Donald Trump defends cabinet as hardline picks slammed

Des Moines: Donald Trump has vigorously defended his incoming cabinet against uproar from Democrats, green activists and workers unions who said his nominees for the environment and labour signalled a sharp shift to the right.

The 70-year-old President-elect, who has never previously held elective office, on Thursday announced Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate skeptic, as environment chief and fast food executive Andy Puzder as Labour Secretary.

More than half his cabinet positions have now been filled, 43 days before the Republican is sworn in as the 45^th president of the United States, the oldest man ever inaugurated into the office.

"I believe we're in the process of putting together one of the great cabinets that has ever been assembled in the history of our nation," Trump told a victory rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

It was the third of his unorthodox "thank you" rallies feting his shock electoral defeat of Hillary Clinton in key swing states that have propelled him into the leadership of the most powerful democracy on earth.

"In filling my cabinet I'm looking for people who fully understand the meaning of service and who are committed to advancing the common good," he added, defending his appointment of a string of billionaires and millionaires.

His nominees, he said, had given up fortunes "to make one dollar a year," hailing them as "talented people, smart people."

The incoming president triggered criticism by tapping a fossil fuel industry ally to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - outraging many who fear that he will reverse President Barack Obama's efforts to combat climate change.

"We're going to end the EPA intrusion into your lives," he told the Iowa crowd.

In announcing the nomination of Pruitt - who will need Senate approval - Trump complained that "for too long," the EPA had spent "taxpayer dollars on an out-of-control anti-energy agenda that has destroyed millions of jobs."

Steny Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House of Representatives, said Pruitt had spent years "fighting tooth and nail to help polluters erase or circumvent the critical environmental protections our nation has put in place."

Ken Kimmell, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, described Pruitt as someone "on the outer extreme edge, and putting him in charge of EPA could really have devastating consequences."

The appointment was made despite Trump's meeting this week with former Democratic vice president-turned-climate campaigner Al Gore and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who is an active environmentalist.