President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team have already announced several key appointments.
Susie Wiles, who was senior adviser to the Trump campaign, will be his chief of staff. Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin will lead the Environmental Protection Agency, and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) will be his U.N. ambassador.
Tom Homan will serve as the president’s border czar. Stephen Miller will be his deputy chief of policy, according to Vice President-elect JD Vance. Most recently, Trump announced Rep. Mike Waltz will serve as his national security adviser.
Other prospective appointments that have been reported were not confirmed to The Epoch Times by the Trump transition team. We’ll outline those prospects at the top of our rundown.
Here are some of the names that may be in play as Trump fills his cabinet and other crucial posts.
Secretary of State
Media outlets have reported that Trump is on track to name Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his secretary of state—a position key to the president’s foreign policy. A source familiar with the matter has confirmed this with The Epoch Times.Other names discussed for the position include Richard Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
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On X, Grenell denied claims that he is competing for the role.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who has also been mentioned as a possibility, congratulated Rubio on X after he was reported to have been chosen. So did Robert C. O’Brien, who served as national security adviser (NSA) during Trump’s first term and who has also been mentioned as a contender. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) called Rubio “a strong choice.”
Secretary of Treasury
Multiple sources have told The Epoch Times that investor Scott Bessent, a Trump donor now with Key Square Group who once worked for Soros Fund Management, is a top contender for treasury secretary.Other names mentioned include former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer; Larry Kudlow, who led the National Economic Council under Trump; hedge fund manager John Paulson; and Howard Lutnick, a businessman who co-chairs the transition team.
Department of Homeland Security
CNN has reported that Gov. Kristi Noem will lead the Department of Homeland Security.Another possibility is Chad Wolf, who was an acting secretary of Homeland Security during Trump’s first term.
Secretary of Defense
O’Brien and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) have been floated for this role. So has Elbridge Colby of the Marathon Initiative, who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during Trump’s first term; Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who was Trump’s acting NSA after Ret. Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn; and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.Fox News has reported that Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who leads the House Armed Services Committee, has been contacted by the transition team.
‘Department of Government Efficiency’
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged that one of his crucial backers, SpaceX founder Elon Musk, would be empowered to lead a commission focused on cutting costs in the federal government. In his pre-election appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the entrepreneur said that D.O.G.E., a reference to the Musk-linked Dogecoin and the Shiba Inu doge meme, would be “the funniest name” for the entity.Attorney General
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is among the names mentioned in connection with this role. Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney general, and Matt Whitaker, who was an acting attorney general during Trump’s first term, may also be under consideration.There’s also John Ratcliffe, a former congressman who served as director of national intelligence (DNI) under Trump, and Jeffrey Clark, who was Trump’s assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources division and who partook in challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. Trade Representative
Lighthizer, a key force behind Trump’s trade policies during his first term, has been discussed for this position. So have Jamieson Greer and Jeffrey Gerrish, both of whom worked on trade policy under Lighthizer during the first Trump administration.Director of Central Intelligence
Kash Patel, who worked in multiple positions in the Department of Defense under Trump, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince are among the names mentioned for this role. Former Trump DNI Ratcliffe could be another contender.Department of Agriculture
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., originator of the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, is one contender for this role. House Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson has also been discussed, as has Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.In a post on X, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has hinted at his openness to the role while saying the Trump team has not given him any “commitments or offers.”
In a phone interview with The Epoch Times, Miller said no one has reached out to him so far regarding the position. He recalled that when he was last in the running for agriculture secretary, after Trump’s election in 2016, he wasn’t interviewed until late December. This time, though, “things are going pretty fast,” he said.
He said that, if picked, he would follow Trump’s “Make America Health Again” mantra, citing his Farm Fresh Initiative to source school lunches locally with more nutritious ingredients and his work on pesticide waste collection. The commissioner added that he would focus on balancing U.S. agricultural trade; in recent years, the country has become a net importer of food.
Department of Commerce
Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term and who co-chairs the Trump transition with Lutnick, has been touted as a possibility. Lighthizer and Hagerty may also be under consideration.Department of Education
Trump has vowed to shutter this department as part of his Agenda 47.Betsy DeVos, who was Trump’s secretary of education during his first term, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are in the mix, too. So is Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of the organization Moms for Liberty.
Department of Energy
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who said Trump addressed him as “Mr. Secretary” on a phone call ruling him out as a running mate, is among the likely contenders for this position. David Bernhardt, who served as secretary of the interior under Trump, and Andrew Wheeler, a past Trump EPA administrator, could be in the running, too. So could former Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.Department of Health and Human Services
Both Kennedy and former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal could be in contention for this position. Others often discussed include Eric Hargan, who was deputy secretary of the department during the first Trump administration, and Brian Blase, who was special assistant to the president for economic policy as part of the National Economic Council under Trump.Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dr. Ben Carson, who led this department during Trump’s first term, could reprise the role. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Brian Montgomery, once Trump’s deputy secretary of housing and urban development, may also be in the conversation.Department of the Interior
Burgum and Bernhardt, both discussed as possible Department of Energy leaders, could be in contention here, too. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) could be as well, as could Trump’s former deputy interior secretary, Katharine MacGregor.Department of Labor
Patrick Pizzella, who was Trump’s acting labor secretary, and Bryan Slater, Virginia’s secretary of labor under Youngkin, are among the names making shortlists.Department of Veterans Affairs
This may be where Gabbard has a place in the administration. Robert Wilkie, who led the department for much of Trump’s first term, is another name.Department of Transportation
Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) could be under consideration.Office of Management and Budget
Russ Vought, who ran this office during the end of Trump’s first term, has been publicly backed by Trump legal ally Mike Davis.Other important posts Trump could soon fill include science adviser, administrator of the Small Business Administration, chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, Food and Drug Administration commissioner, White House press secretary, and director of national intelligence.
