President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration, and it’s shaping up a lot in a different way than his first. He’s prioritizing loyalists for high jobs.
Trump was bruised and hampered by inside squabbles throughout his preliminary time period in workplace. Now he seems centered on remaking the federal authorities in his personal picture. A few of his selections might face troublesome affirmation battles even with Republicans in charge of the U.S. Senate.
Right here’s a have a look at whom he has chosen up to now.
Cupboard nominees
SECRETARY OF STATE: Marco Rubio
Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making the critic-turned-ally his selection for high diplomat.
Rubio, 53, is a famous hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s operating mate on the Republican ticket final summer time. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate International Relations Committee.
“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump mentioned of Rubio in a press release.
The announcement punctuates the onerous pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator as soon as known as a “con man” throughout his unsuccessful marketing campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Their relationship improved dramatically whereas Trump was within the White Home. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a 3rd time, Rubio cheered his proposals. As an example, Rubio, who greater than a decade in the past helped craft immigration laws that included a path to citizenship for folks within the U.S. illegally, now helps Trump’s plan to make use of the U.S. army for mass deportations.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Matt Gaetz
Trump mentioned Wednesday he’ll nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to function his legal professional common, naming a loyalist within the position of the nation’s high prosecutor.
In deciding on Gaetz, 42, Trump handed over a few of the extra established attorneys whose names had been talked about as being contenders for the job.
“Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and Restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,” Trump mentioned in a press release.
Gaetz resigned from Congress Wednesday night time. The Home Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that Gaetz paid for intercourse with a 17-year-old, although that probe successfully ended when he resigned. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Tulsi Gabbard
Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of nationwide intelligence, one other instance of Trump prizing loyalty over expertise.
Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic Home member who unsuccessfully sought the occasion’s 2020 presidential nomination earlier than leaving the occasion in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned usually with him this fall, and he or she’s been accused of echoing Russian propaganda.
“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump mentioned in a press release.
Gabbard, who has served within the Military Nationwide Guard for greater than 20 years, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the position as an outsider in comparison with her predecessor. The present director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following a number of years in a lot of high nationwide safety and intelligence positions.
DEFENSE SECRETARY: Pete Hegseth
Hegseth served within the Military Nationwide Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011. He has two Bronze Stars. Nonetheless, Hegseth lacks senior army and nationwide safety expertise. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the highest job throughout a sequence of worldwide crises — starting from Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and the continued assaults within the Center East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries concerning the rising alliance between Russia and North Korea.
Hegseth can be the creator of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” revealed earlier this yr.
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Kristi Noem
Noem is a well known conservative used her two phrases main South Dakota to vault to a distinguished place in Republican politics.
In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem didn’t order restrictions that different states had issued and as an alternative declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of many first giant gatherings of the pandemic.
Extra just lately, Noem confronted sharp criticism for telling a narrative in her memoir about taking pictures and killing her canine.
She is about to guide a division essential to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda in addition to different missions. Homeland Safety oversees pure catastrophe response, the U.S. Secret Service and Transportation Safety Administration brokers who work at airports.
CIA DIRECTOR: John Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe was director of nationwide intelligence through the remaining yr and a half of Trump’s first time period, main the U.S. authorities’s spy businesses through the coronavirus pandemic.
“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” Trump mentioned in a press release, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would guarantee “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy ran for president as a Democrat, than as an impartial, and then endorsed Trump. He’s the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated throughout his personal presidential marketing campaign.
The nomination of Kennedy to guide the Division of Well being and Human Providers alarmed people who find themselves involved about his report of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines. For instance, he has lengthy superior the debunked concept that vaccines trigger autism.
VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: Doug Collins
Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump throughout his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. help for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to research Joe Biden in 2019 through the Democratic presidential nomination, however he was acquitted by the Senate.
Collins has additionally served within the armed forces himself and is presently a chaplain in america Air Drive Reserve Command.
“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need,” Trump mentioned in a press release about nominating Collins to guide the Division of Veterans Affairs.
INTERIOR SECRETARY: Doug Burgum
The governor of North Dakota, who was as soon as little-known exterior his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential major contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months touring to drum up assist for him, after dropping out of the race.
Burgum was a severe contender to be Trump’s vice presidential selection this summer time. The 2-term governor was seen as a doable choose due to his govt expertise and enterprise savvy. Burgum additionally has shut ties to deep-pocketed power trade CEOs.
Trump made the announcement about Burgum becoming a member of his incoming administration whereas addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago membership, and mentioned a proper assertion can be coming the next day.
In feedback to reporters earlier than Trump took the stage, Burgum mentioned that, in recent times, the facility grid is deteriorating in lots of elements of the nation, which he mentioned might elevate nationwide safety considerations but additionally drive up costs sufficient to extend inflation.
“There’s just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum mentioned.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: Lee Zeldin
Zeldin doesn’t seem to have any expertise in environmental points, however is a longtime supporter of the previous president. The 44-year-old former U.S. Home member from New York wrote on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.”
