Comparing Donald Trump’s 2025 cabinet picks to Joe Biden’s, Trump’s picks only help make the case for DEI hiring practices.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices are simply a method to insure fair treatment of all people. That is, in Trump’s cabinet, sycophantic loyalty – mostly by old, white men – is more important than qualifications or competence for a position. It is precisely decisions like Trump’s unqualified, incompetent cabinet picks that makes the case for DEI policies for employers.

Two Cabinets, Two Philosophies: A Factual Comparison

Background: What the data shows

The contrast between Biden’s 2021 cabinet and Trump’s 2025 cabinet is real and measurable.

On demographics, the gap is significant. Biden’s cabinet was nearly 55% nonwhite and 45% female, while Trump’s first-term cabinet was 82% white and 82% male. In Trump’s second term, only about 17% of Trump’s 2025 cabinet nominees are non-white, despite over 40% of Americans identifying as people of color.

Government experience: the sharpest distinction

The clearest professional difference between the two cabinets is prior government experience. Trump’s cabinet picks were mostly based on their net worth – with over 13 cabinet picks being billionaires and many others being high net worth millionaires, while Biden and Obama turned to people with robust government experience.

Biden’s most credentialed pick was arguably Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen — the first person in U.S. history to have served as Treasury Secretary, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Chair of the Federal Reserve. His Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona, had more than two decades of public sector education experience, having previously worked as an elementary school teacher, a principal, and served as Connecticut’s Education Commissioner.

Trump’s 2025 cabinet

Trump’s most “most qualified” pick was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee is widely seen as making him fit for the position. He was confirmed 99-0 by the Senate — the clearest bipartisan endorsement in either cabinet. However, Rubio is remembered in 2016 for saying, “I will never stop until we keep a con man (Trump) from taking over the party of Reagan. He’s a con man. He’s a con man. He’s a con man.” Since joining Trump’s cabinet, however, he has bowed to every Trump decision, he has reversed calling Vladimir Putin a “war criminal”, and he has failed to protect immigrants from ICE aggression despite earning birthright citizenship himself and his parents being Cuban exiles.

The most contested pick was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth is an Army National Guard combat veteran but beyond that was just a former Fox News host. He faced credible allegations of sexual assault, public drunkenness, and questions of financial mismanagement to narrowly win Senate approval in a 50-50 vote. Analysts were blunt about his experience level: he clearly has less experience than any defense secretary since the job was created in 1947, and even going back to George Washington’s first secretary of war, every person in that role came from high positions in politics, industry, or the military.

Health Secretary RFK Jr. drew similar scrutiny. During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy made several major mistakes when describing how Medicare and Medicaid operate — programs he now oversees covering more than 150 million Americans. He last held public office in 1982, when he served as Manhattan’s assistant district attorney. He also has been found to be an anti-science, anti-vaccine proponent, which is in contradiction to the position he holds and the science backing vaccine effectiveness.

Here is a position-by-position credential comparison. Each entry lists the Trump 2025 pick first, followed by the Biden 2021 counterpart.

Cabinet Qualifications: Trump 2025 vs. Biden 2021

🔵 Secretary of Defense

Trump — Pete Hegseth

• B.A. in Politics, Princeton University; Army ROTC
• Army National Guard infantry officer; served at Guantanamo Bay, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
• Reached rank of Major; held no senior military command
• Ran two small veterans’ nonprofit organizations (Vets for Freedom; Concerned Veterans for America), both of which spent more than they raised
• Co-hosted Fox & Friends Weekend on Fox News, 2017–2024
• No prior experience managing a large organization
• Analysts described him as having less experience than any defense secretary since the office was created in 1947
• Confirmed 50–50; VP Vance cast tie-breaking vote; three Republican senators voted no

Biden — Lloyd Austin

• B.S., U.S. Military Academy (West Point); M.Ed., Auburn University; M.B.A., Webster University
• Retired four-star Army general with more than 40 years of active-duty service
• Commanded U.S. forces in Iraq; served as Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), overseeing all military operations across the Middle East
• The first Black Secretary of Defense in U.S. history
• Required a congressional waiver because he had not been out of active-duty service for the required seven years, raising bipartisan concerns about civilian oversight of the military
• Confirmed 93–2

🔵 Secretary of State

Trump — Marco Rubio

• B.S., University of Florida; J.D., University of Miami School of Law
• Served in Florida House of Representatives, 2000–2008; Speaker of the Florida House, 2006–2008
• U.S. Senator (R-FL), 2011–2025
• Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee
• His experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Intelligence Committee is widely seen as making him fit for the position
• First Latino Secretary of State
• Confirmed 99–0

