Donald Trump shakes hands with Susie Wiles, Trump campaign co-chair, at an election results watch party on Nov. 6 in West Palm Beach, Fla., alongside Eric Trump, Laura Trump, Melania Trump and Barron Trump.Ted Shaffrey/The Associated Press
Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his presidential election victory.
Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defence, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policy-making. Some are in contention for a range of posts.
Susie Wiles, chief of staff
Trump supporters hope new chief of staff Susie Wiles will instill a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Donald Trump’s first four-year term.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Trump on Thursday announced that Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff. While the specifics of her political views are somewhat unclear, Wiles, 67, is credited with running a successful and efficient campaign. Supporters hope she will instill a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Trump’s first four-year term, when he cycled through a number of chiefs of staff.
Tom Homan, ‘border czar’
New 'border czar' Tom Homan says he will prioritize deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who posed safety and security threats as well as those working at job sites.John Bazemore/The Associated Press
Trump announced on Sunday night that Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from his first administration, will be in charge of the country’s borders.
Trump made cracking down on people in the country illegally a central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations.
Homan said on Monday he would prioritize deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally who posed safety and security threats as well as those working at job sites.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said Homan will be “in charge of our nation’s borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” including the deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Elise Stefanik, UN ambassador
Donald Trump's new ambassador to the UN Elise Stefanik will arrive at the UN after bold promises by Mr. Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s war in Gaza.Tom Williams/Reuters
Trump announced on Monday that Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman and staunch Trump supporter, would be his ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik, 40, a U.S. representative from New York State and House Republican conference chair, took a leadership position in the House of Representatives in 2021 when she was elected to replace then-Representative Liz Cheney, who was ousted for criticizing Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
“I am honoured to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump said in a statement. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.” Stefanik will arrive at the UN after bold promises by Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel’s war in Gaza.
Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator
New EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has been a staunch ally of Donald Trump and served in Congress from 2015 to 2023.YUKI IWAMURA/AFP/Getty Images
Trump announced on Monday he had appointed former congressman Lee Zeldin of New York State as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Zeldin said he had accepted the role.
Zeldin, 44, a staunch Trump ally, served in Congress from 2015 to 2023. In 2022 he lost the New York governor’s race to Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul. Trump has promised to overhaul U.S. energy policy, with the aim of maximizing the country’s already record-high oil and gas production by rolling back regulations and speeding up permitting.
As head of the EPA, Zeldin will play a key role in implementing those policies.
Mike Waltz, national security adviser
Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., speaks outside the hush money criminal case of former president Donald Trump in New York.Ted Shaffrey/The Associated Press
Trump on Tuesday said he had picked for national security adviser Republican U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Army Green Beret who has been a leading critic of China.
Waltz, a 50-year-old Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, has criticized Chinese activity in the Asia-Pacific and has voiced the need for the U.S. to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.
The national security adviser is a powerful role, which does not require Senate confirmation. Waltz will be responsible for briefing Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.
While slamming the Biden administration for a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Waltz has publicly praised Trump’s foreign policy views.
Kristi Noem, homeland security secretary
Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15Mike Segar/Reuters
Trump has chosen South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to serve as the next homeland security secretary, two sources familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.
Noem, 52, once seen as a possible running mate for Trump, is currently serving her second four-year term as South Dakota’s governor. She rose to national prominence after refusing to impose a statewide mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the U.S. Secret Service.
Both Trump’s campaign and Noem’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee shake hands after taking part in a roundtable discussion hosted by Building America's Future in Drexel Hill, Penn., on Oct. 29.CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images
Trump said on Tuesday he was nominating former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, tapping a staunchly pro-Israel conservative whose choice could signal future U.S. policy toward conflicts in the Middle East.
An evangelical Christian, Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. A former Republican presidential hopeful, Huckabee hosted a weekly Fox News TV show for six years ending in 2015.
Evangelicals are an overwhelmingly pro-Israel part of Trump’s base and voted heavily in favour of him in the Nov. 5 election.
Trump’s announcement of the nomination drew immediate praise from senior Israeli officials but was likely to be panned by Palestinians, whose nationalist cause Huckabee has denigrated in the past.
