A few days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the president-elect’s administration will play its role in his second term in the White House.
During the campaign, Trump has avoided directly confirming appointments but has hinted at who he would like to be on his leadership team.
Most other people selected by the president-elect will have to be questioned by members of the Senate before the Senate votes on their nomination. Even with Republicans in charge, some possible options are moot and could simply be blocked.
Who is in it?
Susie Wiles
Susie Wiles is a veteran Republican crusade manager – having helped get Ronald Reagan and Ron DeSantis elected as well as Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024. She the first member of his team to be announced – and becomes the first feminine crusade manager. cabinet. in American history.
The 67-year-old, who lives in Florida, has had a political career spanning several decades, but he has largely stayed out of the spotlight and rarely gives interviews.
She is the daughter of former American football player Pat Summerall and one of her first jobs in politics was as an assistant to one of her former New York Giants teammates when he became a Republican representative.
Outside of politics, he has worked in the personal sector as a lobbyist, both for Ballard Partners, whose clients include Amazon, Google and MLB (Major League Baseball), and for Mercury, which works with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the Embassy of Qatar. . Training
This time, Trump credited her for her “best-run” presidential campaign, describing her as “amazing” at a rally in Milwaukee earlier this year, and as an “ice girl” in her victory speech.
Elon Musk
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most powerful supporters in the months before the election, spent at least $119 million on his campaign in the seven battleground states.
Rewarding his loyalty, Trump announced that the owner of Tesla and X co-heads the new Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
In a statement, the president-elect said Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, cut unnecessary spending, and restructure federal agencies. “
Despite its name, DOGE is not a government company and is instead intended to provide “advice and guidance” from outside the government.
The statement released by Mr Trump said it will partner with the office of management and budget to “drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”.
The branch has a date of July 4, 2026 to conclude its work.
Vivek Ramaswamy
The former Republican presidential candidate will hire Musk as director of DOGE.
Mr Ramaswamy, the founder of a pharmaceutical company, suspended his campaign in January to support Mr Trump.
In his 2021 bestseller book Woke, Inc, Mr Ramaswamy criticised the decisions of some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns.
Dave Weldon
The president-elect has picked former Florida congressman and doctor Dave Weldon as his choice to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC responds to infectious disease outbreaks, including recommending routine vaccines used in childhood. While in Congress, he pushed a false theory that some vaccines are linked to a rise in autism.
Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi was nominated by Trump to be attorney general, the most sensible legal officer in the country.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, was also one of Trump’s lawyers in his first impeachment trial.
She was among a group of Republicans who turned out to show support for Trump at his secret criminal trial in New York last May.
She served as president of the America First Policy Institute, a tank created by S. Trump.
Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth, former Fox News commentator and National Guard veteran, selected as Trump’s defense secretary.
In a statement, the president-elect described the 44-year-old as “tough and a true believer in America first. ”
If confirmed by the Senate, Mr Hegseth could make good on Mr Trump’s campaign promises to rid the US military ofgenerals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.
He was accused of not having the necessary skills for the project in a highly disrupted Senate confirmation hearing earlier this week.
This is a debatable choice due to statements and actions beyond, adding allegations of sexual assault, excessive drinking, and mocking perspectives toward women fighting in the military and minorities.
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that “Mr. Hegseth admitted to having failed, as we all do from time to time,” but made sure that he would “excel at a skill that many of my predecessors failed. “
By contrast, Jack Reed, the most sensible Democrat on the committee, told Mr. Hegseth, “I don’t think I’m qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this position. “
Mr Hegseth said in response: “The primary charge [Donald Trump] gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the department of defence.
“He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfare, fighting, accountability and readiness to stop bombing that night in our homeland.”
David Bergum
North Dakota governor Doug Bergum has been chosen by Mr Trump to be head of the interior department.
The wealthy software executive, 68, won the governorship in 2016. He also ran for president from June to December 2023 before endorsing Trump in January of last year.
Howard Lutnick
Howard Lutnick is the head of brokerage and investments at Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast.
The 63-year-old was named commerce secretary, which would put him on par with a company involved in financing new computer chip factories, enforcing industrial restrictions, publishing economic data and monitoring the weather. It’s also a position where links to control and the wider business world are crucial.
Mr Lutnick is also a co-chair of Mr Trump’s transition team and has become part of the president-elect’s inner circle.
He is one of Trump’s supporters on tariffs.
Janette Nesheiwat
The next surgeon general of the United States, the country’s top physical educator, will be Janette Nesheiwat, if Trump’s election is approved.
Ms. Nesheiwat is a practitioner who served as medical director of CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York City and New Jersey.
She is also a contributor on Fox News.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Mr Trump has confirmed vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as his pick for health secretary – meaning he will oversee a huge department that includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Medicare.
The president-elect wrote in “.
RFK Jr abandoned his independent presidential crusade toward Trump in August.
