The Senate has begun the confirmation process for the president-elect’s new administration.
Elise Stefanik
US Ambassador to the UN
Announced
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R–N.Y.) has been described by Trump as “an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”
Pending approval in the Senate, the Harvard graduate will assume the ambassadorship after serving five terms in the House of Representatives. At age 30, she was the youngest woman elected to Congress in U.S. history when she was elected in 2014.
Stefanik replaced former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as the chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021 with Trump’s endorsement, and she has been in that role since. She is also on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
She has positioned herself as a Trump ally since his 2016 election and was the first member of Congress to endorse him for reelection in 2024.
If approved by the Senate, she will replace Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Biden administration appointee, to become Trump’s third appointed ambassador to the U.N., following Nikki Haley and Kelly Craft.
Lee Zeldin
Administrator of EPA
Confirmed
Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin will take on the role of EPA administrator, and it is expected that he will quickly focus on deregulation.
Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said in a statement posted to the social media platform Truth Social.
Zeldin’s political service began in 2010 when he was elected to the New York Senate. He served at the state level until 2014 before being elected to Congress to represent New York’s First Congressional District. He served in that role from 2015 to 2023.
He ran for governor of New York in 2022 but lost the closer-than-expected race to current Gov. Kathy Hochul.
While he was in Washington, Zeldin served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. One of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, he co-chaired the House Republican Israel Caucus.
Zeldin is an Army veteran, having served four years of active duty—including a deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He still serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves.
John Ratcliffe
Director of CIA
Confirmed
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Trump announced John Ratcliffe as his pick to be the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Ratcliffe served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, as well as Trump’s primary intelligence adviser. Trump awarded him the National Security Medal in 2020.
“From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation to catching the FBI’s abuse of civil liberties at the FISA court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for truth and honesty with the American public,” Trump said in his announcement. “When 51 intelligence officials were lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop, there was one, John Ratcliffe, telling the truth to the American people.”
Trump said Ratcliffe would be a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans while ensuring the highest levels of national security.”
The Notre Dame and SMU Law graduate previously served as a member of Congress, where he was a member of the House Intelligence Committee and House Judiciary Committee. While in Congress, he was also questioned about the foundation of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign in 2016, and, in late 2020, made the claim that year’s elections were marred by foreign intelligence.
Ratcliffe also spoke out against communist China intelligence, stating that the Chinese Communist Party attempted to meddle in the 2020 elections and later testifying that a lab leak in China was “the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, by science, and by common sense” for the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense
Confirmed
Trump announced Pete Hegseth as his pick for Defense Secretary, pending Senate confirmation.
Hegseth is the latest veteran to be named in the president-elect’s Cabinet. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a captain in the Army National Guard. He has been awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
Trump highlighted Hegseth’s military background in his announcement.
“Pete has spent his entire life as a warrior for the troops and for the country,” Trump said. “Pete is tough, smart, and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our military will be great again, and America will never back down.”
Hegseth also graduated from Princeton and Harvard, wrote the bestselling book “The War on Warriors,” which criticizes left-wing policies concerning the military, and he spent eight years as a Fox News host.
Kristi Noem
Secretary of DHS
Confirmed
Trump has chosen South Dakota Gov.Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, pending Senate confirmation.
“Kristi has been very strong on border security,” Trump said in his announcement. “She was the first governor to send National Guard soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden border crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times.
“She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.”
Noem became South Dakota’s first-ever female governor in 2018, and was reelected in 2022 by an historic vote count for the state. She was floated as the possible choice for Trump’s vice president before Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) was selected.
The 52-year-old mother and grandmother has continued to take a strong stance against illegal immigration. Previously describing the Texas border with Mexico as a “warzone,” she is aligned with Homan in the belief that anybody who crosses the U.S. border illegally must be deported.
Besides border security, the Department of Homeland Security encompasses several agencies, including the Secret Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
Confirmed
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, pending Senate confirmation, which would make him the first Latino to serve as the country’s top diplomat.
“Marco is a highly respected leader, and a very powerful voice for freedom,” Trump wrote in a Nov. 13 statement.
“He will be a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies, and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”
Rubio, 53, has a nearly four-decade-long political background in the Sunshine State. He was first elected as a city commissioner for West Miami in 1998. Rubio became a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, leading the 111th House District, which includes Miami. He was also the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 until 2008.
During this time, Rubio traveled around the state, speaking to citizens to compile ideas for a book called “100 Innovative Ideas For Florida’s Future.” Many of the ideas in the book became state law. He also briefly taught at Florida International University.
Rubio was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 when then-Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican at the time, decided to run as an independent in the race after trailing Rubio in GOP primary polling. Rubio won with 49 percent of the vote.
