Donald Trump Announces Neocon Hacks Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley Won’t Be In His Administration

Will neocons be completely shut out from a second Trump administration?

On November 9, 2024, President Donald Trump announced that Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not be joining his administration.  

"I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation," Trump declared. "I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country."

This news came after two sources connected to the process had informed CBS News that Pompeo was being floated as a possible candidate for Secretary of Defense.

Haley ran for the Republican nomination in 2016, but ended up endorsing Florida Senator Marco Rubio after she bowed out from the race. Trump would later select Hailey as his UN ambassador, a position she held until her resignation in 2018. Haley ran against Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. She ended her campaign after Super Tuesday in March.

Pompeo and Hailey represent the neoconservative hawk wing of the Republican Party that dominated the political scene from the end of the Cold War until 2016. These people want the US government to wage wars against countries such as China, Iran, and Russia. They’re warmongers and regime change fanatics of the highest order. 

Trump would be wise to stiff arm these people and keep them as far away from his administration as possible. America’s real national security priorities lie on its southern border with Mexico. Not addressing that is gross public policy negligence and will further put the US on the path of managed decline.