Overview
- Karl reports that wealthy allies, campaign figures and advisers scrambled to shape Cabinet choices, with rivals attempting to undercut one another at Mar‑a‑Lago.
- Howard Lutnick is described as installing a presentation setup with multiple screens to pitch candidates using brief bullet points, TV clips and headshots tailored to Trump’s preferences.
- Lutnick’s team dug up a 2015 clip of Sean Duffy questioning Trump’s conservatism in a bid to block Duffy for Transportation, a move that nearly derailed the pick before Trump finalized it.
- When Susie Wiles was in line for White House chief of staff, Linda McMahon and Brooke Rollins rushed to intervene but were delayed by aides who arranged a call with Vice President‑elect JD Vance, after which Wiles got the job.
- Steve Bannon, in Karl’s account, blasted the selection of Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security as unqualified and blamed Corey Lewandowski for pushing the choice, calling it dangerous.