In the Senate, he has been an outspoken critic of communist China and his selection by Trump signals a tough approach by the incoming administration toward international diplomacy.
Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence
Announced
Trump selected former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as the Director of National Intelligence, pending Senate confirmation.
“I am pleased to announce that former congresswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard, will serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our country and the freedoms of all Americans,” Trump said in a statement shared by his campaign team on Nov. 13.
Gabbard, 43, represented Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district as a Democrat from 2013 until 2021.
Gabbard unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary before leaving the party to become an Independent in 2022. She campaigned for several Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections before endorsing Trump in August. On Oct. 22, at a Trump rally, she formally announced her switch to the Republican Party. She is also an honorary co-chair of Trump’s presidential transition team.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary of HHS
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump officially picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), pending Senate approval.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” Trump wrote on platform X, along with his announcement.
Trump added that HHS will work to protect Americans from harmful chemicals, food additives, pesticides, pollutants, and pharmaceutical products that contribute to the “overwhelming heath crisis.”
Kennedy had his eyes set on the health sector, and HHS oversees 13 different agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health.
“FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” Kennedy previously wrote on X. “This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.
“If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
An environmental attorney who challenged corporations such as DuPont and Monsanto, Kennedy is the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy. Originally making a bid for president as a Democrat, he ran as an independent before suspending his campaign in August and endorsing Trump.
Kennedy is also founder of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit organization that works to end “childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure,” according to its website.
Doug Collins
Secretary of VA
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, former Rep. Doug Collins, has also served as one of his attorneys.
Collins is also a longtime loyalist who has stood with the president-elect through his ups and downs—a consistent characteristic of many of the men and women being chosen for top positions in the new administration.
“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need. Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our Country in this very important role!” Trump wrote in a statement.
Collins was a member of the House of Representatives serving Georgia’s ninth district between 2013 and 2021. He sat on the House Judiciary Committee and served as vice chair of the House Republican Committee.
In Georgia, Collins lost to both Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Kelly Loeffler in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Johnny Isakson in 2019.
Collins was deployed to Iraq during the Iraq War. A U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain, the Gainesville, Georgia, native also served in Georgia’s House of Representatives. He has a wife, Lisa, and three children: sons Copelan and Cameron and daughter Jordan.
Collins is also chair of the Georgia chapter of the America First Policy Institute, which has been central to Trump’s presidential transition.
Doug Burgum
Secretary of Interior
Confirmed
Leaders of both Dakotas could be moving to Washington, pending Senate approval. President-elect Donald Trump picked North Dakota’s Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior.
“We’re going to do things with energy and with land, interior, that is going to be incredible,” Trump said to Burgum on Nov. 14.
The Department of the Interior oversees several key agencies including the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Society, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. All of these agencies are crucial to Trump’s plans for energy.
From the moment he suspended his own candidacy for president, speculation has been focused on Burgum becoming a part of either the Department of Interior or Department of Energy.
Burgum is a North Dakota native, and he attended North Dakota State University before earning an MBA from Stanford University.
Prior to politics, he worked in the tech industry, working with Great Plains Software, which was eventually sold to Microsoft. He’s a proud North Dakotan who touted his administration’s energy development and experience with the Interior agencies on the campaign trail.
“North Dakota’s energy, agriculture and technology economy is poised to thrive in the coming era where private sector innovation, not overreaching government regulation, is seen as the key to solving our biggest challenges and realizing our fullest potential,” Burgum stated on Nov. 7 in reaction to Trump’s election victory.
Bergum’s appointment comes after South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was picked to become the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Chris Wright
Secretary of Energy
Announced
Trump has chosen Chris Wright, an energy industry executive, to lead the Department of Energy, pending Senate confirmation.
“I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and member of the newly formed Council of National Energy,” Trump said in a Nov. 16 statement posted on his truth Social platform.
Trump described Wright as a technologist and entrepreneur with experience in fossil fuel extraction, including hydraulic fracturing. Wright also has experience with solar and nuclear energy.
“Chris embraces all energy sources if they are abundant, affordable, and reliable,” Trump said.
The energy secretary role entails managing America’s energy resources, including nuclear power.
Jennifer Granholm is the current energy secretary under President Joe Biden’s administration. Rick Perry and Dan Brouillette served in the role during Trump’s first term in office.
The Department of Energy, along with the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency will prove crucial components of Trump’s pledge to slash energy costs.
Sean Duffy
Secretary of Transportation
Confirmed
Sean Duffy was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 28 in a 77–22 vote to be Secretary for the Department of Transportation.
Trump selected the former Wisconsin representative for the role on Nov. 18, 2024.
Trump said, in his announcement, that Duffy “will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.” Trump was referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion measures that many airlines embraced in recent years.
The Department of Transportation’s mission is to “deliver the world’s leading transportation system” for both goods and people.
