WASHINGTON β Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Mitch McConnell into a key position as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Thune, 63, is in his fourth Senate term and has promised to work closely with Trump, despite differences the two have had over the years, and will be a crucial part of the incoming presidentβs efforts to push through his policy agenda.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., center, talk as Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., left, after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Mariam Zuhaib
In a statement, Thune said he was βextremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues.β
βThis Republican team is united behind President Trumpβs agenda, and our work starts today,β he said.
Thune beat out two other competitors, Sens. John Cornyn and Rick Scott, by gaining majority support from GOP senators in a secret ballot vote in two rounds of voting. Scott was eliminated on the first round and the final vote between Thune and Cornyn was 29-24, according to several people who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
Republicans are replacing McConnell, the longest serving Senate party leader, as they prepare to take majority control of the Senate with the 53 seats they won in last weekβs elections.
Much of the campaign centered around the candidates' relationship with Trump. Thune has worked to smooth his over after breaking publicly with Trump over the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he called βinexcusable.β
In recent months, Thune has realigned with Trump, visiting him in his Florida home, and the two have been consulting on how to implement the incoming presidentβs agenda. Thune told The Associated Press over the summer that he views their potential relationship as a professional one. If they both win their elections, Thune said, βweβve got a job to do.β
As he made his case, Thune also made clear that he would listen to Trump's demands. When Trump posted on X Sunday that the new leader βmust agreeβ to allow him to appoint Cabinet members and others when the Senate is on recess, avoiding confirmation votes, Thune responded that the Senate must βquickly and decisivelyβ act to get nominees in place and that βall options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments.β
Well liked and a respected communicator, Thune has been perceived as a front-runner for much of the year. Like McConnell, he hails from the Republican Partyβs more traditional wing.
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He is a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and has held the Republican whip position β no. 2 in party leadership β since 2019. He took over for McConnell for several weeks last year when he was on a medical leave, a move that was widely seen as an audition of sorts as speculation surrounded McConnell's future.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, speaks in support of Ohio Republican candidate for the United States Senate, Bernie Moreno (not pictured) during a bus tour stop for the Ohio Senate race in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana)
Joe Maiorana
Thuneβs win isΒ all the more extraordinary because of his 2004 election to the Senate β defeating then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle after arguing during the campaign that Daschle had lost his South Dakota roots during his years in Democratic leadership. Twenty years later, Thune will become majority leader himself.
As he geared up to run for leader, Thune spent much of the year campaigning for his colleagues. According to his aides, he raised more than $31 million to elect Senate Republicans this cycle, including a $4 million transfer from his own campaign accounts to the Senateβs main campaign arm.
The election was difficult for many in the conference who saw Thune and Cornyn as similar choices. They are alike on policy, voting generally in step with the conference but working with Democrats at times. Cornyn is a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who took a leading role on bipartisan gun legislation two years ago.
But the two differed on whether the leader should be term limited β a key demand from some in the conservative wing. Cornyn pushed for limits, while Thune did not.
Scott, the former governor of Florida, was elected to the Senate in 2018 and quickly positioned himself as a foil to McConnell, running against him for leader in 2022 and aligning with Utah Sen. Mike Lee and others who have been highly critical of the current leadership.
As Thune and Cornyn wooed their colleagues one by one all year, Scott spent most of the year tied up in his own reelection race. He handily defeated Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by more than 10 points.
After his re-election last week, Scott aggressively stepped up his campaign for GOP leader, campaigning publicly as the candidate closest to Trump and winning endorsements from people who are close to the former and future president, such as billionaire Elon Musk. But some questioned whether that strategy might backfire.
Rounds said that he prefers the way that Thune and Cornyn have βhandled it one-on-one with everybody,β but that he had talked to Scott as well. βWeβve got three qualified individuals,β he said ahead of the race.
Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far
President-elect Donald Trump
Updated
Nov 14, 2024
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Susie Wiles, 67,Β was a senior adviserΒ to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
TrumpΒ named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Β 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.
βHe 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,β Trump said of Rubio in a statement.
The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a βcon 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.
Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channelβs βFox & Friends Weekendβ 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 β ranging from Russiaβs 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 βThe War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,β published earlier this year.
George Walker IV, Associated Press
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Nov 21, 2024
Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration.