It was a resolution that saw RFK Jr condemned by many members of his family, but as with Musk, his public was rewarded.
Mr Kennedy – the son of politician Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of assassinated president John F Kennedy – made a name for himself as a vaccine sceptic during the COVID-19 pandemic and has frequently repeated debunked claims, including linking vaccines to autism in children.
He said Trump would push to eliminate fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office. The addition of the compound has been cited as helping dental health.
But RFK Jr. ‘s questionable prospects may make it difficult for him to get enough votes to confirm his role, even in a Republican-controlled Senate.
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Trump has named Dr. Mehmet Oz administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Dr. Oz will be a leader in the fight for disease prevention so we get the most globally productive effects for every dollar spent on physical care in our wonderful country,” the president-elect said in a statement.
Dr. Oz ran unsuccessfully for the Pennsylvania Senate as a Republican in 2022 and supports Trump.
Best known as a host, The Dr. Oz Show aired its final episode on January 14, 2022, after more than a decade on the air.
Dr. Oz’s promotion of select medicine, religious healing, and paranormal beliefs, in and out of the program, has earned him complaints from various medical and medical publications.
Marco Rubio
Donald Trump has appointed Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.
Rubio, a senator from Florida, unsuccessfully nominated Trump to be the Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
In the past, the 53-year-old has advocated for muscular foreign policy with respect to the US’s geopolitical rivals, including China, Iran and Cuba.
However, over the years, he has softened some of his positions to align himself more with Trump.
He was a 2024 vice presidential candidate before JD Vance got the job.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Trump chose Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as secretary of hard work to bolster the workforce and Americans.
Ms Chavez-DeRemer, who was elected to Congress in 2022, lost her seat to Democrat Janelle Bynum earlier in November.
She has previously supported the expansion of labour rights and has the support of major unions.
Scott Turner
National Football League veteran Scott Turner is Trump’s choice to serve as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
He also led the White House Revitalization and Opportunity Council during Trump’s first term.
He is a former Texas state representative.
Sébastien Gorka
Mr Trump has chosen Sebastian Gorka to be deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism, adding he has more than 30 years of experience in national security.
He ousted Trump from the first administration just months after the president-elect took office in 2017.
Linda Mc Mahon
Billionaire wrestling mogul Linda McMahon has been named secretary of the Department of Education, charged with overseeing a company that Trump has promised to dismantle.
Ms. McMahon, a top Trump donor, led the Small Business Administration during the president-elect’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice unsuccessfully ran for the U. S. Senate as a Republican in Connecticut.
He served on the Connecticut School Board for a year in 2009 and spent years on the board of directors at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
She is considered an unknown in school circles and has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.
Elise Stefanik
Mr Trump has offered fierce ally Elise Stefanik the job as US ambassador to the UN.
The Republican, who represents New York in the House of Representatives, has earned a national reputation as the president-elect’s stalwart best friend, abandoning her reputation as a moderate — after running in Mitt Romney’s 2012 crusade — to occupy the top female position. in the Republican leadership of the House.
Sky News’ American spousal network, NBC News, reported in the past that she was considered Trump’s candidate for vice president.
Trump reportedly described her as a “murderer,” but she has little interest in foreign policy and national security.
Tom Homan
Mr Trump announced Tom Homan will return to government to be in charge of US borders and the deportation of illegal immigrants.
The president-elect said on Truth Social “there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders” than his new “border czar”.
Homan served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump’s first term and was an early supporter of the president’s “zero tolerance” policy, which NBC News reported led to the separation of at least 5,500 families. in the south. border in 2018.
Earlier this year, he told a conservative conference he would “run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen”.
Mr. Homan contributed to the book Project 2025 Leadership Mandate.
Mike Waltz
Mike Waltz, a Trump loyalist, is the president-elect’s national security adviser, a difficult role that requires Senate confirmation.
The 50-year-old, who served in the National Guard, will be responsible for briefing Mr Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.
After praising Trump’s views on foreign policy, Waltz is one of China’s leading critics and has spoken out about the country’s activities in the Asia-Pacific, saying the United States will have to prepare for a potential showdown in the region.
He is currently a congressman for Florida.
Alex Wong
Former State Department official Alex Wong is Trump’s pick to be deputy national security adviser.
Wong served as deputy special representative for North Korea during Trump’s first term and “helped negotiate” the summit with Kim Jong Un, Trump said.
Kristi Noem
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has been picked to serve as the next homeland security secretary.
Once considered a potential running mate for the president-elect, Noem is recently serving her second four-year term as governor of South Dakota, having risen to prominence after refusing to impose a travel order. mask statewide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As head of homeland security, she will be responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the US Secret Service.
In a statement, Trump said: “Kristi has been a close friend of border security. She was the first governor to send National Guard infantrymen to help Texas combat Biden’s border crisis, and a total of eightfold”.
