Is Vlad picking Cheeto national defense nominees?

Or are they being chosen by Vlad, but with Cheeto's input?

I'm leaning toward the 2nd possibility as these folks are Trump loyalists one and all, but I don't rule out the first.

From AP -

Gabbard’s sympathetic views toward Russia cause alarm as Trump’s pick to lead intelligence services

Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. intelligence services, in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s main justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens.

Moscow claimed Ukraine was using the labs to create deadly bioweapons similar to COVID-19 that could be used against Russia, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no choice but to invade neighboring Ukraine to protect his country.

In fact, the labs are public and part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons.

From DefenseOne -

‘Extraordinarily dangerous’: Intelligence community insiders warn against Trump’s DNI pick

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, lacks experience, and her record of Russia-aligned public statements could undermine the ability of the United States to acquire intelligence from allies and partners, current and former intelligence officials say. 

Trump on Wednesday announced his intention to put Gabbard, who served in Congress as a Democrat from Hawaii, in charge of the national intelligence office. The office coordinates intelligence efforts across the entire government, forges intelligence-sharing relationships with other countries, and shapes the way the public and the White House understand threats to U.S. interests. The office takes a leading role in assembling the daily brief for the president, which  the White House uses to understand how adversaries are working against the United States, and in telling the public about threats Americans face.

 

I would liken the picks of her, Pete Hegseth (Defense Secretary) Marco Rubio (Secretary of State) and others to the Keystone Kops, except the antics of the Keystone Kops brought laughter and joy to a lot of Americans.

The only people who will enjoy the antics of Cheeto's bunch will be Russian.