Trump Cabinet picks: Here’s who’s on the list to carry out his agenda

President-elect Trump is assembling his Cabinet and senior staff for his second term in the White House before taking office in January.

Trump must nominate leaders for 15 government agencies and other top administration jobs that require Senate confirmation, along with appointing senior staff.

Here’s a look at who has been tapped to serve so far. 

The Republican Florida senator is seen as a foreign policy hawk who is tough on China and Iran. His selection to serve as Trump’s top diplomat completes a drastic turnaround from 2016, when the two were fierce rivals in a GOP presidential primary. Rubio was also in consideration for Trump’s running mate, before he selected Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).

Trump’s selection to lead the EPA is Zeldin, a Republican former New York congressman and gubernatorial candidate who was an outspoken defender of the 45th president during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Trump mentioned Zeldin’s legal background, a sign he will likely lean on the EPA to roll back environmental regulations.

The House GOP conference chair who just won her fifth term representing an upstate New York district, Stefanik has limited diplomatic experience but has been an outspoken critic of the United Nations and a staunch ally of Israel.

Noem, a Republican who has served as South Dakota governor since 2019, is a loyal Trump ally and would help oversee his immigration crackdown in a second term. She was also in consideration for Trump’s running mate before early excerpts of her book revealed she killed her hunting dog 20 years ago.

Wiles spent the past two years co-running Trump’s campaign and is well-respected as a political operative. She will become the first woman to serve as a White House chief of staff. 

Wiles, among the people Trump thanked after his 2024 victory, was largely a behind-the-scenes figure during his run. She has also worked for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and was a deputy director during former President Reagan’s 1980 campaign.

Miller was one of Trump’s closest advisers during his first term and was an architect of policies like a ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries and family separation. He is expected to lead efforts to enact Trump’s immigration crackdown in a second term.

A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Homan was named Trump’s “border czar,” tasked with cracking down on immigration and overseeing the “the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security,” according to a statement from the president-elect.

Homan has said he will crank up workplace raids as a way to address labor and sex trafficking and will prioritize “public safety threats and national security threats” for deportation as border czar. He was an early proponent of the “zero tolerance” policy that separated more than 4,000 children from their parents in the first Trump administration, and recently said “families can be deported together” while discussing plans for the upcoming term.

Waltz, an Army veteran who was the first Green Beret elected to Congress, will serve as Trump’s top national security official, leaving the House after representing Florida since 2019.

The Republican congressman has called for Europe to do more to support Ukraine and for the U.S. to be more stringent with its support, aligning with a key foreign policy goal of the president-elect. He has also been a staunch critic of the Biden administration’s 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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