President-elect Donald Trump is rolling out names for top jobs in his administration.
President-elect Donald Trump, ahead of his return to power in January, is announcing who he wants to fill Cabinet positions and other key roles inside his administration, including names like Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz.
Trump began to roll out his nominees and appointees just days after his election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Among them are some of his staunchest allies on Capitol Hill and key advisers to his 2024 campaign.
Trump will have a Republican-controlled Senate and possibly a Republican-controlled House to help usher his picks through. But he’s also urging the incoming Senate leader to embrace recess appointments, which has led to speculation some of his choices may be more controversial.
Here is a running list of whom Trump has selected, or is expected to select, to serve in his administration.Secretary of state: Marco Rubio
Trump announced Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his pick to be secretary of state.
Rubio is the vice-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Intelligence and sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He holds hard-line views on China, Iran and Russia, although like other Republicans he has shifted on support for Ukraine’s war effort to be more aligned with Trump.
Rubio will need to be confirmed by the Senate. Rubio’s experience here.Department of Homeland Security secretary: Kristi Noem
Trump announced he has chosen South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be his secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.
As Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, among Noem’s biggest roles is expected to be to oversee Trump’s border policies, including the major campaign promise of “mass deportations”, alongside Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan and White House deputy chief of staff on policy Stephen Miller.
The role would require Senate approval. Noem here.Secretary of defense: Pete Hegseth
Trump has selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense.
He listed Hegseth’s experience as a veteran and his media experience as his reasons for the choice. Hegseth served in the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and previously served as the director of an advocacy group that has called for more privatization of the Veterans Administration.
Hegseth will need to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the role. Hegseth here.Health and Human Services secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump said he has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS oversees major health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among others.
The job requires Senate confirmation. Kennedy here.’Department of Government Efficiency’: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
Trump announced the two men will lead what he’s calling a new “Department of Government Efficiency.”
It will not be a new federal agency, but will provide “outside of government” counsel on reforming departments and cutting waste, Trump said.Attorney general: Matt Gaetz
Trump has nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general.
The Florida Republican is a firebrand and one of Trump’s most loyal allies who will now be the head of the Justice Department. Gaetz was the subject of a yearslong Justice Department probe that ended without charges, though he is still under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for the same allegations.
