A rundown of Trump’s current cabinet picks

By Annie Sarlin and Madison Lucchesi

Following re-election, President-elect Donald Trump has filled several positions in his cabinet. However, the Senate must approve the majority of his Cabinet appointments before these individuals can be confirmed. 

According to Senate.gov, Appointees are referred to the appropriate Senatorial committees, but committees only conduct in-depth reviews of appointees when the committee receives allegations of wrongdoings.

With under two months until Inauguration Day, here are Trump’s current picks:

White House Team

Susie Wiles will be America’s first female chief of staff. She co-managed Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and Senate approval is not required for her appointment. 

Dan Scavino, who served as one of Trump’s top senior aides during his first administration, was named his deputy chief of staff.

The deputy chief of staff of policy and Homeland Security adviser was announced to be Stephen Miller, a senior adviser for Trump. During Trump’s first administration, Miller helped create Trump’s immigration policy.

The deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs is James Blair. He was Trump's political director during his campaign and founded a political consulting firm. 

Former leader of Trump’s super political action committee, known as Maga Inc, Taylor Budowich, was appointed to be the deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel. 

William McGinley will serve as the White House counsel. During Trump’s first term, McGinley served as the White House cabinet secretary.

Steven Chung, communications director of Trump’s campaign, will continue this role in the White House. 

Karoline Levitt, who also worked on the president-elect’s campaign, will serve as the White House press secretary. 

Trump’s Defense Attorney Dean John Sauer was chosen as solicitor general in the Department of Justice. Sauer is one of four of Trump’s defense attorneys to be appointed to his Cabinet alongside Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General  Emil Bove, and assistant to the president and White House staff Secretary Will Scharf, according to Forbes and USA Today. 

In a social media post, Trump announced his choice of John Ratcliffe for CIA director. Ratcliffe previously worked with Trump during the 2016 term in which he served as the director of national intelligence. 

Filling Ratcliffe’s previous position is former Representative Tulsi Gabbard. In 2016, Gabbard ran for president as a Democrat, but, according to Trump’s statement, she is now a “proud Republican.” 

Secretary of State

Trump chose Florida Senator Marco Rubio as the secretary of state. The decision contrasts the former competition between the two politicians. In 2016, Rubio ran against Trump in the Republican primary elections and even referred to him as a “con artist,” according to NPR. 

Homeland Security

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem will serve as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem will lead Trump’s planned “mass deportation” initiatives alongside Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan and White House deputy chief of staff on policy Stephen Miller. 

Czars are high-level executive branch officials and the border czar will oversee the North and South American borders as well as maritime and aviation security.

Attorney General

Trump announced his nomination of Florida Representative Matt Gaetz for attorney general. In 2017, allegations of sexual activity with a minor brought Gaetz to court, according to CNN. The representative has denied these claims. 

The House Committee on Ethics, which consists of 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans, is deadlocked on whether or not to release the report on Gaetz. The committee will revisit the issue on December 5th. Following the committee’s deadlock on Wednesday, federal investigators found a trail of payments Gaetz made to women, including those who testified they were paid for sex.  

The president-elect also tapped Lawyer Tom Blanche, who represented Trump in his 2024 criminal trial, as the deputy attorney general.  

Government Efficiency

The president-elect announced the new Department of Government Efficiency. Businessman and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Tesla Founder Elon Musk will co-lead the department. The pair will provide the Trump administration with “outside counsel” on department reform and waste cutting. Since this new department is not an official government agency, it is not federally funded and Trump has not said how it will be funded. 

International Affairs

Trump chose New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik as the US ambassador to the United Nations. He also chose former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to serve as the US ambassador to Israel. 

Health

Trump picked known vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has previously spread false claims about vaccines. RFK Jr’s cousin Caroline Kennedy said, “I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

According to a statement from Trump, Kennedy will work closely with his pick for the CMS, or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service Administrator, Mehmet Oz. The appointee, best known as “Dr. Oz,” hosted a popular health talk show for 13 seasons before running for a seat in the Senate in 2021. According to Politico, Oz will support Medicare Advantage, a private-sector healthcare plan.

Defense

The president-elect tapped Pete Hegseth as defense secretary. Before he became a TV host on Fox News, Hegseth served in the army. However, he did not hold senior status in the military, nor has he worked in national security. According to PBS, Hegseth has criticized current military policies, including sharing disapproval of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Trump appointed Florida representative Michael Waltz to be the National Security Adviser. The president-elect praised Walz for his military service and support for his quote “America First Foreign Policy agenda,” according to CBS. 

Former Representative of Georgia Doug Collins will become the secretary of Veterans Affairs. In 2019, Collins defended Trump during his first impeachment trial.

Environment

So far Trump has appointed two key environmental cabinet members. Chris Wright was tapped to be the head of the Department of Energy. Wright is the current chief executive of Liberty Energy, the second-largest fracking services company in the world.

Trump chose former New York congressman Lee Zeldin as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin said he plans to protect access to clean air and water and end EPA regulations that hurt businesses, according to ABC News. 

Education

Trump selected his transition co-chair Linda McMahon as the secretary of the Department of Education. McMahon is known for her role in founding WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment. While she briefly worked on the Connecticut School Board and has served on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University, she lacks the experience in education typical of previous appointees, according to the New York Times.  

In his statement, Trump shared that McMahon will advocate for “school choice.” This policy would take money previously given to public schools to families, who can then use it to pay for private education. 

Trump has yet to fill multiple cabinet positions, including secretary of commerce and FBI director.