Inside the orbit of Trump 2.0

Good morning and welcome to White House Watch. Donald Trump goes to the Oval Office tomorrow for a meeting with President Joe Biden. In the meantime, let’s take a look at:

Come take a tour of Maga court, which looks completely different than it did eight years ago.

Last time around, Trump was forced to look to the Republican establishment for guidance. This time, it’s the Maga loyalists who have his ear [free to read].

Now Trump is more willing to embrace the ideology of this politically ascendant new American right. He’s determined to enact his aggressive agenda immediately with the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, sweeping tax cuts and across-the-board tariffs on imports. He may also be plotting revenge on his political opponents.

The president-elect’s billionaire donors and allies appear to have unrivalled influence, giving his incoming administration a plutocratic vibe.

Elon Musk has enjoyed remarkable closeness to Trump. After bankrolling America Pac, which spent $172mn on the 2024 election, the Tesla chief executive has been promised a top role on a commission that will pare back regulations and drastically cut government spending.

Also in Trump’s orbit are the two billionaire chairs of his transition team, Howard Lutnick, the chief of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, and Linda McMahon, the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment. Both could end up in the cabinet: Lutnick for Treasury and McMahon for commerce after giving millions to the campaign.

Within Trump’s family, Donald Trump Jr has been the most influential, but he will not have a formal role — having chosen to join a conservative venture capital firm. As a staunch champion of the new right, he played a central role in convincing his father to choose JD Vance as his running mate and in crafting the strategy to appeal directly to young men.

And then, of course, there is the vice-president-elect, who is in pole position to shape the future of the Republican party after helping re-cast the party’s old country club image. He has his eye on tech and immigration for his policy portfolio.

Transitional times: the latest headlines

What we’re hearing

By helping Donald Trump to presidential victory, Elon Musk has bought himself so much influence that he seems to be overshadowing JD Vance.

The world’s richest man is preparing to wield his new Washington power, heading up a new Department of Government Efficiency. The role Trump has promised him will be structured so that Musk keeps control of his prized companies — Tesla, SpaceX, X, xAI and Neuralink — according to people familiar with the preparations.

This means he’ll flex his muscle by installing longtime deputies, engineering experts, financial backers and ideological partners within the federal government.

Some of Musk’s most trusted advisers include Steve Davis, president of Musk’s tunnelling start-up the Boring Company, who he has relied on for corporate restructuring; his self-described “firefighter” Omead Afshar, who helped oversee the construction of Tesla’s vast car factory, Giga Texas; venture capitalists David Sacks and Jason Calacanis; and Jared Birchall, who runs Musk’s family office.

Musk has also struck up quite the X correspondence with Bill Ackman, who runs US hedge fund Pershing Square.

Naturally, Musk’s dealings with the government — and any conflicts of interest that result — will be in focus.

“The most important thing for you to understand about Elon is that he is a gunslinging risk taker, but does it with full understanding of the numbers and probabilities,” said one person close to Musk.

He’s a nightmare to work with . . . but it is the practical truth — the government needs better and faster employees overseeing autonomy, rockets and AI.

Team 47: who has made the cut

US senator Marco Rubio is expected to be tapped for secretary of state.

Susie Wiles, Trump’s 2024 campaign manager, has been named chief of staff.

One of her deputies will be immigration hardliner Stephen Miller, who will have a top policy role in Trump’s White House, while Tom Homan will be the “border tsar”.

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem will head up the Department of Homeland Security. (CNN)

Trump has asked congressman Mike Waltz to be his national security adviser, making the military veteran and noted China hawk one of the most powerful people in the White House.

Former US congressman Lee Zeldin has been picked to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, signalling that Trump intends to tear up rules aimed at reducing US carbon emissions.

The president-elect has appointed a loyal ally, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, as US ambassador to the UN. She’s a sharp critic of the international organisation — particularly on Israel.

Datapoints

The Democratic autopsy continues, revealing big shifts in the US electorate. [Free to read]

Democrats seem to have solidified themselves as the party of high-income voters. For the first time in decades, the party got more support from Americans in the top third of the income bracket than from poorer groups, according to an FT analysis of voter surveys.

The majority of households earning less than $50,000 a year voted for Trump, while those making more than $100,000 voted for Harris, according to exit polls.

The numbers also show just how damaging the immigration issue was for Harris.

Some of the areas that swung furthest to Trump were on the US south-western border. In Texas, he managed to flip four such counties that had voted for Democratic presidential candidates since the 1970s.

Some of his biggest gains came from majority-Hispanic counties, including Starr County, whose population is 96 per cent Hispanic.

Latino voters’ shift towards Trump could have long-lasting implications since the demographic is among the fastest-growing in the US.

Viewpoints