Whether you support him or despise him, Donald Trump is the President of the United States, and he will be for the next four years. Whether one thinks Trump is the savior of America or the Antichrist, one should remain educated about the policies and occurrences of the Trump administration. The first glimpse of the what the Trump administration will look like was revealed in Trump’s Cabinet picks. Again, regardless of your opinion of the Trump Cabinet, a factually thorough evaluation of each Cabinet nominee serves as a useful preview of what life under the Trump administration will look like.

First, Secretary of State appointee, Rex Tillerson. According to Forbes and The Washington Post, Tillerson has been a lifelong Exxon employee, eventually rising to chairman and chief executive officer in 2006. He is by all accounts an extremely successful businessman and manager. He has managed a multibillion-dollar, multinational corporation with thousands of employees, which would most certainly apply to the enormous multi-national bureaucracy that is the U.S. Department of State. Tillerson does come with some pretty serious baggage, however. He has very close ties through Exxon to the Russian government, and even received the Russian “Order of Friendship” from Vladimir Putin himself in 2013. With the revelation that the Russian government may have intervened in the 2016 election, this conflict of interest seems to take on new and rather frightening aspects.

Second, Trump selected retired Marine Corps General James Mattis as his Secretary of Defense. Mattis served in the Marine Corps for 44 years, eventually rising to the rank of General. He served as commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) under Barack Obama from 2010 to 2013. As commander of CENTCOM, Mattis oversaw all U.S. military operations in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. He was known both as “Mad Dog Mattis” for his unconventional use of battlefield strategy, as well as “The Warrior Monk” for his mastery of knowledge pertaining to military history and warfare in general. As a leader of Marines, he was incredibly popular, with many veterans and active duty military personnel hoping for a presidential run from Mattis in 2020. Mattis, however, also suffers from some pretty serious drawbacks as a Secretary of Defense appointee. According to the Military Times website, under the current law, it is actually illegal for Mattis to serve as Secretary of Defense. The current system maintains that it is illegal for a recently retired military officer to serve in a presidential Cabinet. It poses a threat to the principle that government (and the military especially) should be under civilian control. Mattis will need to receive a waiver of sorts from the Senate to bypass this law, allowing him to serve as head of the Pentagon.

Third, former Texas governor Rick Perry as head of the Department of Energy. Perry served as Governor of Texas from 2000 (he replaced George Bush when Bush won the presidency) to 2015. He was re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Additionally, he ran for president as a republican in both 2012 and 2016. As governor of Texas, Perry was known for his liberal use of the veto, support for the death penalty, and his support for increased gun rights. During his 2012 presidential run however, Perry claimed during a nationally televised debate that he would abolish three federal agencies if elected president. Onstage however, he could only remember two of the agencies he wanted to abolish, leading to his now infamous “oops” comment. Later it was revealed that the third agency Perry wanted to abolish was actually the Department of Energy. Conversely, some would argue that Perry has shown support for alternative energy programs. According to the Dallas News website, Perry approved a project to install over seven billion dollars worth of infrastructure that gave wind power to huge areas of west Texas and the Dallas area. The project, known as the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones Program, helped Texas to become the number one state for wind energy in the country.

No matter your opinion of the President-elect, he will be our next president. It certainly serves one to remain open-minded and receptive to conversation about all aspects of the Trump administration. Whether the conversation is about his appointees or his foreign policy, being able to have a calm, informed exchange of opinions is something that does more good than the hasty dismissal of an opposing viewpoint.