Trump's most dangerous facilitators
Who are the most dangerous people surrounding Trump?
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When we talk about how the Trump administration is dismantling American democracy and doing harm to the country, we tend to focus on what Trump himself is doing. We'll discuss how he's sending the military into American cities, attacking universities, sending immigrants to concentration camps and removing people from important positions in the government.
However, part of what makes this administration dangerous is the people Trump has elevated and empowered. Trump's Cabinet and his inner circle are filled with people who are willing to carry out any plan he imagines—regardless of what the law might say. There are also people who have their own plans that they wish to carry out, and Trump gives them his blessing. Some of these people are clearly smarter and more ideological than Trump.
Beyond the person at the top—Trump—we're facing threats that are coming from the people he has surrounded himself with. Because of that, it seems important to identify which members of this select group are the most dangerous and will be able to do the most damage.
Thor Benson
To start, let's look at who will likely cause the most deaths—as far as we can tell right now. Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, tells me that Elon Musk currently has "the most blood on his hands." Musk is no longer with the administration, but his destruction of USAID could reportedly lead to roughly 14 million deaths worldwide.
In terms of who's still around, Moynihan says the effects of RFK Jr.'s actions remain to be seen, but it seems likely that what he is doing will cause many deaths. RFK Jr. is helping decrease vaccination rates, cutting funding to research into life-saving medical treatments and more.
"The undermining of public health is going to cost lives, and it's just a matter of what the scale of that will look like," Moynihan says.
Someone who's often seen as one of the true masterminds of this administration is OMB Director Russell Vought. He's one of the authors of Project 2025, and he wrote a 180-day plan for the administration to help it hit the ground running on enacting some of the things found in Project 2025. He doesn't get a lot of attention, but he's been in the background working to make Project 2025 happen, including by firing a lot of career civil servants in the federal government and replacing them with Trump loyalists.
"Vought is a very capable, very loyal Christian nationalist," Moynihan says.
One of the more obvious sniveling, evil henchmen of the Trump administration is Stephen Miller. He serves as Trump's political advisor and White House deputy chief of staff.
Miller has apparently been the mind behind many of the grotesque immigration actions we've seen in recent months, including the raids that set off protests in Los Angeles. Moynihan says Miller is a true believer and almost certainly isn't going anywhere any time soon, as he's been by Trump's side from the beginning.
"Miller has been incredibly important in terms of policy and the use of force," Moynihan says.
There are other Trump minions who are dangerous but probably more replaceable—like DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. These people are doing a lot of harm, but it would appear that they're doing what anyone that Trump put in those roles would be doing. If Trump decides it's time for one of them to go, they'll be replaced by someone similar relatively easily.
Someone who is certainly replaceable but is nonetheless a danger and makes fewer headlines is EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. When it comes to the long-term effects of any of the Trump administration's worst members, Zeldin is going to have a lasting impact. That's because he's seemingly doing everything he can to make climate change worse, which will threaten countless lives going forward.
"Any EPA administrator that Trump would pick would be doing exactly the same thing," Moynihan says.
Trump is certainly a unique threat, but the people he's put in power have increased the damage that this administration has been able to do. That said, Moynihan doesn't think we should write Trump off and assume the real problem is the people around him.
He says the "big picture" is that the Trump administration is working a lot better than it did in its first term, because Trump has figured out how to find the people who are truly loyal to his agenda and dedicated to implementing it.
"I think from Trump's point of view, everything is going to plan. I don't buy the idea that these people are the puppet masters," Moynihan says. "If you're focusing on RFK Jr. right now, that's an important political narrative. But ultimately, Trump put this person in place. He figured it was good for him to broaden his base and get some of the people that RFK attracts into his movement. But Trump made him part of the administration."
