Trump Makes First Cabinet Appointment, Mulls Talk With Putin

US President-elect Donald Trump has made his first cabinet appointment after his decisive election win at the poll.

This is as he signaled his intent to ditch the outgoing administration’s policies by talking to Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

In the cabinet pick, his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, will serve as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to be named to the high-profile role and the Republican’s first appointment to his incoming administration.

Trump’s crushing defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris is already shaking up US and world politics, just two days after Election Day and two-and-a-half months before he returns to the White House.

Putin hailed Trump as courageous for the way he handled himself following an assassination attempt at a rally in July, saying he was ready to hold discussions with him.

Trump later said that he had not talked to Putin, the authoritarian leader whom he has repeatedly praised over the years, since his victory.

This marked a shift from the silence that has existed between Biden and Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and underscored Trump’s criticism of US support for Kyiv.

The president-elect has previously said he would push through a peace deal in that conflict, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke to Trump on Wednesday, said calls for a ceasefire were dangerous.

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