John Ratcliffe, CIA director
Director of Natiional Intelligence John Ratcliffe in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Dec. 3, 2020.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had picked former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Ratcliffe, a close ally of Trump, served as director of national intelligence at the end of his first term.
Ratcliffe was confirmed as the nation’s top spy in May 2020, eight months before Trump left office. A former member of the House of Representatives and U.S. attorney for Texas, he received no support from Senate Democrats during his confirmation.
Pete Hegseth, defence secretary
Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, arrives at Trump Tower, on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in 2016. President-elect Donald Trump chose Hegseth to be his next defence secretary, elevating a television ally to run the Pentagon and lead 1.3 million active-duty troops.SAM HODGSON/The New York Times News Service
Trump said Tuesday that he is nominating Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to serve as his defence secretary.
Hegseth deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Minnesota in 2012 before joining Fox News.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said in a statement. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our `Peace through Strength’ policy.”
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks as Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump reacts during a rally at the site of the July assassination attempt against Trump, in Butler, Penn., on Oct. 5, 2024.Carlos Barria/Reuters
Trump said on Tuesday Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.
Stephen Miller, deputy chief of policy
Stephen Miller speaks at a rally for Donald Trump at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich., on Oct. 26. He is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, dating back to his first campaign for the White House.DREW ANGERER/AFP/Getty Images
Trump is expected to name long-time adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, to be the deputy chief of policy in his new administration.
Miller is one of Trump’s longest-serving aides, dating back to his first campaign for the White House. He was a senior adviser in Trump’s first term and has been a central figure in many of his policy decisions, particularly on immigration, including Trump’s move to separate thousands of immigrant families as a deterrence program in 2018.
Miller has also helped craft many of Trump’s hard-line speeches, and was often the public face of those policies during Trump’s first term in office and during his campaigns.
Marco Rubio, secretary of state
Florida Senator Marco Rubio has long been involved in foreign affairs in the Senate, particularly as it relates to Latin America, and he has solid relationships throughout the Republican party.JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
Trump said on Wednesday he is nominating Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a senior member of both the foreign relations and intelligence committees, to be secretary of state.
Rubio, 53, is known as a China hawk, outspoken critic of Cuba’s Communist government and strong backer of Israel. He has in the past advocated for a more assertive U.S. foreign policy with respect to America’s geopolitical foes, although more recently his views have aligned more closely with those of Trump’s more “America First” approach to foreign policy.
In April, he was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a big military aid package to help Ukraine resist Russia and support other U.S. partners, including Israel. Trump has been critical of Democratic President Joe Biden’s continuing military assistance for Ukraine as it fights Russia invaders.
On the Gaza war, like Trump, Rubio has been staunchly behind Israel, calling Hamas a terrorist organization that must be eliminated and saying America’s role is to resupply Israel with the military materials needed to finish the job.
Matt Gaetz, attorney-general
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Lee's Family Forum, on Oct. 31, in Henderson, Nev.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
Trump on Wednesday named firebrand Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz to be his nominee for attorney general, as he moves swiftly to assemble a Cabinet.
Trump’s inner circle has described the attorney general as the most important member of the administration after Trump himself, key to his plans to carry out mass deportations, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and seek retribution against those who prosecuted him over the past four years.
During his first term, Trump was infuriated by what he called an obstructive Justice Department, including attorneys general Jeff Sessions, who allowed a probe into alleged contacts between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, and Bill Barr, who publicly refuted his false claims his 2020 election loss was the result of fraud.
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard speaks before Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, on Oct. 27, in New York.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
Trump said on Wednesday he has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a 43-year-old former Democratic representative and critic of the Biden administration, as his director of national intelligence.
Gabbard, who left the Democratic party in 2022 to become an independent and was considered a possible candidate to become Trump’s running mate, would take over from Avril Haines as the top official in the U.S. intelligence community after the Republican president-elect starts his second term in January.
Gabbard has little direct experience with intelligence work and had not been widely expected to be tapped for the post.
She was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as a major in the Hawaii National Guard and is now a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Department of Health and Human Services
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump at a campaign event on Sept. 27, in Walker, Mich.Carlos Osorio/The Associated Press
Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an environmental activist who has spread misinformation on vaccines, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the country’s top health agency, his son Donald Trump Jr announced on Thursday.
