Here's who Trump has picked as Cabinet members and key advisers
President-elect Donald Trump is building his team, naming Cabinet members and key advisers after having been elected to a second presidential term. He's been filling out those roles with those considered to be fierce loyalists.
Trump's team will include Vice President-elect JD Vance and the rest of his Cabinet as well as high-ranking nominees — who require Senate confirmation — and also senior advisers who don't require congressional approval.
Here's how his new administration is taking shape:
Chief of Staff — Susie Wiles
Susie Wiles is the first appointee Trump named after the 2024 election. Wiles, who served as Trump's co-campaign manager, will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. She has worked for the Trump political operation off and on since 2016.
Wiles managed Trump's campaign quietly, making very few media or public appearances, though Trump proudly presented her during his election night speech in Palm Beach, Fla., saying "Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The Ice Maiden. We call her the Ice Maiden." Read more about Susie Wiles.
Deputy Chief of Staff — Stephen Miller
Trump is expected to name Stephen Miller as the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, a role that would have him taking on a leading role writing and implementing the administration's immigration agenda. That agenda includes plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving and most trusted advisers. He worked with Trump on his 2016 presidential campaign before joining him at the White House as a senior adviser. Read more about Stephen Miller.
White House Counsel — Bill McGinley
McGinley is a longtime election attorney who served as White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first term. During the 2024 election, he took on a new role as outside counsel for election integrity at the Republican National Committee.
The role of White House general counsel serves as the point legal adviser for the president in regards to ethics, oversight and judicial nominations. The general counsel also is the point of contact between the White House and the Justice Department. Read more about Bill McGinley.
Secretary of Defense — Pete Hegseth
In a flurry of announcements on Tuesday evening, Trump said he will nominate Hegseth, a Fox News host, to serve as secretary of defense. It's an unexpected choice that deviates from most of Trump's staff picks for his White House, who largely descend from political roles in federal and state governments.
Hegseth is a veteran of the Army National Guard, where he did tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay as an infantry officer. During his military service, he was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge. Read more about Pete Hegseth.
Attorney General — Matt Gaetz
The Florida congressman has been a loyal ally of Trump in the House since the president-elect's first term in office. He was the prime mover behind former Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy's political defenestration last year. McCarthy did not block a House Ethics Committee investigation tied to sex trafficking and drug allegations into Gaetz. Gaetz has denied those allegations and noted that a related FBI investigation that began in 2020 was closed without charges. If confirmed, Gaetz would oversee the FBI.
"Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice," Trump said on Truth Social, his social media platform. "Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans' badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department." Read more about Matt Gaetz.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary — Gov. Kristi Noem
The role holds significant weight for Trump, who campaigned heavily on the issue of immigration, pledging to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Noem, a devout Christian who is the first woman elected to serve as governor of South Dakota, is in her second term.
In his statement, Trump cited one of her notable moves leading her state: "Kristi has been very strong on Border Security. She was the first Governor to send National Guard Soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden Border Crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times." Read more about Kristi Noem.
— Jeongyoon Han and Elena Moore
Central Intelligence Agency Director — John Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe previously served as the director of national intelligence during Trump's first term, where he oversaw all 18 of the nation's intelligence agencies. In selecting Ratcliffe, Trump is again turning to a loyal ally as he moves quickly to shape his foreign policy and national security teams.
Ratcliffe was considered one of the most conservative members of Congress when he was tapped to be director of national intelligence in 2020. He was an outspoken supporter of Trump and at times questioned the validity of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Read more about John Ratcliffe.
Secretary of State — Marco Rubio
The selection officially brings Florida Sen. Marco Rubio into Trump's fold and offers a new chapter in the evolving relationship between the former rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. In the years since, Rubio has become a close adviser to Trump on foreign relations, and was even a top contender for vice president up until the day Trump announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
If confirmed, Rubio would become the first Latino to ever serve as the nation's top diplomat. Read more about Marco Rubio.
— Jeongyoon Han and Claudia Grisales
Director of National Intelligence — Tulsi Gabbard
The former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii has shifted her political allegiance in recent years, going from a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 to a stalwart Trump supporter and conservative media personality. If confirmed for the role, Gabbard, who has criticized American engagements abroad, would oversee all 18 of the nation's intelligence agencies.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump highlighted Gabbard's background as a former Democrat, saying, "she has broad support" from both political parties. Her political turn means she's not likely to gain support from Democrats. Read more about Tulsi Gabbard.
— Elena Moore and Greg Myre
National Security Adviser — Mike Waltz
As national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz will play an integral role in shaping U.S. policy on geopolitical conflicts ranging from the war in Ukraine to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Waltz, a former Army Green Beret, is a longtime Trump ally who has established himself as a leading critic of China in Congress.
Since winning his seat in 2018, he has championed legislation to reduce U.S. reliance on critical minerals from China and safeguard American colleges and universities from Chinese espionage. Read more about Mike Waltz.
— Jason Breslow and Tom Bowman
"Border czar" — Tom Homan
Homan served as acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Trump's first term in office. In Trump's second term, he will serve as "border czar" — which does not require Senate confirmation. The role will have Homan in charge of the southern and northern U.S. borders, as well as "all Maritime and Aviation Security," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The former police officer and Border Patrol agent has worked under six presidents during his three decades in law enforcement. He was executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE under President Obama. During that administration, ICE carried out a record number of deportations. Read more about Tom Homan.
U.S. ambassador to Israel — Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a longtime supporter of Israel and a critic of the Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. He has previously spoken out against efforts to negotiate a cease-fire deal and called unauthorized settlements in the occupied West Bank "communities."
"Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years," Trump wrote in a statement announcing his intention to nominate Huckabee. "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!" Read more about Mike Huckabee.
U.N. ambassador — Elise Stefanik
Stefanik is the highest ranking woman Republican in the House and has been a key ally of Trump's over the years and was reported to have been a contender as his running mate during the presidential election.
When Stefanik was elected to represent New York's 21st district in 2014, she was the youngest woman elected to Congress in American history at the time. Before that, Stefanik started off in politics as a moderate conservative, working for George W. Bush and Mitt Romney; Paul Ryan mentored her at one point in her career. Read more about Elise Stefanik.
EPA Administrator — Former Rep. Lee Zeldin
In announcing his pick for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Trump said Zeldin "will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses," adding that Zeldin will still maintain "the highest environmental standards."
Zeldin, who previously represented Long Island, opposed a handful of climate-related legislation while serving in Congress, according to the environmental advocacy group League of Conservation Voters. Read more about Rep. Lee Zeldin.
"Department of Government Efficiency" — Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and Republican primary candidate, have been tapped by Trump to lead what he's calling the "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE, an apparent wink to the cryptocurrency by the same name and the meme of a Shiba Inu.
Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will "pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies," which he called "essential to the Save America Movement." Read more about Musk and Ramaswamy's new roles.
