President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign. Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far.Scott Bessent, treasury secretaryTrump said he’ll nominate former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary.Bessent, 62, is 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 nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.“This 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,” he said then. Before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, Bessent donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, notably Al Gore’s presidential run. He also worked for George Soros, a major supporter of Democrats. Bessent had an influential role in Soros’ London operations, including his famous 1992 bet against the pound, which generated huge profits on “Black Wednesday,” when the pound was de-linked from European currencies.Lori Chavez-DeRemer, labor secretaryTrump has chosen Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the Labor Department.The Oregon House member who narrowly lost her reelection bid earlier this month received strong backing from union members in her district.”I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers,” Trump said in a statement.As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce and its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health, safety and ability to unionize, and employers’ rights to fire employees, among other responsibilities.“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success – Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump’s statement said.Russ Vought, Office of Management and BudgetTrump said would he nominate Russ Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, a position Vought held during Trump’s first presidency.Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Vought “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government.”Vought, 48, was the head of the Office of Management and Budget from mid-2020 to the end of Trump’s first term in 2021, having previously served as the acting director and deputy director. A graduate of Wheaton College and George Washington University Law School, he had a deep knowledge of government finances that has been paired with his own Christian faith.After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as renewing “a consensus of America as a nation under God.”The Center for Renewing America released its own 2023 budget proposal entitled “A Commitment to End Work and Weaponized Government.” The proposal envisioned $11.3 trillion worth of spending reductions over 10 years and about $2 trillion in income tax cuts in order to bring the budget into surplus by 2032.“The immediate threat facing the nation is the fact that the people no longer govern the country; instead, the government itself is increasingly weaponized against the people it is meant to serve,” Vought wrote in the introduction.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.Vought’s proposed budget plan would cut spending on food aid through the Agriculture Department. There would be $3.3 trillion in spending reductions in the Health and Human Services Department in large part through how Medicaid and Medicare funds are distributed. It also contains about $642 billion in cuts to Affordable Care Act. The budgets for the Housing and Urban Development and Education departments would also be cut.Vought’s budget ideas were independent of Trump, who has not entirely spelled out the details of his economic plans, other than to campaign on income tax cuts and tariff hikes.Scott Turner, housing and urban development secretaryTrump said he’ll nominate Scott Turner, a former NFL player and White House aide, to lead housing and urban development.Turner ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.”Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representativeTrump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.”Greer previously served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative who is deeply skeptical of free trade. Greer is currently a partner at the King & Spalding law firm in Washington. He was not immediately available for comment.If confirmed as trade representative, Greer would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization.Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic CouncilAs director of the White House National Economic Council, Hassett brings into Trump’s administration a major advocate for tax cuts.Trump said Hassett “will play an important role in helping American families recover from the inflation that was unleashed by the Biden Administration” and that together they would “renew and improve” the 2017 tax cuts, many of which are set to expire after 2025.Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017.Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug AdministrationMakary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. During the pandemic, he routinely appeared on Fox News and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. And he also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine.He authored “Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health.”Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, surgeon general Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serve as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. And she’s contributor on Fox News.Dr. Dave Weldon, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Weldon recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed the other candidate to win.He also spent many years as a Florida Congressman and weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative after cardiac arrest, state should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed.Pam Bondi, attorney generalTrump said he’ll nominate Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general on Nov. 21, hours after his other choice, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name.Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.She has been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers.Bondi is from Tampa and spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor. She was Florida’s first female attorney general.Gaetz’s withdrawal came after meetings with Republican senators, as Trump’s transition team sought to gauge whether he would win enough GOP support to be confirmed.”I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on X.Marco Rubio, secretary of stateTrump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making the former sharp critic the new administration’s choice as its 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.“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con 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, Rubio now supports Trump’s plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations.Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligenceFormer Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump 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 and 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.“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious carreer to our Intelligence Community,” 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.Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Health and Human ServicesPresident-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.He and Trump have since become good friends, with Kennedy frequently receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.The expected appointment was first reported by Politico Thursday.A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is an attorney who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter regulations around the ingredients in foods.Linda McMahon, secretary of the Department of EducationPresident-elect Donald Trump is nominating the billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle.McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.McMahon 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. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of Centers for Medicaid and Medicare ServicesDr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” 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.Howard Lutnick, commerce secretaryHoward Lutnick heads up the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is co-chair of Trump’s transition operation, charged along with Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, with helping the president-elect build a Cabinet for his second administration.As commerce secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump’s plans to raise and enforce tariffs. He would oversee a sprawling Cabinet department whose oversight ranges from funding new computer chip factories and imposing trade restrictions to releasing economic data and monitoring the weather.Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation 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 “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business.Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children.Doug Collins, secretary of veterans affairsDoug Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.”We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform,” Trump said in a statement Thursday.Collins is a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command. The Republican served in Congress from 2013 to 2021, and he helped defend Trump during his first impeachment process.Doug Burgum, secretary of the interiorThe governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Doug 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 Trump’s 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.“There’s just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said.Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle EastTrump 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 “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve 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.Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staffDan Scavino, whom Trump’s transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides,” 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 committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser 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.Wiles’ hire was Trump’s 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. Mike Waltz, National Security AdviserTrump asked Mike Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser.The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before Trump made a formal announcement.The move would put Waltz at the forefront of a litany of national security crises, ranging from the ongoing effort to provide weapons to Ukraine and escalating 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.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 ongoing mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.Tom Homan, “border czar” Tom Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s 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 country’s ever seen.”Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Elise Stefanik, United States ambassador to the United Nations Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York 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. Stefanik’s 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.Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, an 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.Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to CanadaTrump announced that he chose former Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who served as ambassador to the Netherlands during his first term, as his upcoming administration’s ambassador to Canada.“Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” the president-elect said in a statement.Chris Wright, Energy Secretary A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Chris Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” 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 Trump’s first term.Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection AgencyTrump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the 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 on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.”“We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referred to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign that his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Kristi Noem, Homeland Security SecretaryTrump picked 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-elect’s hardline immigration agenda.Kristi Noem used her two terms to lead 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 “open for business.” 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.Mike Huckabee, ambassador to IsraelTrump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as 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 Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”Huckabee has led paid tour group visits to Israel for years, frequently advertising the trips on conservative-leaning news outlets.David Friedman, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Israel in his first term, said he was “thrilled” by Trump’s selection of Huckabee.John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence AgencyTrump announced that he is nominating former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. A former Republican congressman from Texas, Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence for the final year and a half of Trump’s first term, leading the U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. He is a more traditional pick for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, than some rumored loyalists pushed by some of Trump’s supporters.As intelligence director, he was criticized by Democrats for declassifying in the final days of the 2020 presidential election Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 race even though he acknowledged it might not be true.Ratcliffe’s visibility rose as he emerged in 2019 as an ardent defender of Trump during the House’s first impeachment proceedings against him. He was a member of Trump’s impeachment advisory team and strenuously questioned witnesses during the impeachment hearings.William McGinley, White House counselTrump said William McGinley, a lawyer who has served in Trump’s White House and in a key political role this year, will be his 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 “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”Pete Hegseth, defense secretaryTrump announced that he would nominate Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense 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.”, Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission chairmanBrendan Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission.The FCC is an independent agency that is overseen by Congress, but Trump has suggested he wanted to bring it under tighter White House control, in part to use the agency to punish TV networks that cover him in a way he doesn’t like.Carr has of late embraced Trump’s ideas about social media and tech. Carr wrote a section devoted to the FCC in “ Project 2025,” a sweeping blueprint for gutting the federal workforce and dismantling federal agencies in a second Trump administration produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation.Trump has claimed he doesn’t know anything about Project 2025, but many of its themes have aligned with his statements.Carr said in a statement congratulating Trump on his win that he believed “the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth.”James Blair, deputy chief of staffJames 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 “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago.Taylor Budowich, deputy chiefTaylor 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.Karoline Leavitt, White House Press SecretaryKaroline 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, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, 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.Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government EfficiencyTrump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration.“Together, these two wonderful Americans 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.The announcement of Ramaswamy and particularly Musk, who leads companies with existing, lucrative government contracts, raises immediate questions about potential conflicts of interest. And it is not immediately clear how the department, which Trump said would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government,” will operate.Trump had proposed the creation of a government efficiency commission as part of a slate of new economic plans that he unveiled in early September. At the time, he said Musk had agreed to lead it if he were to secure a return to the White House. CNN contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here’s a look at who he’s selected so far.
