Donald Trump's picks for his administration are sending a message that he is serious about doing what he campaigned on - and serious about turning the presidency into an authoritarian institution.
His first picks (Homan/Miller/Noem) made it clear that he will be trying to deport millions of undocumented immigrants (and maybe even some with legal documentation).
His newest picks are even worse. They are totally unqualified and incompetent.
He has chosen a criminal and sex abuser to be Attorney General - Matt Gaetz. Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress upon being nominated in hopes of preventing the House Ethics Committee from releasing a scathing report on him. He has also said the federal policing agencies (FBI, ATF, etc.) should be defunded if they didn't stop "picking" on Trump. Now he will be in charge of all those agencies, and will likely turned them into a tool for retribution against Trump's detractors. His only qualification for the job is being a Trump sycophant - a person who will do whatever Trump wants (without regard to whether it's reasonable or legal).
For Director of National Intelligence, he has chosen Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard is known for opposing U.S. foreign policy. She is a Putin supporter and has been known to pass on Russian propaganda. She is a supporter of Bashar al-Assad (Syria's dictator). As DNI, she will be in charge of all of U.S. intelligence agencies. Intelligence officials don't trust her (both here and abroad), and it is likely our allies will now stop sharing intelligence with us. Like Gaetz, her only qualification is being a Trump sycophant who will do whatever he asks her to do.
Trump has to know neither of these two are qualified. But he doesn't care. He is using them to send a message to Congress (and the nation). The message is that he is in control and he's going to rule as an authoritarian (like his heroes - Putin and Hitler). With these picks, he is literally daring the Senate to try and stop him. They won't.
We are entering a dark time for our democracy. Can it survive?