Since being elected for his second term, President-elect Donald Trump has begun the formation of his cabinet. Here’s a look into the people he has already chosen.
Chief of Staff — Susie Wiles
Wiles is Trump’s former campaign manager, known for being “one of the most feared political operatives in the US,” according to BBC. Since joining Trump’s 2016 campaign, those in her inner circle say that she has the unique ability to reign in Trump’s chaos and instability while maintaining his trust. In her decades-long career, Wiles has worked on the campaigns of prominent Republican leaders such as Ron DeSantis, George H.W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Rick Scott, and Jon Huntsman. Wiles, nicknamed by Trump as “The Ice Maiden,” will be the first woman to take the role of chief of staff.
Deputy Chief of Staff — Stephen Miller
Miller is known for perpetuating ideas of white supremacy within Trump’s inner circle. During Trump’s first term of presidency, Miller worked as Trump’s top immigration adviser. He is recognized for devising the Muslim ban, “zero-tolerance” immigration policy that separated thousands of children from their parents, and ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to CNN, Miller said that the Trump administration will move to raise the amount of deportations to over 1 million per year.
Secretary of Defense — Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth is a Fox News Host and former infantry officer in the Army National Guard, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hegseth received backlash after stating in a podcast that he does not think women should serve in combat roles. “I’m straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles — it hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” he said. Further, he has pushed Trump to pardon and defend veterans accused of serious war crimes, including Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher. According to Reuters, Hegseth is also an advocate for the termination of “woke” military leaders.
“The job of Secretary of Defense should not be an entry-level position,” Rep. Adam Smith said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary — Gov. Kristi Noem
Noem, who received major backlash this year after including a story of killing her 14-month-old dog for not being an “ideal hunting dog” in her memoir, has been a longtime Trump loyalist. As governor of South Dakota and former representative, she has a long record of strict immigration policy and has had major conflicts with Indigenous nations, including being banned from all nine nations in her state. Both immigration and tribal issues will be major areas of Noem’s job. As governor, she refused to accept Afghan refugees into her state and deployed the South Dakota National Guard to the Mexican border, describing the border as a “war zone.” Reuters has also called attention to the fact that she has little national security experience.
Central Intelligence Agency Director — John Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe has been a Trump loyalist since serving as intelligence director in Trump’s first term. He was involved in mass controversy during his time as director, including accusing Iran of intimidating U.S. voters and declassifying unverified Russian intelligence about Democrats during the 2016 campaign.
Secretary of State — Marco Rubio
Rubio is a Senator from Florida and a son of Cuban immigrants who believes the U.S. needs to be more aggressive on China, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. After clashing with Trump during their 2016 presidential campaigns, he has since strengthened their relationship and campaigned with him during the 2024 race.
National Security Adviser — Mike Waltz
Waltz is a Florida representative who believes in ending aid to Ukraine and holds hardline positions on China and immigration. Similar to Hegseth, he has critiqued the military for being too “woke.”
“Border czar” — Tom Homan
Homan led ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division under former President Obama and has been involved in immigration enforcement for over 30 years. In his long career, he was one of the masterminds behind the family separation policy as an immigration deterrent, separating more than 5,000 children from their families at the US-Mexico border. Further, Homan was a co-author of Project 2025. Although Trump attempted to distance himself from the goals and ideologies set in Project 2025, appointing Homan is a clear signal of his alignment with their mission.
U.S. ambassador to Israel — Mike Huckabee
The former governor of Arkansas who said that there was “no such thing as a Palestinian” will be a strong defender of Israel. He has been a long-time opposer of a two-state solution and compared the Iran nuclear deal to the Holocaust.
EPA Administrator — Lee Zeldin
Zeldin is a former representative from New York who has little experience in climate policy and “has never managed a staff larger than his 12-person House office,” according to the New York Times. Zeldin has said that he will kill “left-wing” regulations and prioritize the economy.
“Department of Government Efficiency” — Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Musk is the Tesla CEO and owner of X. Ramaswamy is a politician and entrepreneur who ran for president early in the 2024 race. Musk has stated that he will take $2 trillion out of the federal budget with little context on what that would mean or look like. Ramaswamy has proposed firing federal employees with odd-numbered Social Security numbers. Although both have become prominent figures for the far-right movement, neither have much experience in politics.
Attorney General — Matt Gaetz
Gaetz has become well-known for his own child sex-trafficking investigation conducted by the DOJ. Facing an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation for sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, the Republican representative’s resignation from Congress has effectively ended this investigation and the report that was soon to come out. He has called DOJ officials “the deep state,” defended the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and has said that Trump’s ties to Russia should never have been investigated. Gaetz has been a longtime defender of Trump, which will likely continue as attorney general.
As of November 21st, Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration.
Director of National Intelligence — Tulsi Gabbard
The former Democrat representative who is now a Trump loyalist, Gabbard received backlash after appearing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seen as a key Russian ally. Gabbard has also said that the Russia-Ukraine war could have been avoided if the West had “recognised Russia’s ‘legitimate security concerns’ about Ukraine’s bid to join Nato,” according to BBC. Gabbard has little to no experience in intelligence matters and has maintained an anti-interventionist position in foreign affairs.
Education Secretary — Linda McMahon
McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), will be the person to carry out Trump’s plan to terminate the Department of Education. After stepping down from her position at WWE to enter the world of politics, she has run for Connecticut Senate twice, served on the Connecticut Board of Education, led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, and helped start the America First Policy Institute. Although she remains a stranger in education circles, she has previously been caught lying about having a bachelor’s degree in education. An ally of Trump since his 2016 presidential campaign, she has donated millions of dollars and chaired a super PAC backing Trump’s 2020 campaign. Her husband and business partner, Vince McMahon, has been facing a string of sexual abuse and trafficking accusations while she herself has been filed in a suit claiming that she knew WWE’s ringboys were being sexually abused and did little to protect them.
US Health Secretary — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The conspiracy theorist and 2024 presidential candidate will now lead efforts in vaccinations, medicine, food safety, and medical research. He has claimed that “autism comes from vaccinations,” long advocated for removing fluoride from tap water, and stated last year that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — Mehmet Oz
A former television host, “Dr. Oz” made a name for himself providing questionable medical advice and advertising sketchy products and companies. Oz ran for Senate in 2022 and has had a relationship with Trump since the early 2000s.