Duffy, the 53-year-old Fox Business co-host served in Congress from 2011 through 2019, and was a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
Duffy is married to Rachel Campos Duffy. They are both former MTV stars and they have nine children together.
Howard Lutnick
Secretary of Commerce
Announced
Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick to become the next Secretary of Commerce, pending Senate approval.
The 63-year-old billionaire is co-chair of Trump’s transition team and was seen as one of the contenders to replace Janet Yellen atop the Department of the Treasury. He is also the CEO and chairman of investment giant Cantor Fitzgerald.
The Department of Commerce will play a key role in Trump’s tariff plan, which he said on the campaign trail is likely an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent to 20 percent on imports and levies and 60 percent to 100 percent on goods from China.
Lutnick, Trump said, would “lead our tariff and trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”
Lutnick is also known as a supporter of cryptocurrency, which earned him praise and an endorsement from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.
Linda McMahon
Secretary of Education
Announced
Linda McMahon is Trump’s nominee to lead this 4,400-employee agency that he has pledged to dismantle—though that would require an act of Congress.
“We will send education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,” Trump said in a Nov. 19 statement posted on Truth Social.
McMahon, who co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment, served in the Trump administration as administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Since leaving the administration, McMahon has been chairman of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which advocates Trump’s agenda. She is also the chair of AFPI’s Center for the American Worker.
She was also the chair of America First Action SuperPAC and America First Policy, LLC.
In mid-August, Trump named McMahon to co-chair his transition team alongside Howard Lutnick, whom he named as commerce secretary also on Nov. 19.
“Linda will use her decades of leadership experience, and deep understanding of both education and business, to empower the next generation of American students and workers, and make America number one in education in the world,” said Trump in a Nov. 19 statement.
McMahon unsuccessfully ran in Connecticut for a U.S. Senate seat in 2010 and 2012.
Pam Bondi
US Attorney General
Announced
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi became Trump’s new pick for U.S. Attorney General on Nov. 21, pending Senate approval, after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) stepped down.
Bondi has been a prosecutor for more than 20 years and served as Florida’s first female attorney general from 2011 to 2019, during which time she came down hard on drug and violent crimes.
She has been a familiar name in the Trump camp, serving in the Office of White House Counsel as a special adviser to the president-elect and on his opioid and drug abuse commission during his first term.
“Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting crime, and making America safe again,” Trump said in his announcement.
“I have known Pam for many years—she is smart and tough, and is an America first fighter, who will do a terrific job as attorney general!”
Scott Bessent
Secretary of Treasury
Confirmed
Wall Street financier Scott Bessent was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 27 in a 68–29 vote to be Treasury Secretary.
Trump nominated Bessent on Nov. 22 to lead the Department of the Treasury.
“Scott is widely respected as one of the world’s foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists,” Trump said. “Scott’s story is that of the American Dream.”
Bessent edged out other top names for the senior post, including former Federal Reserve Board member Kevin Warsh and Apollo Wealth Management CEO Marc Rowan.
Bessent previously worked extensively with left-wing billionaire George Soros, serving as chief investment officer of the Soros Fund Management a decade ago. He left the Soros-led firm to start the Key Square Group, which received a $2 billion investment from Soros.
Bessent has largely kept a low political profile. He hosted several fundraising events for Trump during the 2024 election, his first involvement in politics since he supported Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 bid for the White House.
He has expressed broad support for Trump’s tariff plans, calling tariffs “an amazing tool,” but said these—including a universal 10 to 20 percent tariff and a 60 to 100 percent levy on Chinese goods—should be “layered in gradually.”
Scott Turner
Secretary of HUD
Announced
Former NFL player Scott Turner is Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Following his NFL career, Turner was elected to the Texas state House.
Turner is also the founder and CEO of the Community Engagement & Opportunity Council, a foundation that’s worked to revitalize communities with mentorship and economic programs.
Turner served in Trump’s first presidential administration as executive director for the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council. In the role, he oversaw the administration’s efforts to support distressed communities across the country, including establishing opportunity zones.
Announcing the nomination, Trump thanked Turner for his past work.
”Under Scott’s leadership, Opportunity Zones received over $50 billion dollars in private investment.”
Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Secretary of Labor
Announced
Trump has chosen Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) to lead the U.S. Department of Labor.
Chavez-DeRemer has represented Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District since 2022, but lost her reelection bid in the Democrat-leaning district earlier this month.
She has gained a reputation as a centrist. As a lawmaker, she has supported pro-union legislation, such as the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
“Lori has worked tirelessly with both business and labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump wrote in his statement announcing the nomination.
Russ Vought
Director of OMB
Announced
Trump has named Russ Vought to serve as his director for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
If confirmed, Vought would reprise a role he held during Trump’s first term in office. Vought was Trump’s second OMB director during his first term, succeeding Mick Mulvaney in 2019.
