Mike Huckabee Could Be In Trump's Cabinet

After being one of the most loyal Republican surrogates to hit the campaign trail in 2016, it looks like Mike Huckabee might be picked for Donald Trump's cabinet. The new president-elect's campaign hasn't shared any of the names of those being considered for top positions, but Politico published a list of probable candidates based on "conversations with policy experts, lobbyists, academics, congressional staffers and people close to Trump."

A quick glance at this list makes it clear that, if the speculation is correct, Trump plans on generously rewarding those who faithfully supported him during the past year and half with prestigious new jobs. (And if we take Omarosa at her word, he will probably attempt to get some revenge against the Republican "enemies" he kept a list of.)

The role Huckabee might end up filling in the upcoming cabinet is that of commerce secretary. The former Arkansas governor endorsed Trump in May after waiting for the Republican primaries to end, and quickly became one of the candidate's fiercest champions. He repeatedly admonished others in his party for refusing to get behind their standard bearer.

"But please, media—don’t intimate that it’s Trump who’s being petty by not giving precious stage and air time to those who lied to their own party and violated their pledge," he wrote in July, defending Trump's decision to not invite party members who didn't endorse him to the national convention. "He ran, he won, and like it or not, the convention is his show. There isn’t room on our Republican stage for someone who can’t be trusted to keep his or her promise."

Huckabee frequently defended Trump in the midst of his many scandals. "Does anybody think Donald Trump is a racist? I don’t. I mean, I really don’t. I don’t know of anything in his life that indicates that this man has racist tendencies," he said on Morning Joe, after KKK member David Duke endorsed the candidate.

In response to a question about Trump referring to Hillary Clinton as a "nasty woman" during the final presidential debate, he said, "I have to constantly remind myself that Donald Trump grew up in Queens. [...] He's just a classic sort of New York tough guy. For those of us who grew up in the South where southern gentility still means something, you know, the handshake would have been nice, maybe a nice smile here and there. But look, this was a fight to the finish last night. He said what he thinks." He published an article on his website condemning Trump's words in the Access Hollywood tape, while insisting the public should move on and focus on Wikileaks' slew of Clinton emails.

If Trump, who reportedly included Huckabee on his list of potential running mates, is really considering cabinet picks based on loyalty, then the former governor will likely have a place in the White House.