Biden — Antony Blinken

• B.A., Harvard University; J.D., Columbia Law School
• Advised Biden on foreign policy for almost two decades
• Served as National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden
• Deputy National Security Advisor under President Obama
• Deputy Secretary of State under President Obama
• First confirmed in 2021, 78–22

🔵 Secretary of the Treasury

Trump — Scott Bessent

• B.A. in Political Science, Yale University; adjunct professor of economic history at Yale
• Managing Partner, Soros Fund Management’s London office, 1991–2000
• Founder and CEO, Key Square Capital Management (global macro hedge fund), 2015–2025
• Served as economic advisor and major donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign
• Acknowledged during confirmation he had never served in government and intended to lean on others for counsel
• First openly gay Treasury Secretary and first openly LGBTQ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration
• Confirmed 68–29

Biden — Janet Yellen

• B.A. (summa cum laude) in Economics, Brown University; Ph.D. in Economics, Yale University
• The first person in U.S. history to have served as Treasury Secretary, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Chair of the Federal Reserve
• Served as Chair of the Federal Reserve, 2014–2018
• 40+ years of economics and governance experience
• First woman to lead the Treasury Department
• Confirmed 84–15

🔵 Attorney General

Trump — Pam Bondi

• B.S., University of Florida; J.D., Stetson University College of Law
• Former Florida state prosecutor
• Florida Attorney General, 2011–2019 (two terms)
• Lobbyist and political consultant, 2019–2024
• Notable: during her AG tenure, her office declined to investigate Trump University fraud claims after her political committee received a $25,000 donation from a Trump foundation — a conflict that drew bipartisan criticism
• Confirmed 54–46
• Bondi was fired on April 2, 2026

Biden — Merrick Garland

• B.A. (summa cum laude), Harvard University; J.D., Harvard Law School
• Senior Justice Department official under Presidents Clinton and Bush; oversaw the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing that killed 168 people
• Federal judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 1997–2021; Chief Judge, 2013–2020
• Nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Obama in 2016; Senate Republicans blocked a hearing
• Confirmed 70–30

🔵 Secretary of the Interior

Trump — Doug Burgum

• B.S. in Business Administration, North Dakota State University; M.B.A., Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Founder and CEO of Great Plains Software (sold to Microsoft in 2001)
• Governor of North Dakota, 2016–2024
• During his tenure as governor, North Dakota became the first state to require cybersecurity education in K-12 schools
• No prior federal government or public lands management experience
• Confirmed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 79–18

Biden — Deb Haaland

• B.A. in English, University of New Mexico; J.D. in Indian Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
• Former Chair, New Mexico Democratic Party
• U.S. Representative, New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, 2019–2021
• Member of the House Natural Resources Committee
• One of the first two Native American women elected to the House; first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history
• Confirmed 51–40

🔵 Secretary of Health and Human Services

Trump — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• B.A. in American History and Literature, Harvard University; J.D., University of Virginia; M.S. in Environmental Law, Pace University
• Environmental lawyer; longtime head of Riverkeeper and Children’s Health Defense (anti-vaccine nonprofit)
• Last held public office in 1982, when he served as Manhattan’s assistant district attorney
• No public health administration experience; no experience overseeing a large government agency
• During confirmation hearings, made several factual errors about how Medicare and Medicaid operate — programs he now oversees covering more than 150 million Americans
• Long-standing vaccine skeptic whose nonprofit was identified as a top spreader of anti-vaccine content
• Confirmed 52–48; only one Republican (McConnell) voted against

Biden — Xavier Becerra

• B.A. in Economics, Stanford University; J.D., Stanford Law School
• U.S. Representative, California, 1993–2017 (12 terms); ranking member, House Ways and Means Committee
• Veteran congressman who played a key role in the passing of the Affordable Care Act
• California Attorney General, 2017–2021; sued to protect the ACA 20+ times
• First Latino to serve as HHS Secretary
• Confirmed 50–49

🔵 Secretary of Homeland Security

Trump — Kristi Noem

• Completed her B.S. in Political Science from South Dakota State University over several years while already serving in elected office
• South Dakota state legislator, 2007–2011
• U.S. Representative (R-SD), 2011–2019
• Governor of South Dakota, 2019–2025
• No prior federal law enforcement, immigration, or national security experience
• Her extended college experience — collecting credits from several different schools while working and parenting — is one that many Americans may relate to
• Confirmed 59–34

Biden — Alejandro Mayorkas

• B.A., University of California, Berkeley; J.D., Loyola Law School
• Directed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama’s first term and served as deputy homeland security secretary in Obama’s second term
• One of the architects of the DACA program
• First Latino and first immigrant to head the Department of Homeland Security
• Confirmed 56–43

