WASHINGTON – Donald Trump spent much of his first term feeling stung and betrayed by those he had placed in power. This time, he’s not taking any risks.

Like he works to fulfill its administration a second time, Trump turned to a dizzying mix of candidates. Many of those he chose are personal friends. Others are familiar faces on Fox News Channel or other conservative media outlets. Some have extensive experience in the areas they have been chosen to lead, while others seemingly have none. Some seem chosen to shock and awe, some to reassure, others to unleash chaos.

Recent converts to his cause are lined up shoulder to shoulder with longtime allies. China hawks could hold positions of power alongside a peace activist. But whatever the differences in ideology or CV strength, they will be there first and foremost to carry out Trump’s will.

During his first term, Trump criticized the efforts of his aides and advisers to “manage” the newcomer to Washington and was frustrated by leaks emanating from rival factions engaged in ideological warfare and competing for his ear.

Now, aides and allies said, he puts loyalty above all else, aiming to reduce infighting and maximize his ability to reshape Washington during his second tour in the Oval Office.

“When he was first elected,” Trump “didn’t have as much experience in Washington or relationships with people in Washington,” said Marc Lotter, a former aide who now works at America First Policy Institute, which is closely linked to its transition. “So many of the people he turned to were trying to take advantage of that to convince him of their point of view, rather than respecting his point of view and what he was elected to do.”

Now, Lotter said of Trump, “if he makes a decision, he wants them to carry it out.”

Presidents always appoint trusted aides and people who can support their programs. But critics fear Trump is building an administration designed to eliminate any significant internal resistance to his policies and impulses.

Carrying grievances, an appetite for retaliation and a list of those he wants to target, Trump will enter office with far fewer guardrails and checks on his power than last time. He will return to Washington with a Republican-controlled Congress and a conservative Supreme Court, made up of three justices he appointed, who have ruled that he is largely immune from prosecution.

Trump has long said the biggest mistake of his first term was picking the wrong people. He had arrived in Washington as an outsider, had never been in government, and said he relied on others for personnel recommendations.

“We did a very good job. But we’ll do a much better job now because I know the people now. I know the good ones, the bad ones. I know the weak, the strong. I know the stupid ones. I know the smartest ones. I know them all,” he said at a rally in North Carolina during the final stretch of the race.

He blamed his collaborators for thwarting his efforts during his first term, calling them “stupid” And weak. The extent to which Trump faced pushback from his own appointees was often a reflection of the extraordinary nature of his orders.

His first term was filled with examples of aides trying to outmaneuver Trump by walking slowly or ignoring directives they viewed as misguided. Sometimes they tried to launch last-minute campaigns to turn the situation around. Other times, they dragged their feet, hoping that Trump would forget what he had ordered and move on.

A major example came just weeks before leaving office: Trump signed informal documents drafted by some of his political aides ordering all U.S. troops to immediately leave Afghanistan, only to encounter intense resistance from the from his national security team. He ended up backing down.

When he insisted that active-duty U.S. troops be sent to contain mass protests in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by Minneapolis police, his aides resisted, concerned about the illegal use of the army against the country’s own citizens.

In 2016, Trump staffed much of his team with top business leaders, many of whom had worked in the industries they were charged with regulating. Among them were names like Rex Tillerson, who had led energy giant ExxonMobil before becoming secretary of state.

Trump also tried to surround himself with a military cadre he liked to call “my generals.” This time, Trump went in a very different direction.

In many cases this means that expertise is not required. Lee Zeldin, appointed administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has little experience with climate or regulatory issues. Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman nominated to head the nation’s intelligence community, has been embraced by Kremlin allies for her conciliatory views on the war in Ukraine. And Fox News weekend co-host Pete Hegseth, nominated for defense secretary, has no Pentagon experience.

Aides says Trump chooses people he believes are committed to his America First agenda and those he believes can best execute it, and he is pleased that even his controversial choices are already rattling Washington.

“The American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming majority, giving him a mandate to follow through on the promises he made on the campaign trail – and his Cabinet choices reflect his priority of prioritizing ‘America,’ said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition.

Some of his early announcements suggested a fairly conventional approach, including the choice of U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, a retired National Guard officer and war veteran, as national security adviser.

But some of Trump’s latest picks have landed like lead balloons.

His decision to appoint Florida Representative Matt Gaetz The attorney general has sparked outrage and concern among Democrats who fear he could unleash retaliation against Trump’s opponents and shield his allies from prosecution. Even Gaetz’s Republican colleagues, who were gathering at the Capitol when the announcement was made, initially thought the news was a joke.

Another choice that raised eyebrows was his choice to head the Ministry of Defense. Hegseth is a veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay and was awarded two Bronze Stars. He served as executive director of Concerned Veterans for America and wrote several books on the subject. But he has no experience at the Pentagon or leading an organization that approaches the size and complexity of the Department of Defense.

Running the Pentagon is a monumental task and Hegseth seems “totally incompetent,” said Matthew Waxman, a former senior Republican official at the State and Defense departments and the National Security Council who chairs the National Security Law Program from Columbia Law School.

“I respect everyone who has served in uniform. But Hegseth is not a serious person to run the Pentagon,” Waxman said. “I look at Hegseth and I say: he will be 100 times better at fighting culture wars than real wars if, unfortunately, we have to fight one .”

Overall, Waxman said of Trump’s staff choices so far: “I think he prioritizes loyalty over governance.” And it’s dangerous for the country. This is dangerous for American leadership in the world.”

Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who pledged to gut federal health research and oversight to run the Department of Health and Human Services was the latest example of how Trump is prioritizing loyalty to expertise.

Kennedy was a staunch opponent of the COVID-19 vaccines that Trump began producing in 2020. But he provided key support for Trump and helped the Republican broaden his electoral appeal. While even Trump aides had discounted Kennedy’s chances of getting a Cabinet position due to some of his extreme political views, the president-elect still pushed through the bill, showing he would not submit to voice of caution. ___ Colvin reported from New York.