Who’s who in Donald Trump’s cabinet

After being elected president for a second term, Donald Trump has begun announcing the names of his team for the key positions within his administration. Most of them are conservative figures and loyal to Trump’s Republican vision for the United States. He has also rewarded those who helped him during his successful campaign to return to the White House.

Trump has promised to “close the border” on his first day in the Oval Office and initiate the largest deportation operation against illegal immigrants in the country’s history. He has said he will sign “dozens” of executive orders that day. For his second term, he has promised to impose tariffs on imported goods, reverse climate policies that seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stop the war in Ukraine, end his legal cases, and pardon those who took part in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The former president will be sworn into office for a second term on January 20, the day the Constitution provides for the presidential inauguration. After taking his oath of office, Trump will move back into the White House.

J. D. Vance - Vice President

At the age of 40, J.D. Vance will be the vice president of the United States as of January 20, 2025. The senator from Ohio is a lawyer by profession. He began his career as a paralegal at the State of Kentucky and later changed his line of business to become a director of the company Mithril Capital, owned by Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal and one of the first investors in Facebook, who donated $10 million in 2022 to Vance's campaign.

Vance's book 'Hillbilly Elegy' brought him into the public eye. In it the former Marine recounts his political rise from the bottom up and emphasizes his story of poverty and self-improvement.

Marco Rubio - Secretary of State

The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio defends the iron fist approach and has been a supporter of U.S. interventionism abroad, although an increasingly moderate one.

The senator from Florida has served as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Intelligence Committee in the Upper House. In his legislative activity he has promoted the containment of China, the denunciation of alleged human rights abuses committed by Beijing, and the blockade of Chinese products.

Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense

Fox News host Pete Hegseth (44) is Trump's nominee to take over as Secretary of Defense. He is a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and, if confirmed by Congress, will be in charge of issues such as military assistance to Israel and support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
During the first Trump administration he headed the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Susie Wiles - Chief of Staff

Trump has named political advisor Susie Wiles (67) as his chief of staff. Wiles, a New Jersey native, worked on Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign and on both of Trump's presidential campaigns.

Michael Waltz - National Security Advisor

Michael Waltz (50) will succeed Jake Sullivan as national security advisor. Waltz served for more than 27 years in the military and was deployed as a Special Forces officer in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. He began his career in 2018 when he ran for Representative of Florida's 6th Congressional District.
Holding strong foreign policy views, he has been particularly critical of Beijing. He has stated that the United States is currently engaged in a “Cold War against the Communist Party of China.”

Steven Witkoff - Special Envoy to the Middle East

In one of his most controversial choices, Trump has appointed real estate investor Steven Witkoff (67) as his special envoy for the Middle East. The founder of Witkoff Group has never worked in politics but remained close to Trump during the final months of campaigning. He was also selected to co-lead the inaugural committee for Trump's second presidency along with former senator and businesswoman Kelly Loeffler.

Tom Homan - "Border Czar"

Trump has announced the appointment of Tom Homan (62) as his “border czar,” an unofficial position within the U.S. government and which therefore does not require Senate confirmation. Homan is a native New Yorker with a long career in immigration. He served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2017 to 2018 and worked within the first Trump administration, being the main promoter of the idea of separating illegal immigrant families and deporting them. He has also been highly critical of so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Mike Huckabee - U.S. Ambassador to Israel

Trump selected former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Huckabee gained fame as a preacher and television host before becoming lieutenant governor of Arkansas (1993-1996) and later governor of the state (1996-2007). In 2016, he sought the Republican Party nomination for president.
Huckabee has shown strong support for Israel. He considers himself an “unapologetic Zionist” and does not accept the term Palestinians. He must be confirmed by the Senate before taking office.

Vivek Ramaswamy - Department of Government Efficiency

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (39) will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. Originally from Ohio, he graduated from Harvard and Yale before founding the biotech firm Roviant Sciences. He ran in the presidential primaries in 2024, but withdrew after the Iowa caucuses and endorsed Trump. He will work with fellow tech magnate Elon Musk.

Elon Musk - Departament of Government Efficiency

South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk (53) will co-head the new department within the U.S. government after helping Trump during his campaign. He is CEO of the SpaceX space agency (which he founded), and also of the automotive company Tesla, Inc and owner and president of X Corp — the company that operates the social network X — as well as founding Neuralink and OpenAI.

William McGinley - White House counsel

Former White House Cabinet Secretary William McGinley has been named White House counsel. McGinley has served as deputy general counsel of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and legal advisor to the RNC Standing Committee on Rules. He has also served as general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial National Committee.
He has been a Trump ally since his first campaign in 2016, where he worked to attract delegates to the Republican National Convention.

John Ratcliffe - CIA Director

The pick to head the Central Intelligence Agency is politician John Ratcliffe. He served as a representative of Texas' fourth district from 2015 to 2020 and was director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021, after Trump nominated him. During his tenure, he made public statements that contradicted the intelligence community's assessments. Very conservative in his views, he is a staunch ally of the current president-elect.

Elise Stefanik - Ambassador to the United Nations

Trump announced that he would nominate conservative Elise Stefanik (40) for the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She has been the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference since 2021 and gained notoriety after questioning college students at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism.

Tulsi Gabbard - Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard has shuttled between Democrats and Republicans over the past few years, and has also been an independent candidate and an enthusiastic representative of the Trump campaign. From 2013 until 2021 she was a Democratic congresswoman. In 2020 she ran in the Democratic presidential primaries and did not abandon her candidacy until very late in the race, despite the fact that the results did not favor her. In 2022 she declared herself an independent and this year she threw her support behind the Republican candidate.

Gabbard will oversee 18 espionage departments and will produce a daily intelligence report. She was a member of the National Guard in Hawaii and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Armed Forces.

Kristi Noem - Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

The president-elect has nominated Kristi Noem (52) as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Noem has served since 2019 as governor of South Dakota, the first woman to assume the office. She previously served as representative for South Dakota's only congressional district (2011-2019) and was a member of the state House of Representatives (2007-2011). In the new administration she would have a key role in Trump's immigration plans, as well as a focus on counterterrorism.

Matt Gaetz - Attorney General

Gaetz defines himself, in his biography on X, as an “agitator” and “a "Florida man. Built for the Battle." The new head of the Justice Department is a far-right congressman who came to the fore after calling for the removal of fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy.

Lee Zeldin - Environmental Protection Agency

Trump has nominated former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His post needs Senate confirmation. A native New Yorker, he was an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve before entering politics. He was a candidate for governor of New York, but lost to Democrat Kathy Hochul. He has become one of Trump's closest allies and defended him in his impeachment hearings when he was accused of motivating Ukraine to investigate his 2020 election challenger, Joe Biden.

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