He said Ms Noem would work closely with his “border czar”, Mr Homan.
Stephen Miller
Trump named Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, as deputy director of policy and national security.
Miller was a vocal spokesperson for the presidential campaign in favor of Trump’s precedent of mass deportations.
The 39-year-old previously served as a senior adviser during Mr Trump’s first administration.
Miller played a central role in some of Trump’s political resolutions, his resolution to separate thousands of immigrant families.
John Ratcliffe
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe was selected through Trump to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman and prosecutor, is considered a Trump loyalist who is likely to win Senate confirmation.
Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and presidential candidate, has been tapped to serve as director of intelligence.
“As a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, she enjoys widespread support in both parties. She is now a proud Republican!'” Trump said in announcing her election.
“I know Tulsi will bring to our intelligence network the fearless spirit that has spelled her illustrious career, protecting our constitutional rights and ensuring the strength of peace. Tulsi will make us all proud!”
She has been accused of amplifying Russian propaganda and is believed to have reached that position having worked in the global intelligence service or served on a congressional intelligence committee.
Two years ago it was claimed she echoed Russian propaganda by posting a video saying there were bio labs across Ukraine funded by the US.
Scott Bessen
Scott Bessent, a top fundraiser to the Trump campaign, is the president-elect’s pick for treasury secretary.
He will be tasked with implementing any tax cuts a Republican-controlled Congress may pursue.
Bessent has advocated for tax reform and deregulation to stimulate more bank lending and energy production, as he advocated in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.
Karoline Leavitt
The chief spokesperson for the president-elect’s transition team, Karoline Leavitt, has been named White House press secretary.
At 27, she will be the youngest person to ever hold the title.
Ms Leavitt previously served as an assistant press secretary during the latter part of Mr Trump’s first term.
“I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we, Make America Great Again,” Mr Trump said in a statement.
The role of the White House press secretary is to announce the president’s activities that betray the boss’s trust.
Trump had 4 press secretaries in his first term: Sarah Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, Kayleigh McEnany and Sean Spicer, who resigned after falsely claiming that Mr. Trump’s inauguration had attracted the largest audience in history.
Chris Wright
The head of the oil and fuels industry has been named Energy Secretary and is expected to be involved in advancing nuclear energy in the country.
Mr Wright is also a staunch defender of fossil fuel and is the founder and chief executive of Liberty Energy, an oil field services firm based in Denver.
The president-elect’s plan to maximize oil and fuel production is expected.
Mr Wright has said in the past “there is no climate crisis” and, in 2019, drank fracking fluid on camera to demonstrate it was not dangerous.
He has no experience in government but has made regular appearances on Fox News.
Sean Duffy
Former television star and former Wisconsin representative Sean Duffy has been tapped to serve as Secretary of Transportation.
Mr. Duffy is a former lumberjack athlete and appeared on several MTV shows in the late 1990s before becoming district attorney for Ashland County, Wisconsin, in 2002. He was elected to the House of Representatives as a member of the wave of tea components in 2010. and served on two congressional committees.
He left office nine years later to spend more time with his family, saying at the time he needed time to care for his nine children, one of whom has a heart condition.
In 2023, he co-hosted a show on Fox Business, called Bottom Line. He is also married to Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy.
In confirming his nomination, Trump said Duffy would “maintain and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure” and “dramatically transform the travel experience for each and every American. ” »
Charles Kushner
Donald Trump will appoint Charles Kushner as U. S. ambassador to France.
The president-elect made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Mr Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker”.
The real estate developer is the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Mr. Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a genuine estate company. Jared Kushner is a former senior to Trump, married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.
Trump pardoned Kushner at the end of his last presidency. He was sentenced to two years in criminal terms in 2005 after admitting tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.
Massad Boulos
Trump also hired his other daughter as a senior adviser on Arab and Middle East affairs.
Massad Boulos is a Lebanese-American businessman and father of Tiffany Trump’s husband, Michael Boulos.
During the campaign, Boulos engaged with Michigan’s massive Arab-American community, angered by President Joe Biden’s Israeli military action in Gaza and Lebanon.
Trump won the state by about 80,000 votes.
Mike Huckabee
The 69-year-old Baptist minister is Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel.
The former governor of Arkansas has consistently rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel and has claimed “there really isn’t such a thing” as Palestinians.
Huckabee ran as a Republican presidential candidate in 2008 and 2016 and in the past was a Fox News host. He is also the father of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s former press secretary.
Kimberly Guilfoyle
The former Fox News host, 55, is Trump’s pick to be US ambassador to Greece.
She is believed to be engaged to Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr. US tabloids have speculated that their relationship may have ended.
“Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represent the United States,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
There have been reports that on a Fox News show in 2015 he called Greeks “parasites” who needed to be punished like an untrained puppy after defying a third bailout deal for the country’s creditors over its currency crisis.