Analyst: Business leaders more prominent in Trump administration this time

The role of business leaders in the second Donald Trump administration in the United States seems to be greater than in his previous one, or in those of other presidents, at least going on the spectacle of his inauguration, political analyst and US expert Andreas Kaju said.
Tech big hitters such as Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta/Facebook and of course X owner Elon Musk were all present at Monday's ceremony, held indoors, in a break with tradition.
In fact, Kaju pointed out, some of these figures stood in more prominent places at the swearing-in itself than did Trump's new cabinet politicians.
Speaking to "Ringvaade," Kaju said: "The future cabinet members stood in the back row, with the tech billionaires ahead of them."
"This also shows how, in terms of presentation, Trump wants to demonstrate who he will truly govern with—that he has major capital and business leaders behind him," Kaju went on.
"It has to be stated that the role of business leaders in this administration is greater than it was in previous ones. This is partly because the two main issues which voters elected Trump in for were likely the economy and immigration," Kaju continued.
Members of Trump's administration have not yet formally taken office, as their confirmations are still pending at the Senate.
According to Kaju, among Trump's cabinet nominees, there are both those whose confirmations will come more easily and those who may face greater challenges.
"The Senate has the right to appoint thousands of individuals to office. This is a major process. Naturally, it begins with the most important roles—cabinet members—and perhaps we'll see some confirmed this week, but likely more in the coming weeks."
The first hearings have already taken place, for instance, the nominee as Secretary of State, Florida Senator Marco Rubio. His views are generally suitable for us [in Estonia] in terms of security policy, as he supports NATO and transatlantic relations, is conservative, and is very cautious and reserved on Russia. His first hearing has already occurred, and he is expected to be confirmed since he generally has the support of Democrats as well as Republicans," Kaju added.
"However, with several other candidates, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine health secretary candidate, things will definitely turn a bit more complicated. Similarly, they want to appoint Tulsi Gabbard to a security coordinator role; she has in the past expressed sympathies towards Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, and is also a Democrat. So Republican senators will certainly question her more sharply," he continued.
There have indeed been instances in the past where presidential nominees have not been confirmed, Kaju noted.
On the other hand, Trump's immediate family including his two older sons and his daughter Ivanka, the latter highly prominent during the first term, will take more of a back seat this time around, Kaju said.
"There are also practical reasons for this. During the first term, his closest advisors were his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had a real influence on policy-making, including on key issues."
"This was evident in some areas, for example, in improving relations in the Middle East between Israel and the Sunni states of the Persian Gulf, which culminated in the so-called Abraham Accords. Jared Kushner played a very important role in creating this framework, this agreement. However, since Trump's first term, Kushner has been very successful in business. He has managed to turn his work and relationships in the Middle East into a very large investment firm, and it is hard to see them returning to the White House to avoid any conflict of interest," Kaju summed up.
Bezos apparent closeness to the new president has proved controversial in that last fall he reportedly nixed an endorsement in the Washington Post, which he owns, of Kamala Harris as president, on the same day representatives of another company he owns met with Donald Trump.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: "Ringvaade", interviewer Marko Reikop