The latest batch of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees are poised to reshape not only the nation, but also the planet. The man tapped to be America's chief diplomat is a trusted friend of Russia, the nation's longtime geopolitical rival. The man tapped to lead the Department of Energy has long pledged to kill it. Russia [awarded him] its Order of Friendship in 2013, one of the highest awards Moscow gives foreigners. The man nominated to shepherd the Labor Department opposes raising the minimum wage. And Trump's nominees to run the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Interior and Energy are dubious about the science behind climate change. Trump tapped these men - most of his nominees are wealthy, white men - because they are top deal-makers." And while they may not be creatures of Washington, they are still part of the nation's elite and a far cry from Trump's campaign promise to "drain the swamp" of entrenched power-brokers. "It's a cabinet of tycoons," said Eleni Kounalakis, a San Francisco business executive who served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013. "He believes business tycoons know what's best. Like what's best for Exxon is best for America."
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