President-elect Trump is assembling his Cabinet and senior staff for his second term in the White House before taking office in January.
Trump must nominate leaders for 15 government agencies and other top administration jobs that require Senate confirmation, along with appointing senior staff.
Here’s a look at who has been tapped to serve so far.
Cabinet
Secretary of State: Marco Rubio
The Republican Florida senator is seen as a foreign policy hawk who is tough on China and Iran. His selection to serve as Trump’s top diplomat completes a drastic turnaround from 2016, when the two were fierce rivals in the GOP presidential primary. Marco Rubio was also in consideration for Trump’s running mate this year, before he selected Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
Attorney general: Matt Gaetz
The Florida Republican just reelected to his fifth term in the House is known for his bombastic style. Matt Gaetz is a loyal congressional ally of Trump who himself was the subject of a Justice Department investigation. Trump said in naming Gaetz as his pick to lead the department that he would “end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.”
Defense secretary: Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth served as an officer in the Army National Guard and did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, earning two Bronze Stars. He is currently a co-host for “Fox & Friends Weekend.” Trump has pledged to fire generals involved in the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and to eliminate “woke” initiatives that focus on diversity and equity in the military. The choice of Hegseth came as a surprise even to some Trump allies, as he was not among the names considered in the running for the job.
Homeland Security secretary: Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem, a Republican who has served as South Dakota governor since 2019, is a loyal Trump ally and would help oversee his immigration crackdown in a second term. She was also in consideration for Trump’s running mate before early excerpts of her book revealed she killed her hunting dog 20 years ago.
Health and Human Services secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer, is an independent, once a Democrat, from the storied family of Democratic politics. He suspended his own presidential campaign and pledged his support to Trump in August. Kennedy founded one of the most prominent anti-vaccine groups in the country and has promoted the debunked claim that childhood vaccines cause autism. Kennedy vowed to purge entire departments at the Food and Drug Administration to root out corruption.
Interior secretary: Doug Burgum
The North Dakota governor ran an unsuccessful primary campaign before endorsing Trump earlier this year, and he and Trump developed a strong political and personal relationship. Burgum was among the finalists to serve as Trump’s running mate, a position that went to Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio). He has ties to the oil and gas industry, and he is expected to play a central role in Trump’s push to increase oil drilling and energy production.
Director of national intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard, a four-term Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who ran against President Biden in the 2020 primaries, left the party in 2022 but did not officially become a Republican until earlier this year. She is a National Guard veteran who served two tours of duty in the Middle East and has long been critical of the Democratic establishment, especially of the country’s engagement in wars in that region. She is on Trump’s transition team.
CIA director: John Ratcliffe
John Ratcliffe, the former head of national intelligence in the last Trump administration, was selected to lead the CIA. He previously served as a congressman from Texas; Trump, in a statement, called him “a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public.” Ratcliffe also served as a member of Trump’s impeachment team during the Democrats’ first effort to boot the then-president from office.
Environmental Protection Agency director: Lee Zeldin
Trump’s selection to lead the EPA is Lee Zeldin, a Republican former New York congressman and gubernatorial candidate who was an outspoken defender of the 45th president during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Trump mentioned Zeldin’s legal background, a sign he will likely lean on the EPA to roll back environmental regulations.
United Nations ambassador: Elise Stefanik
The House GOP conference chair who just won her fifth term representing an upstate New York district, Elise Stefanik has limited diplomatic experience but has been an outspoken critic of the United Nations and a staunch ally of Israel.
Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor from 1996-2007, was selected for a major diplomatic role amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. Huckabee has never held a diplomatic post previously but has at times weighed in on the war in Gaza, including when he told NewsNation that he did not see a reason to support an Israel-Hamas cease-fire and that the only way to end the war would be to eradicate the terrorist group.
Trump has urged Israel to “finish the problem” in the fight against Hamas following its October 2023 attacks, even as he has been critical of how the country has carried out the military campaign.
White House
Chief of staff: Susie Wiles
Susie Wiles spent the past two years co-running Trump’s campaign and is well-respected as a political operative. She will become the first woman to serve as a White House chief of staff.
Wiles, among the people Trump thanked after his 2024 victory, was largely a behind-the-scenes figure during his run. She has also worked for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and was a deputy director during former President Reagan’s 1980 campaign.
Deputy chief of staff for policy: Stephen Miller
Stephen Miller was one of Trump’s closest advisers during his first term and was an architect of policies like a ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries and family separation. He is expected to lead efforts to enact Trump’s immigration crackdown in a second term.
Border czar: Tom Homan
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Tom Homan was named Trump’s “border czar,” tasked with cracking down on immigration and overseeing the “the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” according to a statement from the president-elect.
Homan has said he will crank up workplace raids as a way to address labor and sex trafficking and will prioritize “public safety threats and national security threats” for deportation as border czar. He was an early proponent of the “zero tolerance” policy that separated more than 4,000 children from their parents in the first Trump administration, and recently said “families can be deported together” while discussing plans for the upcoming term.
National security adviser: Mike Waltz
Mike Waltz, an Army veteran who was the first Green Beret elected to Congress, will serve as Trump’s top national security official, leaving the House after representing Florida since 2019.
The Republican congressman has called for Europe to do more to support Ukraine and for the U.S. to be more stringent with its support, aligning with a key foreign policy goal of the president-elect. He has also been a staunch critic of the Biden administration’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
White House counsel: Bill McGinley
Bill McGinley will return to the White House under Trump as his counsel. He was Cabinet secretary during Trump’s first administration and has also served as general counsel at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Trump, in a statement, 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” and said he played a major role in the GOP victory in the 2024 election.
Middle East envoy: Steven Witkoff
Steven Witkoff, a New York businessman, will serve as special envoy to the Middle East, a role Trump said in a statement will involve him being a “voice for peace.” He is a longtime friend of the president-elect, is known as a real estate tycoon and is chair and CEO of Witkoff.
Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy
Trump announced Elon Musk, a billionaire backer, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a former GOP primary rival who endorsed Trump after dropping his own bid, would lead an effort to slash government spending and regulations. They are expected to conclude their work by July 4, 2026, just a few months before the midterm elections. Trump said the effort would partner with the Office of Management and Budget but would provide guidance from “outside of Government.” Musk in particular has extensive financial holdings with government contractors that could complicate an official government job.