Kennedy ran for president in this year’s election as an independent before dropping out in August and endorsing Trump in exchange for a role in the Republican’s administration.
Over posts on social media platform X and interviews in recent weeks, Kennedy has indicated his priorities include addressing what he calls the “chronic disease epidemic” of conditions including obesity, diabetes and autism, and reducing chemicals in food.
Kennedy also suggested he would gut the 18,000-employee Food and Drug Administration – which ensures the safety of food, drugs and medical devices – and replace hundreds of employees at the National Institutes of Health.
Doug Burgum, Interior Secretary
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum speaks with the media ahead of the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 14.Carlos Barria/Reuters
Trump said on Thursday that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a wealthy former software company executive, will be his pick for interior secretary.
“He’s going to head the Department of Interior, and it’s going to be fantastic,” a tuxedo-wearing Trump said at a gala at his Mar-a-Lago Florida retreat, adding that he would make an official announcement on Friday.
Burgum, 68, has portrayed himself as a traditional, business-minded conservative. He ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination before quitting and becoming a loyal Trump supporter, appearing at fundraisers and advocating for Trump on television.
At the gala, which featured tech billionaire Elon Musk, actor Sylvester Stallone and members of his incoming administration, Trump praised his latest cabinet picks and made some of his longest remarks since his presidential election victory speech.
“Nobody knew we were going to win it the way we won it,” Trump said.
Chris Wright, Energy Secretary
Trump said on Saturday that oil and gas industry executive Chris Wright, a staunch defender of fossil fuel use, would be his pick to lead the Department of Energy.
Wright is the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, an oilfield services firm based in Denver. He is expected to support Trump’s plan to maximize production of oil and gas and to seek ways to boost generation of electricity, demand for which is rising for the first time in decades.
He is also likely to share Trump’s opposition to global co-operation on fighting climate change. Wright has called climate change activists alarmist and has likened efforts by Democrats to combat global warming to Soviet-style communism.
Steven Cheung, White House communications director
Steven Cheung watches as Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower on Sept. 6 in New York.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Trump has picked Steven Cheung, who served as director of communications during the election campaign, to be his White House communications director, the Trump transition team said on Friday.
It also announced that Sergio Gor will take on the role of director of the Presidential Personnel Office.
“Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted advisors since my first presidential campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion America First principles,” Trump said in a statement.
Cheung served as director of strategic response, a communications role, during Trump’s first term in office.
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary
Karoline Leavitt speaks to the news media across the street from former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York on May 28, 2024.Ted Shaffrey/The Associated Press
Trump reached into his inner circle on Friday and chose his transition spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, as his White House press secretary, putting a 27-year-old firebrand in position to aggressively defend him.
Leavitt has endeared herself to Trump by her ardent defense of him in news interviews and her take-no-prisoners style, Trump advisers said.
The job of the White House press secretary typically is to help inform the American people about presidential activities without betraying the confidence of the boss.
“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,” Trump said in a statement.
The challenge for Leavitt will be to impart reliable information and gain credibility with reporters - while maintaining strong loyalty to Trump.
Leavitt will be the youngest person to ever hold the title of White House press secretary. Ron Ziegler was the previous youngest press secretary at age 29 when President Richard Nixon gave him the position in 1969.
Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary
Howard Lutnick speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
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 Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s 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.
An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use – we need to protect the American worker.”
Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Mehmet Oz speaks as President-elect Donald Trump stands behind him during a campaign rally in support of Oz and Doug Mastriano for Governor of Pennsylvania at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. on Sept. 3, 2022.ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
Trump said on Tuesday that he had chosen celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz to serve as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Oz, known as “Dr. Oz”, unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022. Trump, who endorsed Oz in that race, said he would work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trump said the pair would take on “the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake” as well as cutting what he called waste and fraud.
“Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country’s budget,” Trump said in a statement. Saying Oz would be a leader in “incentivizing disease prevention”.
Linda McMahon, education secretary
Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration, speaks on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., on July 18, 2024.Mike Segar/Reuters
Trump is expected to name Linda McMahon as education secretary, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing four sources familiar with the matter, putting the former pro-wrestling mogul at the helm of a department Trump has proposed abolishing.
