Trump's national security team will advance his agenda

Significance Trump began his first term with experienced, well-respected national security individuals before falling out with them: he had five defense secretaries and four national security advisors. He has now chosen loyal but inexperienced individuals who can communicate well on television but are largely hostile to the agencies they would lead. Impacts The inexperienced nature of many Trump cabinet choices will make selection of their deputies even more important than usual. The slim Republican majority in the House could make securing funding for major defence-related programmes more difficult. Trump wants to expand defence contract opportunities for non-traditional suppliers, such as high-tech startups, which backed his campaign. Even close foreign allies could lose influence in Washington given the Trump team’s lack of extensive international policy experience.