Under the Chandelier at Mar-a-Lago, Trump Makes Picks at Breakneck Speed

President-elect Donald J. Trump chose his attorney general almost on a whim, in the sky between Washington and Palm Beach, Fla. He scoffed at a candidate for the Department of Homeland Security, then abruptly changed his mind. His defense secretary pick was a snap judgment during a slide presentation at Mar-a-Lago.

Emboldened, confident in his instincts and more contemptuous than ever of Washington expertise, Mr. Trump is staffing the most important roles in his government at breakneck speed. Advisers have been stunned at how fast he is ticking through his choices, filling the government’s most important positions roughly a month sooner than he did in 2016.

Much of the action has taken place under the chandelier in the tearoom at Mar-a-Lago, where Mr. Trump surveys his potential Cabinet nominees on giant video screens.

He flicks through shortlists that his transition team, led by the billionaire Howard Lutnick, has drafted over the past months. If Mr. Trump shows an interest in a candidate, the presentation is designed to allow him to immediately watch videos of the potential nominee’s TV appearances — essential for any would-be Trump cabinet official.

Mr. Trump’s legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, who is still under indictment for his role in the so-called fake electors scheme in Arizona, has wielded substantial influence in the tearoom and elsewhere, and is said to have encouraged Mr. Trump’s choice of Matt Gaetz as attorney general. The president-elect’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is a constant there too, as are Donald Trump Jr., his eldest son, and Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man.