
Devin Nunes, the chief executive of Trump-owned Truth Social, was announced as Trump’s nominee for chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, a panel that advises the president on matters related to U.S. intelligence. Nunes, a longtime Trump ally, led the House Intelligence Committee in Trump’s first administration. Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, will serve as White House Press Secretary once the president-elect assumes his office.
She was reportedly considered for White House chief of staff before Susie Wiles was named to the role. Vince Haley, who served as adviser and speechwriter during Trump’s first term was named as the head of the Domestic Policy Council. Haley also worked under Stephen Miller—who Trump named as his Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy— while writing Trump’s speeches during his first term in office. Former Sen. Kelly Loefller, R-Ga., was nominated as administrator of the Small Business Administration by Trump, who said Loefller will crack down on “waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach” in her new role. The former senator fundraised for Trump ahead of the election, raising $7 million for his campaign this summer, according to CNN. As SBA administrator, Loefller will be in charge of overseeing billions of dollars worth of loans and disaster aid to small businesses.

Trump named Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general and former chief of staff for the White House National Security Council during Trump’s first term, as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, a newly created position. Kellogg has presented Trump with a plan for ending the war and forcing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, Reuters reported previously, citing unnamed sources. Former ambassador to Germany and fierce Trump ally Ric Grenell is his pick for the newly created position of envoy for special missions. Grenell, widely considered a contender for secretary of state, previously served as acting director of national intelligence and helped Trump challenge the 2020 election results in Nevada. Trump picked former football player Herschel Walker to serve as his ambassador to the Bahamas, a job that requires Senate confirmation.
Education Secretary: Linda Mcmahon
Bessent is the founder of Key Square Management, a hedge fund that had less than $600 million in assets under management at the end of last year, and worked for Democratic megadonor George Soros for years before that. If confirmed, Bessent would make history as the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ+ Republican Cabinet member. Trump has chosen people for most Senate-confirmed Cabinet-level jobs, including some surprising and controversial picks, and he’s picked a chief of staff and a national security adviser—key roles that don’t require confirmation. Howard Lutnick is Trump’s pick for commerce secretary—choosing him for the commerce role instead of treasury secretary. Trump, in a statement, called Lutnick “the embodiment of resilience in the face of unspeakable tragedy,” referencing his charitable contributions to 9/11 families after 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees, including Lutnick’s brother, died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, while Lutnick was CEO. Lutnick, who rebuilt the company after 9/11, has spent his entire career at Cantor Fitzgerald and became president and CEO of the financial services firm at the age of 29.
Department Of Health And Human Services Deputy Secretary: Jim O’neill
Trump nominated Russell Vought as director of the Office of Budget and Management, potentially marking his second time in the role. Vought was the office’s director from 2020 to 2021 after serving as deputy director and acting director. Vought authored a chapter in the controversial Project 2025 policy agenda on the Executive Office of the President of the United States and will be in charge of overseeing the White House budget and implementation of Trump’s policies throughout the executive branch. He also reportedly said in secret camera footage published by the Centre for Climate Reporting that Trump “blessed” Project 2025 despite distancing himself from it on the campaign trail. Vought is expected to push for policy restructuring that provides more power to the president.
Office Of Management And Budget Chief Of Staff: Ed Martin
- Trump announced former Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla.—who served in Congress from 1995 to 2009—as CDC director, and tapped Marty Makary, who became known for opposing vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, as FDA commissioner.
- An Air Force veteran and former chief of staff to Trump’s former trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, Greer “played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices,” Trump said in a statement.
- Trump tapped billionaire Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 payment processing firm, as administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, calling him “an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut” in a Truth Social post.
- Pending Senate approval, Long’s addition will seemingly end IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel’s term early (his term was slated to end in 2027).
- In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Burch said he will work “to promote the dignity of all people and the common good” and thanked Trump for the role.
- His special purposes acquisition company, Cantor Fitzgerald Acquisition Corp., took the Rumble video platform popular among right-wing influencers public in 2022.
Oz will work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump announced as his pick for Health and Human Services secretary. Oz’s rise to fame is largely tied to his frequent appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show in the early 2000s and his own subsequent daytime talk show. He’s accused of espousing questionable medical claims, including promoting the debunked theory that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could treat Covid-19, and pushing so-called miracle weight loss products unsupported by scientific research. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for the role of secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem is a long-time Trump loyalist who was believed be a contender for Vice President. The appointee will be essential in carrying out Trump’s aggressive immigration plans, in addition to the agency’s duties surrounding cybersecurity, antiterrorism and emergency response.
- Edgar was named to that role in May 2020, and previously served as the mayor of Los Alamitos, California.