McMahon, who had been in the running for commerce secretary, headed up the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first administration and was a major donor and early supporter of the Republican president-elect when he first ran for the White House almost a decade ago.
The co-founder and former CEO of the WWE professional wrestling franchise, she resigned from the SBA in 2019 to lead the pro-Trump spending group America First Action. She also chairs the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-friendly think tank.
Trump tapped her to co-lead a transition team formed to help vet personnel and draft policy ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Matt Whitaker, NATO ambassador
Former acting attorney-general Matt Whitaker waves as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 15.Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press
Trump says he has chosen former acting attorney-general Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, the bedrock Western alliance that the president-elect has expressed skepticism about for years.
Trump, in a statement, said Whitaker was “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.”
The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is in law enforcement and not in foreign policy. Whitaker had been considered a potential pick for attorney-general, a position Trump instead gave to Matt Gaetz, a fierce loyalist who has been seen as divisive even within his own party.
Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to Canada
Michigan Republican Party Chairperson Pete Hoekstra speaks before Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump at a campaign event on Oct. 25, in Traverse City, Mich.Paul Sancya/The Associated Press
Trump has picked a former Michigan congressman as his upcoming administration’s ambassador to Canada.
Trump said in a statement that Pete Hoekstra would help him “once again put America first.”
Hoekstra thanked Trump on social media platform X, saying he was honoured for the opportunity.
Hoekstra served as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump’s first term as president.
Scott Bessent, potential treasury secretary
Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is widely seen as a top candidate for treasury secretary. A longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, Bessent has a warm relationship with the president-elect.
While Bessent has long favoured the laissez-faire policies that were popular in the pre-Trump Republican Party, he has also spoken highly of Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. He has praised the president-elect’s economic philosophy, which rests on a skepticism of both regulations and international trade.
Robert Lighthizer, potential treasury secretary
A loyalist who served as Trump’s U.S. trade representative for essentially the then-president’s entire term, Lighthizer will almost certainly be invited back. Though Bessent and Paulson likely have a better shot at becoming treasury secretary, Lighthizer has an outside chance, and he might be able to reprise his old role if he’s interested. Like Trump, Lighthizer is a trade skeptic and a firm believer in tariffs. He was one of the leading figures in Trump’s trade war with China and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with Mexico and Canada during Trump’s first term.
Howard Lutnick, potential treasury secretary
The co-chair of Trump’s transition effort and the longtime chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is in the running for treasury secretary.
A bombastic New Yorker like Trump, Lutnick has uniformly praised the president-elect’s economic policies, including his use of tariffs.
He has at times given elaborate, unvarnished opinions about what policies will be enacted in Trump’s second term. Some Trump allies had privately complained that he too often presented himself as speaking on behalf of the campaign.
Kash Patel, potential candidate for national security posts
During Donald Trump’s first term, former Republican House staffer Kash Patel drew animosity from some more experienced national security officials, who saw him as volatile and too eager to please the then-president.Go Nakamura/Reuters
A former Republican House staffer who served in various high-ranking staff roles in the defence and intelligence communities during Trump’s first term, Patel frequently appeared on the campaign trail to rally support for the candidate.
Some Trump allies would like to see Patel, considered the ultimate Trump loyalist, appointed CIA director. Any position requiring Senate confirmation may be a challenge, however.
Patel has leaned into controversy throughout his career. In an interview with Trump ally Steve Bannon last year, he promised to “come after” politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump.
During the Trump’s first term, Patel drew animosity from some more experienced national security officials, who saw him as volatile and too eager to please the then-president.
Brendan Carr, potential chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
Commissioner of Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, testifies during an oversight hearing to examine the Federal Communications Commission on June 24, 2020, in Washington.JONATHAN NEWTON/AFP/Getty Images
Trump will tap Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he said in a statement on Sunday.
Carr is currently the top Republican on the FCC, an independent agency which regulates interstate and international communications.
He has been a supporter of Elon Musk’s efforts to win subsidies for broadband internet service and criticized NBC for letting Vice President Kamala Harris appear on “Saturday Night Live” just before the election.