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Trump’s inner circle infographic
Graphic shows Donald Trump’s inner circle.
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Trump’s inner circle preparing for a second term

By Duncan Mil

April 2, 2024 - Donald Trump has a team of fiercely loyal Republican advisers and donors who plan a dramatic government overhaul.

In addition to pushing Ukraine to settle with Rus­sia, Trump’s policies include sweep­ing tar­iffs and a crack­down on immig­ra­tion. He has also threatened to launch purges of the fed­eral judi­ciary and civil service bur­eau­cracy.

Whereas Trump’s 2016 cam­paign was sham­bolic in its oper­a­tion, Trump now has a “deep bench” of people who are “ready to go,” says Steve Ban­non, his former polit­ical strategist.

“It’s going to be much more hard hit­ting,” Ban­non adds: “Trump’s not hid­ing the foot­ball.”

One of Trump’s goals is to purge the civil ser­vice of what he calls “rogue bur­eau­crats,” including some 50,000 employees. Russell Vought plays a crucial role in preparing for the relaunched Schedule F policy through his newly founded Center for Renewing America.

Trump has also purged the Republican National Committee (RNC), appointing his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair and turning the organisation into a vehicle for his re-election.

“Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC -- that is electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country,” Lara Trump said in February.

Trump’s takeover of the RNC makes the party’s central organising committee a glorified legal defence fund for his criminal cases.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 02/04/2024; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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