Trump's Cabinet picks: Musk and Ramaswamy take on DOGE, Fox host in Defense
President-elect Donald Trump met with President Joe Biden Wednesday and discussed, among other things, ensuring a smooth transition for the returning president and his new administration.
Trump, 78, has wasted little time naming people to help lead the country over the next four years.
His new Cabinet and other White House appointments have mostly been announced via his transition team or his social media pages, such as Truth Social.
The Cabinet serves as an advisory board for the President in their subject area of expertise and duties and generally have the most influence on presidential decisions and actions.
It is not clear what role, if any, Trump's family members will work in this administration. Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner worked in the White House previously. They have since stepped back from being involved in their father's political work.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a descendent of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy. He made a run for the 2024 presidential election as an independent and eventually threw his endorsement behind Trump. While he has not been named for any White House position, he claims Trump has asked him to reorganize agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Cabinet includes the Vice President and 15 executive departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.
Here are the picks that Trump has chosen so far for his administration and Cabinet and what we know about them.
Who are Trump's Cabinet picks?
- Susie Wiles, 67, has been chosen for Chief of Staff. She was a senior advisor to Trump's 2024 presidential election and the first major decision that Trump announced after his win. Although not a Cabinet position, this is a key role in the White House.
- Mike Waltz, 50, has been chosen for National Security Advisor. He is a Florida Congressman, a retired Army National Guard officer and combat-decorated Green Beret. This position reports to the Secretary of Defense.
- Tom Homan, 62, has been tapped as 'border czar' to oversee border control, again. He previously acted as Trump's head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and will join his new administration. Homan will report to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
- Elise Stefanik, 40, has been chosen for United Nations ambassador. She is a New York congresswoman and has served as House Republican Conference chair since 2024 and would fill Trump's first U.N. ambassador role. Nikki Haley held this post in the last Trump administration. Though not a Cabinet position, ambassadors report to the Secretary of State.
- Stephen Miller, 39, has been chosen to return as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He served as a senior advisor in Trump's first administration and White House director of speechwriting. This is a key advisory role outside of the Cabinet.
- Dan Scavino Jr., 48, has been chosen as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff. He is returning after having served in similar role during Trump's first term, and will take on an advisory role.
- James Blair, has been picked as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political and Public Affairs. This is not a Cabinet position.
- Taylor Budowich, was chosen to be Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel, a non-Cabinet role.
- Lee Zeldin, 44, has been chosen to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. He is a former New York congressmen and officer in the United States Army Reserve. EPA administrator is not in the Cabinet, but is seen as a Cabinet-level role.
- Kristi Noem, 52, has been picked to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She is the Governor of South Dakota and is described as a "loyalist" that will be key to his domestic agenda.
- Pete Hegseth, 44, has been picked to serve as Secretary of Defense. He is an Army combat veteran and a popular media personality as the co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekends.
- William McGinley was chosen for White House counsel. He is a veteran Republican lawyer that previously served as White House Cabinet secretary in Trump's first administration and also served as Republican National Committee outside counsel for election integrity and as general counsel for the GOP Senate campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
- John Ratcliff, 59, has been picked for CIA director. He is a former Texas congressmen and is returning in this new role after having served as Director of National Intelligence in the first Trump administration.
- Mike Huckabee, 69, has been chosen to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel. He is the former governor of Arkansas, a Baptist minister and strong defender of Israel. His daughter Sarah Huckabee previously served as Trump's press secretary in his first administration.
- Elon Musk, 53, has been picked to co-serve along Vivek Ramaswamy as leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency - nicknamed DOGE, which is also the name of a cryptocurrency that Musk has promoted. Musk is a billionaire businessman and innovator, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
- Vivek Ramaswamy, 39, was picked to co-serve with Elon Musk as leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency. He is an entrepreneur that founded Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical company and also ran against Trump for the Republican Party nomination before throwing his support behind him.
It is expected that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, 53, will be tapped for Secretary of State although no official announcement has been made as of yet. He serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the top Republican on the Senate intelligence Committee and comes with extensive foreign policy experience.
What positions make up the president's White House Cabinet?
The president gets to make his choices for the 15 Cabinet positions and the Senate must them approve them with a majority vote. These roles also follow an order of succession to the Presidency of the United States:
- Vice President of the United States - JD Vance
- Department of State
- Department of the Treasury
- Department of Defense - Pete Hegseth
- Department of Justice
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Labor
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of Transportation
- Department of Energy
- Department of Education
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of Homeland Security - Kristi Noem
The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank:
- White House Chief of Staff - Susie Wiles
- Environmental Protection Agency - Lee Zeldin
- Office of Management & Budget
- United States Trade Representative
- United States Ambassador to the United Nations - Elise Stefanik
- Council of Economic Advisers
- Small Business Administration
- Director of National Intelligence
- Office of Science and Technology Policy