Welcome back from Thanksgiving! There’s much to be thankful for in 2024. Scroll down for photos of 6 Trump Appointees with whom we “shared a stage” this campaign.
Despite what some might assume, I’ve never lived or worked in Washington, D.C. Rather, I’ve spoken to conservative groups in the majority of counties in the three states in which I’ve spent almost all my life – Virginia, Alabama and Wisconsin. As the Founders realized, most good ideas start with the common sense of the people who actually live under the laws that come out of DC.
During my first trip to Mar-a-Lago last month, we joked that our late September bus tour of Wisconsin was the turning point, because before that Kamala Harris led in the seven battleground states for a solid month. The photo below is from the Wisconsin bus tour. Participants including me (in the back, and least important in the photo below), Kash Patel, Chad Wolf, Vivek Ramaswamy, and other Wisconsin conservative leaders. After that tour, Trump led in all seven battlegrounds and ultimately won them—but of course, that’s lighthearted coincidence, not a cause-and-effect scenario.
Like Bill Clinton’s sweeping re-election over Bob Dole, there may not have been a pure majority but it was a mandate. As I said in Fox News Radio the week before the election, “I really feel confident on this one. I think it’s gonna be a landslide of 1%, 2%, and 3% wins, but I think it could be an electoral landslide. 312 is very reasonable … i just don’t see how she turns it around.’
1. Vivek Ramaswamy – Department of Government Efficiency
After my speeches on the bus tour, Vivek would often instruct the crowd: “Just remember, Vivek rhymes with ‘cake,’ and Ramaswamy rhymes with ‘Ramaswamy.’” My first meaningful conversation with Vivek was the previous year at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Gala, one of the most important grassroots events in the nation. I sponsored it to learn from the legendary Steve Scheffler, whose insights helped me launch the Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition. This organization played a pivotal role in getting 400,000+ candidate comparisons into the hands of faith-based voters before Trump’s narrow victory in Wisconsin—a key battleground state.
Trump later announced that Vivek, alongside Elon Musk, would head the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to dismantle bureaucratic waste and reduce unnecessary regulations, reshaping federal agencies.
2. Tulsi Gabbard – Director of National Intelligence
In 2015, Ric Grenell oversaw my communications effort to launch my first nonprofit. Later, he would be appointed Director of National Intelligence by Trump, making history as the first openly gay cabinet member in US History (a fact that stunned President Trump, as he assumed there had been many others).
After being elected to the GOP Committee of Milwaukee, I personally sponsored an event with the MKE and Waukesha GOPs to bring Tulsi Gabbard, not knowing at the time that she would eventually be nominated as DNI. We shared a conversation while with other sponsors before she took the stage. Trump announced that Tulsi, with her extensive military background, would be a great fit for DNI.
Gabbard, a former Army National Guard member, had a distinguished career in public service including being a Democratic Congresswoman and then Presidential candidate before becoming an independent in 2022.
3. Kristi Noem – Secretary of Homeland Security
This summer post provides details on my chance to share a stage with Kristi Noem at the National Faith and Freedom Coalition annual meeting. Noem, who Trump later named Secretary of Homeland Security, earned praise for her strong stance on border security. This was especially significant as Governors across the country recognized the growing issues stemming from an open border, including fentanyl and gang violence, all the way to the Canadian border. Before Noem’s appointment, Chad Wolf (also pictured in this blog from our bus tour), who had held the position in Trump’s first term, advocated for an outsider to re-evaluate the state of homeland security in light of the assassination attempts.
4. Lee Zeldin – Environmental Protection Agency
This photo captures a behind-the-scenes moment where Lee Zeldin, a staunch advocate for America First policies, speaks to the crowd while others—like Scarlett Johnson, Congressman Troy Nehls, Chad Wolf and me—prepare for the next stop on the tour. At first glance it may appear I am painted on the bus next to JD Vance, but in fact that is just the lighting as I am there.
Zeldin’s legal background and dedication to regulatory reform made him a strong choice for leading the Environmental Protection Agency, with Trump hailing his ability to balance environmental protection with the need for deregulation to unleash American business.
Zeldin, who represented New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, also shared a laugh with me about my Southern accent hiding my family’s Long Island roots. My dad’s family lived on Long Island where I spent many summer vacations, and I was born in Potsdam, NY, near the Canadian border.
5. Kash Patel – FBI Director
Kash Patel was another highlight of the September bus tour. Having already known that he worked with my friend Ric Grenell (see photo when we last got together in Wisconsin in 2022), I was excited to meet him. Patel’s focus and discipline were immediately apparent, making him an ideal candidate to oversee the FBI. Trump announced on November 30 that Patel would be appointed as FBI Director, a position that would require Chris Wray’s voluntary departure or dismissal.
Patel’s experience spans multiple intelligence and defense roles, including chief of staff to the Acting Secretary of Defense and senior adviser on the National Security Council. His dedication to reforming the FBI made him a key choice for the job. The photo above from the final event of the tour appeared with a previous blog detailing the entire tour.
6. Doug Burgum – Secretary of the Interior
While my interaction with Doug Burgum might sound a bit exaggerated, our overlap this year revolved around our shared passion for basketball that landed us on the same Milwaukee court. I play twice a week in Milwaukee, and when Burgum was still in the presidential race, he showed up to my court where he unfortunately tore his Achilles tendon. After the hospital run, he hobbled up to check out the debate stage at FiServ, home of Marquette basketball and the RNC convention.
He managed to take the podium and debate. That reminded me of a time in college when, despite a doctor’s orders not to play basketball ever again due to a severe knee injury, I hobbled five blocks to a game, dropped the crutches, and scored 21 points in an intramural game using a set shot and really good boxing out technique since I could not jump.
While Burgum is the one appointee listed who might not recognize me, it’s not that often I share a bond with someone both on the basketball and political level – as I also recounted in this blog after talking with an NBA player at Mar-a-Lago.
These six individuals, all key members of Trump’s team, represent a mix of vision, experience, and commitment to restoring America’s greatness. I’m proud to have shared some time with them and to have worked alongside such dedicated public servants in the 2024 campaign.
Here’s to continuing that fight for a better America!
