What is a shadow cabinet and how would it work in the US?

Shadow cabinet: Democratic lawmaker proposes idea

Coming off of Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 election, we’re starting to see how his second term administration is shaping up. One question on the minds of many, what do the Democrats do now? One Democratic Congressman from North Carolina – Rep. Wiley Nickel – is proposing a "shadow cabinet." He joined LiveNOW's Andy Mac to us explain what that means and how it could look.

With Donald Trump taking back the White House, a Democratic congressman is calling for America to borrow from the British and appoint a shadow cabinet to "fight back" against Trump’s agenda.

Rep. Wiley Nickel, D-North Carolina, first shared his thoughts on a shadow cabinet in an op-ed published in The Washington Post. In an interview with LiveNow from FOX, Nickel pitched a shadow cabinet as an effective tool for Democrats to publicly challenge the incoming administration.

"We need new ideas," Nickel told LiveNow from FOX. "Democrats have to stop playing defense and start going on offense. It’s not enough to say we’re against Trump and his Project 2025 agenda. We have to say what we’re for, and that’s what’s really behind this idea, to get folks there to counter every cabinet agency, every position that Trump appoints."

An exterior view of the U.S. Capitol on September 9, 2024 in Washington, DC. A Democratic congressman is proposing a shadow cabinet to counter the incoming Trump administration. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)

What is a shadow cabinet?

A shadow cabinet is a team from the opposition party that mirrors the ruling party’s cabinet members. The shadow cabinet has a point person for every cabinet position to challenge their counterpart in the ruling Cabinet.

Nickel said it’s been done for a century in the UK. Canada also has a shadow cabinet in place.

"They watch the Cabinet closely, publicly challenging, scrutinizing and offering new ideas," Nickel said in his op-ed. "It’s democracy’s insurance policy. And it strengthens the government, too: There is no room for lazy ideas when rivals stand ready."

How would a shadow cabinet work in the US?

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Nickel said U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate leader Chuck Schumer could appoint 26 Democratic members of Congress to go "one-on-one" with each member of Trump’s Cabinet.

"It’s really easy," Nickel said. "It’s a communications push. It’s about putting out our positive message to counter what we’re seeing from Trump. And if Trump or his Cabinet secretaries step out of line we’ve got somebody ready to go and answer, and be accountable to the American people on things we care about."

Who could serve in the American shadow cabinet?

Nickel gave a list of potential picks for a shadow cabinet that could be appointed after Trump takes office in January:

Senator-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif. – Shadow Attorney General
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. – Shadow Defense Secretary
Rep. Suzan Delbene, D-Wash. – Shadow Commerce Secretary
Rep. Rosa Delauro, D-Conn. – Shadow Health and Human Services Secretary
Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn. – Education Secretary
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y. – Shadow Secretary of State
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. – Shadow Treasury Secretary
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. – Shadow Veterans Affairs Secretary
Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla. – Shadow Environmental Protection Agency administrator

"This is about putting a point person for advocacy groups, for the public, a lead messenger … we need to organize our opposition," Nickel said. "We can do our own American version of a [shadow cabinet] that will help Democrats do the thing we didn’t do, which is get out our positive message and talk about the things that folks are rightly concerned about."