Dismay as president-elect picks Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth for key roles

Fears that Donald Trump’s second presidency will be more extreme than his first have intensified amid a flurry of senior appointments that opponents have criticised as going from bad to worse.

Dismay over some of the president-elect’s early nominations escalated to outrage after the far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz was unveiled as his selection to be attorney general – a position Trump has previously said he views as the most important in his administration.