Scott Bessent, treasury secretary
Trump said he’ll nominate former George Soros money manager Scott Bessent, an advocate for deficit reduction, to serve as his next treasury secretary.
Bessent, 62, is 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 nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.
He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.
“This 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,” he said then.
Before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, Bessent donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, notably Al Gore’s presidential run. He also worked for George Soros, a major supporter of Democrats. Bessent had an influential role in Soros’ London operations, including his famous 1992 bet against the pound, which generated huge profits on “Black Wednesday,” when the pound was de-linked from European currencies.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, labor secretary
Trump has chosen Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the Labor Department.
The Oregon House member who narrowly lost her reelection bid earlier this month received strong backing from union members in her district.
“I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers,” Trump said in a statement.
As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce and its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health, safety and ability to unionize, and employers’ rights to fire employees, among other responsibilities.
“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success – Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump’s statement said.
Russ Vought, Office of Management and Budget
Trump said would he nominate Russ Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, a position Vought held during Trump’s first presidency.
Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Vought “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government.”
Vought, 48, was the head of the Office of Management and Budget from mid-2020 to the end of Trump’s first term in 2021, having previously served as the acting director and deputy director. A graduate of Wheaton College and George Washington University Law School, he had a deep knowledge of government finances that has been paired with his own Christian faith.
After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as renewing “a consensus of America as a nation under God.”
The Center for Renewing America released its own 2023 budget proposal entitled “A Commitment to End Work and Weaponized Government.” The proposal envisioned $11.3 trillion worth of spending reductions over 10 years and about $2 trillion in income tax cuts in order to bring the budget into surplus by 2032.
“The immediate threat facing the nation is the fact that the people no longer govern the country; instead, the government itself is increasingly weaponized against the people it is meant to serve,” Vought wrote in the introduction.
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.
Vought’s proposed budget plan would cut spending on food aid through the Agriculture Department. There would be $3.3 trillion in spending reductions in the Health and Human Services Department in large part through how Medicaid and Medicare funds are distributed. It also contains about $642 billion in cuts to Affordable Care Act. The budgets for the Housing and Urban Development and Education departments would also be cut.
Vought’s budget ideas were independent of Trump, who has not entirely spelled out the details of his economic plans, other than to campaign on income tax cuts and tariff hikes.
Scott Turner, housing and urban development secretary
Trump said he’ll nominate Scott Turner, a former NFL player and White House aide, to lead housing and urban development.
Turner ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.”
Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative
Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.”
Greer previously served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s former trade representative who is deeply skeptical of free trade. Greer is currently a partner at the King & Spalding law firm in Washington. He was not immediately available for comment.
If confirmed as trade representative, Greer would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council
As director of the White House National Economic Council, Hassett brings into Trump’s administration a major advocate for tax cuts.
Trump said Hassett “will play an important role in helping American families recover from the inflation that was unleashed by the Biden Administration” and that together they would “renew and improve” the 2017 tax cuts, many of which are set to expire after 2025.
Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017.
Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration
Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. During the pandemic, he routinely appeared on Fox News and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. And he also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine.
He authored “Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health.”
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, surgeon general
Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serve as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. And she’s contributor on Fox News.
Dr. Dave Weldon, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Weldon recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed the other candidate to win.
He also spent many years as a Florida Congressman and weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative after cardiac arrest, state should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed.
Pam Bondi, attorney general
Trump said he’ll nominate Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general on Nov. 21, hours after his other choice, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name.
Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden.
She has been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers.
Bondi is from Tampa and spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor. She was Florida’s first female attorney general.
Gaetz’s withdrawal came after meetings with Republican senators, as Trump’s transition team sought to gauge whether he would win enough GOP support to be confirmed.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on X.
Marco Rubio, secretary of state
Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making the former sharp critic the new administration’s choice as its 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.
“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement.
The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con 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, Rubio now supports Trump’s plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations.
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence
Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump 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 and 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.
“I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious carreer to our Intelligence Community,” 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.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Health and Human Services
President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.
He and Trump have since become good friends, with Kennedy frequently receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.
The expected appointment was first reported by Politico Thursday.
A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is an attorney who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter regulations around the ingredients in foods.
Linda McMahon, secretary of the Department of Education
President-elect Donald Trump is nominating the billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle.
McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.
McMahon 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. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services
Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” 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.
Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary
Howard Lutnick heads up the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is co-chair of Trump’s transition operation, charged along with Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, with helping the president-elect build a Cabinet for his second administration.
As commerce secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump’s plans to raise and enforce tariffs. He would oversee a sprawling Cabinet department whose oversight ranges from funding new computer chip factories and imposing trade restrictions to releasing economic data and monitoring the weather.
Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation
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 “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business.
Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children.
Doug Collins, secretary of veterans affairs
Doug Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform,” Trump said in a statement Thursday.
Collins is a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command. The Republican served in Congress from 2013 to 2021, and he helped defend Trump during his first impeachment process.
Doug Burgum, secretary of the interior
The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Doug 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 Trump’s 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.
“There’s just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said.
Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
Trump 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 “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve 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.
Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff
Dan Scavino, whom Trump’s transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides,” 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 committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff
Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser 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.
Wiles’ hire was Trump’s 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.
Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser
Trump asked Mike Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before Trump made a formal announcement.
The move would put Waltz at the forefront of a litany of national security crises, ranging from the ongoing effort to provide weapons to Ukraine and escalating 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.
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 ongoing mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.
Tom Homan, “border czar”
Tom Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s 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 country’s ever seen.”
Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.
Elise Stefanik, United States ambassador to the United Nations
Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York 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.
Stefanik’s 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.
Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy
Stephen Miller, an 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.
Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to Canada
Trump announced that he chose former Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who served as ambassador to the Netherlands during his first term, as his upcoming administration’s ambassador to Canada.
“Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” the president-elect said in a statement.
Chris Wright, Energy Secretary
A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Chris Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.
Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” 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 Trump’s first term.
Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency
Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the 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 on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.”
“We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.
During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referred to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign that his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”
Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary
Trump picked 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-elect’s hardline immigration agenda.
Kristi Noem used her two terms to lead 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 “open for business.” 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.
Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as 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 Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
Huckabee has led paid tour group visits to Israel for years, frequently advertising the trips on conservative-leaning news outlets.
David Friedman, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Israel in his first term, said he was “thrilled” by Trump’s selection of Huckabee.
John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency
Trump announced that he is nominating former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
A former Republican congressman from Texas, Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence for the final year and a half of Trump’s first term, leading the U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. He is a more traditional pick for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, than some rumored loyalists pushed by some of Trump’s supporters.
As intelligence director, he was criticized by Democrats for declassifying in the final days of the 2020 presidential election Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 race even though he acknowledged it might not be true.
Ratcliffe’s visibility rose as he emerged in 2019 as an ardent defender of Trump during the House’s first impeachment proceedings against him. He was a member of Trump’s impeachment advisory team and strenuously questioned witnesses during the impeachment hearings.
William McGinley, White House counsel
Trump said William McGinley, a lawyer who has served in Trump’s White House and in a key political role this year, will be his 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 “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”
Pete Hegseth, defense secretary
Trump announced that he would nominate Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense 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.”
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Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission chairman
Brendan Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission.
The FCC is an independent agency that is overseen by Congress, but Trump has suggested he wanted to bring it under tighter White House control, in part to use the agency to punish TV networks that cover him in a way he doesn’t like.
Carr has of late embraced Trump’s ideas about social media and tech. Carr wrote a section devoted to the FCC in “ Project 2025,” a sweeping blueprint for gutting the federal workforce and dismantling federal agencies in a second Trump administration produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Trump has claimed he doesn’t know anything about Project 2025, but many of its themes have aligned with his statements.
Carr said in a statement congratulating Trump on his win that he believed “the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth.”
James Blair, deputy chief of staff
James 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 “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago.
Taylor Budowich, deputy chief
Taylor 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.
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary
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, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, 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.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency
Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration.
“Together, these two wonderful Americans 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.
The announcement of Ramaswamy and particularly Musk, who leads companies with existing, lucrative government contracts, raises immediate questions about potential conflicts of interest. And it is not immediately clear how the department, which Trump said would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government,” will operate.
Trump had proposed the creation of a government efficiency commission as part of a slate of new economic plans that he unveiled in early September. At the time, he said Musk had agreed to lead it if he were to secure a return to the White House.
CNN contributed to this report.
