UkoLight

Washington — Propelled by populist energy, President-elect Donald Trump’s candidacy broke long-standing conventions and his incoming Cabinet embodies a sharp turn from the outgoing Obama administration. Trump, a Republican who pledged major changes after eight years of a Democratic White House, has assembled nominees for a Cabinet that includes many business executives who have never served in government, and military leaders are in line to oversee defense and homeland security. In one case, Trump has named someone who once called for dismantling the agency he’d lead. A change of political parties at the White House almost always brings policy adjustments. But Trump’s Cabinet expects to carry the outsider flair of his campaign, a role reversal compared with more conventional teams under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama that were heavy on former lawmakers, governors and veterans of past administrations. A look at the expected shift in the federal government: State...

Now that Donald Trump has named ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his pick for secretary of state, the transition has reached a milestone of sorts. Nominations for the most prized jobs in the Cabinet — the people who lead the Departments of State, Defense, Justice and the Treasury — are all in place, filling what have come to be known as the "big four" jobs. As The Post wrote in 2011, these are the "original departments created by George Washington, with the heftiest portfolios" — the most high-profile positions and among the foremost voices guiding the president's thinking on critical military, foreign affairs, justice and economic issues. And for the first time in more than two decades — if those four names are ultimately confirmed — the "big four" jobs will be entirely white and male. As one ABC News producer, Chris Donovan, put it Tuesday: "If Trump's picks confirmed, 1st time in 24 yrs no woman/minority serving at least 1 of "...

Talk about something often enough and the idea can become real, especially if people around you are talking about the same thing. That, in short, gives a good indication why there had been so much chatter about the possibility of the Electoral College voting against Donald Trump on Monday, even though it was never likely to happen. Electors voted for Trump as expected, and the letdown for Clinton supporters and Trump detractors has no doubt whipped them straight back to dismal reality. But psychologists say the good news is they're not likely to feel dismal about their situation for long, despite the many blinking lights of false hope. Clinton fans first got an unrealistic jolt of hope from a New York Magazine article that offered quickly debunked evidence that voting machines in Wisconsin had been rigged for Trump. But before that "evidence" could be sufficiently swept from the public's mind, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein launched a three-state...