a sprawling cabinet agency and Trump’s tariff agenda. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s tariff plans. In an CNBC interview in September he said tariffs are “an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker.” Lebo said as Trump prepares to return to office he is removing any person who could prove to be a guardrail or check on his power. “These are people aligned with Trump,” Lebo said. “More and more aligned with his campaign rhetoric.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024. — With files from The Associated Press Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press