Here are Trump’s Cabinet nominees so far and what you need to know about them

While President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominations have sent a shock through the Washington establishment after a few unconventional picks, the selections themselves align with Trump campaign promises.

That campaign drew on an eclectic mix of conservatives, mainstream Washington insiders, and moderate liberals who were disillusioned with the chilling effect of the progressive ascendancy in the Democrat party.

With a popular vote victory, as well as electoral vote steamroll of all the swing states, plus control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate by the GOP, Trump’s selections look to make good on policy proposals submitted to America during the campaign.

Here’s a quick roundup of Trump’s cabinet selections so far.

Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff

Previously known mostly as a Florida GOP political operative, Wiles served as de facto campaign manager for Trump. And she did what others could not do: she kept Donald Trump on message, in what many consider the best political campaign he has run.   

That discipline, combined with staunch loyalty, likely earned her the job of primary gatekeeper for the president in the second Trump administration.  

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State 

Rubio, the son of immigrants who fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba, is a rare Washington insider among the Trump appointments. His selection at the top of the administration signals a desire by Trump to get tough with China. 

Rubio, the senior U.S. Senator from Florida, serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Known as a “China hawk,” Rubio shares the conviction that the Russia-Ukraine war is a sideshow to the more important battle going on between China and the United States.  

Matt Gaetz, Attorney General 

The nomination of Gaetz, a four-term U.S. Representative from Florida, for Attorney General has stunned Washington, though the pick aligns with a campaign in which Trump repeatedly promised to clean up Washington. 

Gaetz, who was subject to a years-long probe by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that resulted in no charges being filed against him, and a lengthy ethics probe by the U.S. House of Representatives, is, after Trump, the poster child for the lawfare waged against conservatives serving in office. 

He is also a staunch Trump ally in the U.S. House, but his nomination has ignited a firestorm of protest, mostly because he’ll certainly have an axe to grind with the DOJ. He is, so far, the Trump cabinet nominee who may face the toughest nomination battle in the U.S. Senate. 

Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary 

Known primarily as a Fox News host, Hegseth has been a member of the Minnesota National Guard since 2003 and currently serves as a major. He received two Bronze Stars and two Army Achievement Medals for his service.  

He’s authored four books, the last of which, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free (2024), advocates for the wholesale reform of the Pentagon, including getting rid of “woke” military leaders and diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which hamper war fighting. 

His outspoken desire to reform the military has unnerved the military-industrial complex.   

Prior to the selection of Gaetz as attorney general, the Hegseth nomination was the biggest shock to Washington insiders. 

Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence 

The 43-year-old Gabbard serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, joining the Army in 2003. 

Gabbard served in the U.S. House from 2013 to 2021 as a Democrat and ran for the Democrat presidential nomination against then-Sen. Joe Biden in 2020. 

She has been a critic of wasteful foreign wars she believes haven’t made the country safer. She’s also been outspoken about the dangers of Islamic extremism.  

In 2024 she endorsed Trump for President, and later joined the Republican Party.    

Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser 

Waltz has served in Congress since 2019, taking over the seat once occupied by Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Another military member selected by Trump, Waltz served on active duty from 1996 to 2000 and currently serves as a colonel in the U.S. National Guard. His military service earned him four Bronze Stars, two for valor.  

Waltz is also known as a “China hawk.” His selection signals that U.S. preoccupation with European security will change to an emphasis on U.S. security in Asia. That will require U.S. allies in Europe to pay their fair share for their own defense, which Trump has famously emphasized. 

Waltz served on the bipartisan task force that is investigating the assassination attempt on Trump, and he has pilloried the FBI for the lack of enthusiasm for that investigation.  

Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary 

Currently serving as a two-term governor from South Dakota, Kristi Noem previously served in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2019.   

She was considered one of Trump’s staunchest allies among Republican governors and was often mentioned as a potential Trump running mate in 2024. 

She was an outstanding critic of the draconian COVID-19 measures that shut down the economy and forced vaccinations. 

John Ratcliffe, CIA Director 

Previously Ratcliffe served as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) for Trump from 2020 to 2021. Prior to that he was a member of Congress from Texas from 2015 to 2020.  

As Trump’s DNI, he aggressively pushed for the release of documents about the FBI investigation into the discredited allegations that Trump colluded with Russia to influence the election in 2016.  

He has consistently pushed back against intelligence officials who have overtly tried to influence elections with self-serving statements. 

The bureaucrats and the political appointees at the CIA are reportedly gravely concerned about his nomination as director.   

Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador 

A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 21st District since 2015, Stefanik has been an outspoken supporter of Trump throughout her tenure.  

Stefanik opposed Trump’s impeachment and is widely credited with her fierce interrogation of Ivy League university presidents who allowed antisemitism to run rampant on college campuses. 

That confrontation led to the resignation of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and contributed to the resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay. 

Stefanik strongly supports America’s alliance with Israel. 

Tim Homan, “Border Czar” 

The title of “Border Czar” is not an official position but will be a White House staff position that will cooperate through executive departments such as Homeland Security to implement border security, including deportations. 

Prior to the appointment, Homan served as the acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Trump, from 2017-2018, after being appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 as the chief enforcement officer for ICE. 

The Washington Post said of him: “Thomas Homan deports people. And he’s really good at it.”  

In 2015, he was awarded the U.S. civil service’s highest achievement award by Obama.  

He’s best known by social media users for an exchange with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, over the child separation policy that separated children from parents who have illegally crossed the border.  

Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator 

Another current U.S. Army officer who is serving in the reserves, Zeldin is a Lt. Colonel, who joined the army in 2003. 

From 2015 to 2023 he served as the member of Congress from New York’s 1st Congressional District. In Congress, he was known as a leader on environmental and climate issues, unusual among Republicans. 

He also defended Trump from impeachment proceedings in the U.S. House.  

In 2022, he ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for the governor of New York.  

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, chiefs of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ 

What Trump calls the “Department of Government Efficiency” has not been authorized by Congress, so it is unclear exactly how the advisory roles will operate. 

However, Musk and Ramaswamy both come to the job with a mandate to make recommendations to Trump how to slash government using their backgrounds in business as a guide.  

Musk is well known to Americans as the owner of X, formerly Twitter, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as being the richest man in the world. Prior to the 2024 campaign, he was widely considered a centrist (and insists he still is).  

Ramaswamy was successful in the biotech industry, and has become a vocal supporter of Trump, even when Ramaswamy was seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination for himself. 

Both Ramaswamy and Musk have been strong critics of wasteful government spending and rallied to Trump, along with some other business leaders, who claim the government has overregulated the economy and taken on too much debt.