- Rollins served as a policy advisor during Trump’s first administration and is the president of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded by former Trump administration officials that has advocated against foreign ownership of U.S. farmland.
- Hegseth has denied the allegations through his attorney, Timothy Parlatore, who told multiple outlets he paid his accuser a settlement to avoid a lawsuit over the matter.
- Federal Trade commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson was selected as the agency’s chair, meaning if confirmed he will take over for Lina Khan, who has spearheaded a yearslong antitrust crackdown on large companies across the tech, grocery and pharmaceutical sectors.
- The former senator fundraised for Trump ahead of the election, raising $7 million for his campaign this summer, according to CNN.
In his announcement, Trump hailed Scott’s tenure as Border Patrol chief, saying he “achieved record low levels of illegal immigration.” Scott served in the role for 19 months between 2020 and 2021 and oversaw the implementation of several key policies including the “Remain in Mexico” policy and Title 42. Carr has served as one of the FCC’s five commissioners since 2017, when Trump first appointed him to the agency. He’s known as a critic of big tech companies, writing a chapter of the controversial Project 2025 agenda—which Trump has broadly disavowed—that argued the FCC should narrow the immunity enjoyed by tech platforms and require companies to be transparent about their content moderation decisions. He’ll take over the FCC as Trump pushes the agency to revoke the licenses of broadcast TV stations whose coverage he claims is unfair—though that could be very difficult in practice. Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe will serve as CIA director. A former Texas congressman, Ratcliffe served as the director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021 and acted as Trump’s primary intelligence adviser during his last presidency.
Trump decamped to Mar-a-Lago after his win, holding meetings with his inner circle, administration hopefuls and transition team to craft his second term agenda and build out his staff. Trump is shaping his second-term agenda with the help of several right-wing groups, his closest allies and billionaire backers. Musk, who has been spotted on numerous occasions alongside Trump since his election, is among those who appear to be influencing Trump’s policy and personnel decisions. Lutnick is also overseeing a team making recommendations for personnel picks and vetting potential candidates, and Miller is expected to play a key role in making the final decisions. The right-wing think tank America First Policy Institute is reportedly the primary driver of Trump’s transition plans and has been crafting possible executive actions for Trump once he takes office. The organization is chaired by McMahon and led by former Trump Domestic Policy Counsel Director Brook Rollins.
Trump tapped Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and the Texas-based restaurant and entertainment company Landry’s as ambassador to Italy.
He also founded venture capital firm Craft Ventures and is a former PayPal chief operating officer. Trump noted Sacks will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology. Rollins served as a policy advisor during Trump’s first administration and is the president of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded by former Trump administration https://traderoom.info/expert-broker-reviews-is-tradeallcrypto/ officials that has advocated against foreign ownership of U.S. farmland.
He has also advocated for removing fluoride from public water, an idea Trump said he as open to. As HHS secretary, Kennedy would oversee 13 public health-related agencies, and has expressed plans to upend many of them, telling an audience at a conference in November he would halt infectious disease studies at the National Institutes of Health if given a role in the Trump administration. The surprise selection drew criticism from many Democrats, and some Republicans expressed wariness about the pick. Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence spoke against Kennedy as the pick to lead HHS in a statement and urged Senate Republicans to reject the nomination, citing Kennedy’s support of abortion rights.
Gabbard is a former Democratic representative from Hawaii and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, perhaps best-known for clashing with Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2019. She left the party in 2022 and became an independent, before endorsing Trump in August and announcing she had joined the Republican Party. A critic of U.S. military interventions, Gabbard has drawn intense scrutiny for her foreign policy views, including for meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2017. Trump nominated Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera as ambassador to Panama, doing so just a few days after threatening to take over the Panama Canal. Cabrera, who worked as a lead on Trump’s 2020 re-election bid in Florida, represents the residents of Miami, Hialeah, Coral Gables and other neighborhoods within Miami-Dade County.
Ferguson has worked as an antitrust litigator and was Virginia’s solicitor general from 2022 to 2024. Trump nominated Chad Mizelle, who served as general counsel and chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first administration, to serve as chief of staff at the Justice Department. Trump announced Matthew Whitaker will serve as the official U.S. representative to NATO.
During his time as director of national intelligence, Ratcliffe declassified unverified Russian intelligence information that claimed Hillary Clinton approved a plan to link Trump to Russia and the Democratic National Committee cyberattacks in 2016. Democrats criticized Ratcliffe’s decision to publicly release the information, alleging he was politicizing unverified information to aid Trump. Trump announced Tulsi Gabbard will serve as his Director of National Intelligence, a role that puts her at the head of the U.S. intelligence community.