🔵 Secretary of Commerce

Trump — Howard Lutnick

• B.A. in Economics, Haverford College
• CEO and Chairman, Cantor Fitzgerald (Wall Street financial services firm), from age 29
• Led relief fund for families of Cantor Fitzgerald employees killed on 9/11
• Co-chaired Trump-Vance 2024 Transition Team
• No government experience
• Confirmed 51–45

Biden — Gina Raimondo

• B.A. (summa cum laude) in Economics, Harvard University; Rhodes Scholar, Oxford University (M.A.); J.D., Yale Law School
• Venture capital executive prior to entering politics
• Rhode Island General Treasurer, 2011–2015 (overhauled the state pension system)
• Governor of Rhode Island, 2015–2021
• Confirmed 84–15

🔵 Director of National Intelligence

Trump — Tulsi Gabbard

• B.S. in Business Administration, Hawaii Pacific University
• Hawaii state legislator, 2002–2004 (youngest woman elected to Hawaii’s legislature)
• Served in the Hawaii Army National Guard from 2003; deployed to Iraq and Kuwait; served in Iraq from 2004–2005 as specialist with a medical unit; currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve
• U.S. Representative (D/I-HI), 2013–2021; served on Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee
• No intelligence community experience; no prior role in intelligence analysis, collection, or oversight
• Faced bipartisan criticism for past statements sympathetic to Vladimir Putin and for her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
• Faced questions about her level of experience and past comments about autocratic leaders
• Confirmed 52–48

Biden — Avril Haines

• B.A. in Physics, University of Chicago; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center; also studied advanced astrophysics at Johns Hopkins
• Deputy Director of the CIA and principal deputy national security advisor under Obama; the first woman to hold both of those roles
• Staff director, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• First woman to serve as Director of National Intelligence
• Confirmed 84–10

🔵 Director of the CIA

Trump — John Ratcliffe

• B.A., University of Notre Dame; J.D., Southern Methodist University
• Former U.S. attorney (Northern District of Texas)
• U.S. Representative (R-TX), 2015–2020; member of House Intelligence, Judiciary, and Homeland Security Committees
• Director of National Intelligence under Trump’s first term, 2020–2021
• Confirmed 74–25

Biden — William Burns

• B.A., LaSalle University; M.A. and D.Phil. in International Relations, Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar)
• Career diplomat with 33 years in the Foreign Service
• Former U.S. ambassador to Russia and Jordan; undersecretary of state for political affairs and deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration
• Widely regarded as one of the most experienced diplomats in the U.S. Foreign Service
• Confirmed 92–2

🔵 Director of the FBI

Note: The FBI Director serves a 10-year term and is not a presidential cabinet appointment per se, but the position has become politically prominent enough to include.

Trump — Kash Patel

• B.S. in Criminal Justice and History, University of Richmond; J.D., Pace University School of Law; certificate in international law, University College London
• Public defender in Florida, 2005–2014
• National security prosecutor, DOJ, 2014–2019
• NSC counterterrorism directorate director and senior aide to Rep. Devin Nunes during Trump’s first term; chief of staff to Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, 2020–2021
• Former Attorney General Bill Barr wrote in his memoir that Patel “had virtually no experience that would qualify him to serve at the highest level of the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency”
• Vocal Trump loyalist; published a book naming 60 political “enemies”; vowed to use the FBI to investigate political opponents
• Confirmed 51–49; Sens. Murkowski and Collins (R) voted against

Biden — Christopher Wray (retained from Trump’s first term; not a Biden appointment)

• B.A. (cum laude), Yale University; J.D., Yale Law School
• Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Georgia
• Assistant Attorney General (Criminal Division), DOJ, under President George W. Bush, 2003–2005
• Private practice partner at King & Spalding (white-collar criminal defense)
• Appointed FBI Director by Trump in 2017 following the firing of James Comey; served until January 2025
• Resigned before his term expired after Trump announced Patel’s nomination

🔵 EPA Administrator

Trump — Lee Zeldin

• B.S. in Political Science, University at Albany; J.D., Albany Law School
• New York state senator, 2011–2015
• U.S. Representative (R-NY), 2015–2023; served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee
• No environmental science, environmental law, or regulatory background
• No prior EPA or environmental agency experience
• Confirmed 56–42

Biden — Michael Regan

• B.S. in Environmental Science, North Carolina A&T State University; M.S. in Environmental Policy, George Washington University
• Previously served nearly a decade at the EPA under both Democratic and Republican presidents
• Associate Vice President for Climate and Energy Issues, Environmental Defense Fund
• Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, 2017–2021
• First Black man to lead the EPA
• Confirmed 66–34

A note on sourcing: All credential information is drawn from Senate confirmation records, official agency biographies, Wikipedia, NPR, PBS, Ballotpedia, and the Washington Post. Confirmation vote tallies reflect the initial Senate votes. Where positions have turned over mid-term (e.g., Bondi’s firing in April 2026), that is noted.