Trump is already in charge and generating a lot of trouble

As international leaders struggle to accept his victory, President-elect Donald Trump is already demonstrating his raw power and indicating that he may attempt to undermine Washington’s checks and balances.

Early indications from Mar-a-Lago, the Florida club and estate where Trump is establishing his new administration, indicate that he will use all of his might when he returns to the White House in January, buoyed by a landslide victory and a democratic mandate.

Trump has already ordered Senate Republicans who are vying for majority leader this week to support recess appointments for his Cabinet choices on social media, and all three contenders swiftly indicated that they are amenable to the concept. He is demonstrating that, should Republicans win, he intends to control a GOP monopoly.

Shortly before midnight, Trump announced on Truth Social that he had appointed Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a supporter of Trump’s plans for mass deportations, as border czar, a move that brought back memories of the late-night drama of his first administration. In a recent CBS “60 Minutes” interview, Homan contended that “families could be deported together” but disregarded “concentration camps” or large-scale neighborhood sweeps.

Trump’s opponents’ worries about the former president’s tough objectives are probably going to be strengthened by his decision. However, the president-elect was open about his intentions during the campaign, and his policies will represent the aspirations of the millions of voters in his governing majority for a comprehensive change in the course of American affairs at home and abroad.

Trump’s actions, for example, signal a new administration that is influenced by outsider populism rather than traditional power brokers. For instance, he disqualified Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo, who formerly held senior foreign policy positions, from Cabinet positions. He offered New York Rep. Elise Stefanik the position of US ambassador to the UN on Sunday, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. And Trump’s unconventional approach to challenging every governing tradition was demonstrated by his inclusion of billionaire tech visionary and rabble-rouser Elon Musk on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a privilege often reserved for senior foreign policy advisors.