Trump and MAGA picks attend UFC fight
President-elect Donald Trump attended Saturday's UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden along with a cast of celebrities, politicians, and prospective cabinet picks.
Aside from the usual cast of Trump-adjacent celebrities, including Kid Rock and UFC CEO Dana White, the posse at the fight was a who's-who of the figures the once and future president has picked to lead his administration - and which seats are still empty.
Which politicians were at the fight with Trump?
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La, attended the fight with Trump. A long-time supporter of the president, Johnson came into power after the rude ouster of his predecessor in the speaker's chair, Kevin McCarthy, R-Ca. Johnson has publicly spoken against releasing a hotly anticipated House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump's nominee for attorney general.
The House committee was preparing to release its report into allegations of illegal drug use by Gaetz and testimony he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl when the Florida congressman got the Trump nod and resigned from the House.
Which cabinet picks were at the fight with Trump?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, was ringside with Trump.
Kennedy was a third-party candidate in the election before dropping out to support Trump. Kennedy has promised to "Make America Healthy Again," purge the FDA, and take on Big Pharma. Public health officials have criticized the choice, pointing to Kennedy's disproven claim that vaccines cause autism, and his desire to remove fluoride from America's drinking water.
Also in attendance was Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence. Gabbard, a former Democrat and member of Congress from Hawaii, as well as a 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate, served as a surrogate for Trump in the 2024 campaign. Gabbard left the Democratic party with a bang in 2022, tweeting a video that accused her former colleagues of "anti-white racism."
Questions have emerged over a 2017 visit to Syria Gabbard made, as well as her views on Russia.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, selected to lead the brand-new non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency, were also a part of Trump's entourage.
Ramaswamy, a billionaire and former 2024 presidential candidate, has long called for shrinking the federal government, including a stint in the early 2000s as a libertarian rapper on the campus of Harvard University.
Musk, the world's richest man, played an outsized role in Trump's campaign, regularly appearing alongside Trump at rallies and emerging as a major donor. Musk and Ramaswamy have called for "high-IQ revolutionaries" to come work for the department for low pay.
Which cabinet seats are still empty?
Most of Trump's cabinet picks, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (Secretary of State), Fox News host Pete Hegseth (Defense), and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Homeland Security) were not present at Saturday's fight. Gaetz, a Trump favorite, doesn't appear to have attended.
While Trump has roiled Washington with a string of controversial picks, the president-elect isn't done just yet. Positions that need to be filled include the secretaries of the Treasury, Agriculture, Labor, and Transportation.
Cy Neff reports on Wyoming politics for USA TODAY. You can reach him at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CyNeffNews
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump takes RFK, Musk, and other cabinet picks to UFC fight