She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trumpβs legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute.
Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him.
Derik Hamilton
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Trump pickedΒ 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-electβs 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 βopen for business.β 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.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race.
Burgum was a serious contender to be Trumpβs vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs.
Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day.
In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation.
βThere's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,β Burgum said.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, andΒ then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign.
The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned aboutΒ his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary
Nov 22, 2024
Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction.
He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nationβs first openly gay treasury secretary.
He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trumpβs campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.
βThis election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,β he said then.
Matt Kelley, Associated Press
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary
Updated
Nov 22, 2024
Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district.
As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Departmentβs workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workersβ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employerβs rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities.
Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the βProtecting the Right to Organizeβ or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workersβ rights. The act would also weaken βright-to-workβ laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment.
Andrew Harnik, Associated Press
Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development
Nov 22, 2024
Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trumpβs first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person heβs yet selected for his administration, with βhelping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Countryβs most distressed communities.β
Andrew Harnik, Associated Press
Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of βThe Bottom Lineβ on Fox Business.
Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, βFox and Friends Weekendβ co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children.
Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press
Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy
Updated
Nov 18, 2024
A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking β a key pillar of Trumpβs quest to achieve U.S. βenergy dominanceβ in the global market.
Wright also has been one of the industryβs loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is βcollapsing under its own weight.β The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States.
Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trumpβs first term.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post via AP
Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle.
McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trumpβs initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.
Sheβs seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press
Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs.
Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Lutnick is a co-chair of Trumpβs transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trumpβs Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration.
The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force 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 said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.
John Bazemore, Associated Press
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary
Nov 15, 2024
Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history.
The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps.
Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022,Β she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, Β winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press
Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi GabbardΒ has been tapped by Trump Β 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.
βI know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,β 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.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency Director
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
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.
βI look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,β Trump said in a statement, calling him a βfearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americansβ who would ensure βthe Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.β
Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press
Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
Trump has chosen former New York Rep.Β Lee Zeldin Β to serve as his pick to lead theΒ 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 onΒ X , βWe will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.β βWe will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,β 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 βDrill, baby, drill,β referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a statement, Trump said Zeldin βwill 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.β
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
Updated
Nov 18, 2024
Jonathan Newton - pool, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Elise Stefanik, Ambassador to the United Nations
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
Rep. Elise Stefanik is aΒ representative from New York Β 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.
Stefanikβs 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.
Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO
Nov 20, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is βa strong warrior and loyal Patriotβ who βwill ensure the United Statesβ interests are advanced and defendedβ and βstrengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.β The choice of Whitaker as the nationβs representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy.
Andrew Harnik, Associated Press
Pete Hoekstra, Ambassador to Canada
Feb 23, 2024
A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term.
βIn my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,β Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. βHe did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.β
Paul Sancya, Associated Press
Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
Updated
Nov 12, 2024
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.
βHe loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,β Trump said in a statement. βMike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.β
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 Godβs 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.
Oded Balilty, Associated Press
Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
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 βis a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,β Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. βSteve 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.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
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.
βMike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,β Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!β
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.
Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press
Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
Stephen Miller, anΒ immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration.
Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.
Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Tom Homan, βBorder Czarβ
Updated
Nov 15, 2024
Thomas Homan, 62,Β has been tasked Β with Trumpβs top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nationβs 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 countryβs ever seen.β
Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's βzero toleranceβ policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.
John Bazemore, Associated Press
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services administrator
Updated
Nov 19, 2024
Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted βThe Dr. Oz Show,β a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office.
Matt Rourke, Associated Press
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency
Nov 13, 2024
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 βDepartment of Government Efficiency" β which is not, despite the name, a government agency.
The acronym βDOGEβ 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 βadvice and guidanceβ and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to βdrive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.β 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 βpave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.β
Evan Vucci, Associated Press photos
Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget
Nov 22, 2024
Russell Vought held the position during Trumpβs first presidency.
After Trumpβs initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as βrenew a consensus of America as a nation under God.β
Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trumpβs second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign.
Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Additional selections to the incoming White House
Updated
Nov 14, 2024
Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of βTrump's longest serving and most trusted aides,β 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 committeeβs 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 βTrump can fix itβ 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 βa 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.β
Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press
Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture
Updated
Nov 23, 2024
Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency.
The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Evan Vucci