Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far
President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts for his second administration, putting an emphasis on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.ย
President-elect Donald Trump
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Susie Wiles, chief of staff
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Susie Wiles, 67,ย was a senior adviserย to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.
Wiles has a background in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump's defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary.
Wilesโ hire was Trumpโs first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with the president-elect. Wiles is said to have earned Trump's trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump's three presidential campaigns.
Wiles was able to help keep Trump on track as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, but by winning his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her advice.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, secretary of state
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Trumpย named Florida Sen. Marco Rubioย to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat.
Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
โHe 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,โ Trump said of Rubio in a statement.
The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a โcon man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations.
Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense
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Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channelโs โFox & Friends Weekendโ and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.
Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises โ ranging from Russiaโs war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.
Hegseth is also the author of โThe War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,โ published earlier this year.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, attorney general
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Trump said Wednesday he will nominate Florida Rep.ย Matt Gaetzย to serve as his attorney general, naming a loyalist in the role of the nation's top prosecutor.
In selecting Gaetz, 42, Trump passed over some of the more established lawyers whose names had been mentioned as being contenders for the job.
โMatt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and Restore Americans' badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department,โ Trump said in a statement.
Gaetz resigned from Congress Wednesday night. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that Gaetz paid for sex with a 17-year-old, though that probe effectively ended when he resigned. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.
Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security
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Trump pickedย South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-electโs hardline immigration agenda.
Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.
South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state โopen for business.โ Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic.
She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence
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Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbardย has been tapped by Trumpย to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields.
Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall.
โI know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,โ Trump said in a statement.
Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions.
John Ratcliffe, CIA director
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Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next.
Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic.
โI look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,โ Trump said in a statement, calling him a โfearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americansโ who would ensure โthe Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.โ
Elise Stefanik, United Nations ambassador
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Rep. Elise Stefanik is aย representative from New Yorkย and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment.
Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership.
Stefanikโs questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.
If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah.
Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
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Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
โHe loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,โ Trump said in a statement. โMike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.โ
Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are Godโs chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.
Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
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Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East.
The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination.
Witkoff โis a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,โ Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. โSteve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud."
Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee.
Mike Waltz, national security adviser
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Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday.
The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah.
โMike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,โ Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!โ
Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.
He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.
Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency
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Trump has chosen former New York Rep.ย Lee Zeldinย to serve as his pick to lead theย Environmental Protection Agency.
Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote onย X, โWe will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.โ โWe will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,โ he added.
During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would โDrill, baby, drill,โ referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a statement, Trump said Zeldin โwill 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.โ
Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy
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Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trumpโs priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trumpโs first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trumpโs policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.
Tom Homan, โborder czarโ
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Thomas Homan, 62,ย has been taskedย with Trumpโs top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nationโs history.
Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.
Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this countryโs ever seen.โ
Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's โzero toleranceโ policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency
Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new โDepartment of Government Efficiency" โ which is not, despite the name, a government agency.
The acronym โDOGEโ is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House โadvice and guidanceโ and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to โdrive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.โ He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate.
Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will โpave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.โ
Additional selections to the incoming White House
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Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff
Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of โTrump's longest serving and most trusted aides,โ was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president.
Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committeeโs investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
James Blair, deputy chief of staff
Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president.
Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's โTrump can fix itโ slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago.
Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff
Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president.
Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency.
William McGinley, White House counsel
McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign.
In a statement, Trump called McGinley โa 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.โ
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