By Tony Bruce | Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | 4 min read
In an administration full of surprises, Donald Trump’s latest wave of appointments follows a strikingly consistent pattern: a roster of politicians whose most notable political achievement isn’t winning—but losing. And yet, their unwavering loyalty to Trump has now earned them a second chance, not from voters, but from him.
Take, for example, Sean Parnell. The former Pennsylvania Senate hopeful didn’t just fail in his political bid; he left the race under deeply troubling circumstances. A judge awarded custody of his children to his estranged wife after hearing allegations of domestic abuse, including claims that he threw chairs at her and abandoned her on an interstate while she was six months pregnant. Despite these disturbing allegations—which he denies—Trump has now named him as the spokesperson for the Department of Defense.
Then there’s Mehmet Oz, more commonly known as Dr. Oz. After losing Pennsylvania’s Senate race in 2022, many assumed his political aspirations were over. But Trump has now tapped him to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, placing him in charge of crucial healthcare programs despite voters’ clear rejection of his candidacy.
This pattern isn’t limited to Pennsylvania. In Georgia, four different Senate candidates who lost elections have now been granted significant roles within the Trump administration. Kelly Loeffler, who lost her Senate seat in 2020, has been put in charge of the Small Business Administration. David Perdue, another failed Senate candidate, has been made Ambassador to China. Doug Collins, who never even made it past the primary in his Senate run, will now oversee the Department of Veterans Affairs. And Herschel Walker, whose 2022 Senate campaign was widely criticized, is now the U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas.
Arizona’s Kari Lake, who lost both a governor’s race in 2022 and a Senate bid in 2024, has been named head of the Voice of America. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who lost her House seat in Oregon, is now running the Labor Department. Brandon Williams, who failed to hold onto his congressional seat in New York, has been given authority over the National Nuclear Security Administration. And Lee Zeldin, who lost his bid for New York Governor, has been tasked with leading the Environmental Protection Agency.
The trend continues with Caroline Leavitt, a failed congressional candidate in New Hampshire, now serving as White House Press Secretary. Wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who lost two consecutive Senate races in Connecticut, has been placed in charge of the Department of Education. Tulsi Gabbard, who crashed out of the 2020 presidential primaries, has somehow landed the role of Director of National Intelligence—a position that typically demands significant experience in security and intelligence matters.
Perhaps one of the most eyebrow-raising picks is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. Now, he’s Trump’s choice to head Health and Human Services. Harmeet Dhillon, who failed in her bid to become Republican Party Chair, is now leading the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Sam Brown, another Senate race loser, has been assigned to the VA. Even Dave Weldon, who couldn’t secure a seat in Florida’s state legislature, has been given a major role leading the CDC.
The list goes on. Dan Bishop, who lost his bid for North Carolina Attorney General, has been made the number two official at the Office of Management and Budget. Bo Hines, a failed congressional candidate from North Carolina, is now a member of Trump’s new cryptocurrency board. Joe Kent, who has lost two consecutive House races in Washington state, has somehow been put in charge of the National Counterterrorism Center.
What does it say when an administration is filled with people who voters explicitly rejected? While every politician experiences loss at some point, these aren’t figures who lost years ago and have since redeemed themselves. These are people whose most recent contribution to public life was asking the American people for their support—and being told, definitively, “No, we do not want you.”
Trump’s appointments seem to be making a statement: It doesn’t matter what voters think. It doesn’t matter how decisively they rejected these figures. The message from Trump is clear: “This is who you’re getting, and you’ll like it.”
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin famously wrote about Abraham Lincoln assembling a “team of rivals,” pulling together some of the most capable minds of his time. In contrast, Trump appears to be assembling a “team of losers”—not just people who have lost before, but people whose most recent experience in public life was failing to win over the American electorate.
Whether this strategy will work remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: elections may no longer be the ultimate decider of who holds power in a Trump administration.
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