“We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.
Throughout his marketing campaign, Trump usually attacked the Biden administration’s promotion of electrical autos, and incorrectly referred to a tax credit score for EV purchases as a authorities mandate. Trump additionally usually informed his audiences through the marketing campaign that his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his assist for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a press release, Trump mentioned Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”
White Home employees
CHIEF OF STAFF: Susie Wiles
Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential marketing campaign and its de facto supervisor.
She has a background in Florida politics, serving to Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump’s defeat of him within the 2024 Republican major.
Wiles’ rent was Trump’s first main choice as president-elect and one which could possibly be a defining check of his incoming administration contemplating her shut relationship with him. Wiles is claimed to have earned Trump’s belief partly by guiding what was essentially the most disciplined of Trump’s three presidential campaigns.
Wiles was in a position to assist maintain Trump on monitor as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, however by successful his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her recommendation.
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Mike Waltz
Waltz is a three-term Republican congressman from east-central Florida. A former Military Inexperienced Beret, he served a number of excursions in Afghanistan and in addition labored within the Pentagon as a coverage adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates have been protection chiefs.
He’s thought-about hawkish on China, and known as for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of its involvement within the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur inhabitants.
BORDER CZAR: Tom Homan
Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s high precedence of finishing up the most important deportation operation within the nation’s historical past.
He served below Trump in his first administration main U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and he was extensively anticipated to be supplied a place associated to the border as soon as Trump gained the election. Homan mentioned at a July convention in Washington that he can be prepared to “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”
Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” coverage on border crossings throughout his first administration, which led to the separation of hundreds of fogeys and kids looking for asylum on the border.
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: Stephen Miller
Miller, an immigration hardliner, was a vocal spokesperson through the presidential marketing campaign for Trump’s precedence of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser throughout Trump’s first administration.
Miller has been a central determine in a few of Trump’s coverage choices, notably his transfer to separate hundreds of immigrant households. Trump argued all through the marketing campaign that the nation’s financial, nationwide safety and social priorities could possibly be met by deporting people who find themselves in america illegally.
Since Trump left workplace in 2021, Miller has served because the president of America First Authorized, a company made up of former Trump advisers aimed toward difficult the Biden administration, media corporations, universities and others over points similar to free speech and nationwide safety.
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: Dan Scavino
Scavino was an adviser to all three of the president-elect’s campaigns, and the transition staff referred to him as one among “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides.” He will probably be deputy chief of employees and assistant to the president.
He beforehand ran Trump’s social media profile within the White Home throughout his first administration. He was additionally held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to adjust to a subpoena from the Home committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: James Blair
Blair was political director for Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign and for the Republican Nationwide Committee. He will probably be deputy chief of employees for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president.
Blair was key to Trump’s financial messaging throughout his successful White Home comeback marketing campaign this yr, a driving pressure behind the candidate’s “Trump can fix it” slogan and his question to audiences this fall in the event that they have been higher off than 4 years in the past.
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: Taylor Budowich
Budowich is a veteran Trump marketing campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Nice Once more, Inc., a brilliant PAC that supported Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign. He will probably be deputy chief of employees for communications and personnel and assistant to the president.
Budowich additionally had served as a spokesman for Trump after his first presidency.
WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: William McGinley
McGinley was White Home Cupboard secretary throughout Trump’s first administration, and was exterior authorized counsel for the Republican Nationwide Committee’s election integrity effort through the 2024 marketing campaign.
In a press release, Trump known as McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”
Ambassadors and envoys
SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: Steven Witkoff
The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect’s golf accomplice and was {golfing} with him at Trump’s membership in West Palm Seashore, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the previous president was the goal of a second tried assassination.
Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump mentioned of Witkoff in a press release. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud.”
Trump additionally named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee.
AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: Mike Huckabee
Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his supposed nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. international coverage extra intently with Israel’s pursuits because it wages wars in opposition to the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
“He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump mentioned in a press release. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.”
Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a well-liked determine amongst evangelical Christian conservatives, a lot of whom assist Israel because of Outdated Testomony writings that Jews are God’s chosen folks and that Israel is their rightful homeland.
Trump has been praised by some on this vital Republican voting bloc for transferring the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Huckabee has rejected a Palestinian homeland in territory occupied by Israel, calling for a so-called “one-state solution.”
AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Elise Stefanik
Stefanik is a consultant from New York and one among Trump’s staunchest defenders going again to his first impeachment.
Elected to the Home in 2014, Stefanik was chosen by her GOP Home colleagues as Home Republican Convention chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was faraway from the submit after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he gained the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that position ever since because the third-ranking member of Home management.
Stefanik’s questioning of college presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped result in two of these presidents resigning, additional elevating her nationwide profile.
If confirmed, she would symbolize American pursuits on the U.N. as Trump vows to finish the conflict waged by Russia in opposition to Ukraine that started in 2022.