OMB is a component of the Executive Office of the President primarily tasked with crafting the president’s budget proposals to meet his policy goals.
Vought signaled enthusiasm to return to the OMB directorship in an X post following Trump’s nomination announcement.
“There is unfinished business on behalf of the American people, and it’s an honor of a lifetime to get the call again,” Vought said.
Vought helped write parts of Project 2025, a proposal set forth by the Heritage Foundation about how a conservative presidential administration could proceed. Trump distanced himself from the proposal on the campaign trail, saying he disagreed with some of the ideas laid out in the more than 900-page document.
Brooke Rollins
Secretary of Agriculture
Announced
Brooke Rollins will lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Trump’s administration, pending Senate confirmation.
“Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none,” Trump said in a statement announcing the nomination Nov. 23.
Rollins previously worked on Trump’s 2016 Economic Advisory Council. She then served in his first administration as director of the Domestic Policy Council, director of Trump’s Office of American Innovation, and as his assistant for strategic initiatives.
After Trump’s first term, Rollins went on to become the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute.
In the new role, she’ll oversee various programs related to agriculture, food, and natural resources.
Jamieson Greer
US Trade Representative
Announced
Jamieson Greer has been chosen as U.S. Trade Representative for the incoming Trump administration. Greer is an attorney at King & Spalding, where he is a partner in the International Trade division.
He was chief of staff to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Trump said Greer played a key role in the imposition of tariffs on China during his first administration.
Mike Huckabee
US Ambassador to Israel
Announced
Trump named former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be his ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee, who was governor between 1996 and 2007, is a staunch supporter of the Jewish state and will have to deal with the Israel-Hamas war, Israel–Hezbollah conflict, the Iranian threat, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He will also look to be part of the effort to expand the Abraham Accords, which the Trump administration brokered in 2020 between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008 and 2016, called it “a privilege” and said that he first visited Israel in 1973, when he was a teenager. That was the year of the Yom Kippur War, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Todd Blanche
Deputy Attorney General
Announced
Todd Blanche, who defended Trump during his New York falsified documents trial, has been selected to serve as deputy attorney general, which is second to the head of the department.
According to the DOJ, the deputy attorney general “is authorized to exercise all the power and authority of the Attorney General” with some exceptions. Trump selected Pam Bondi as his attorney general, pending Senate confirmation, after Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from contention.
D. John Sauer
U.S. Solicitor General
Announced
Trump has selected D. John Sauer to serve as U.S. Solicitor General, a position within the Department of Justice (DOJ) responsible for defending federal law before the Supreme Court.
Sauer advocated for Trump in his appeal of special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case in Washington this year. That included participating in oral arguments before the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled that presidents have varying levels of immunity from criminal prosecution.
Mehmet Oz
Administrator of CDC
Announced
Trump selected Dr. Mehmet Oz to be his administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. Trump said Oz will work with Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “to take on the illness industrial complex,” and eliminate waste and fraud from “our country’s most expensive government agency.”
Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, is a graduate of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania School and Medicine, and Wharton Business School. He was also the host of “The Dr. Oz Show” from 2009 to 2022. As a Republican candidate, Oz made an unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat in 2022 in Pennsylvania, losing to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
Matthew Whitaker
US Ambassador to NATO
Announced
Trump selected Matthew Whitaker as his U.S. ambassador to NATO. The role involves advancing the United States’ foreign policy interests within NATO’s 32-member military alliance.
Whitaker served as Trump’s acting attorney general from November 2018 until February 2019, during the president-elect’s first term in office. He also served as a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa before running in the 2014 Iowa Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
Pete Hoekstra
US Ambassador to Canada
Announced
Trump has selected former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Canada.
Hoekstra brings several years of experience in foreign relations. He was U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands under Trump’s first administration. He also played a significant role in bringing about the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020, according to Trump, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement.
He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party during the 2024 presidential election.
Janette Nesheiwat
US Surgeon General
Announced
Janette Nesheiwat has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump for the position of U.S. Surgeon General. She is the director of urgent care provider CityMD, and former host of Family Health Today.
Nesheiwat has been a regular contributor to Fox News as a medical expert since 2020. She is also the author of Beyond the Stethoscope, a memoir to be released this December.
Marty Makary
Commissioner of FDA
Announced
Dr. Marty Makary has been named commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Makary is chief of islet transplant surgery, which replaces damaged cells in diabetes patients, at Johns Hopkins.
He is also a professor and policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and worked in the Patient Safety Program for the World Health Organization.
Makary is the author of “The Price We Pay,” an examination of the rising costs of health care.
Dave Weldon
Director of CDC
Announced
Former Florida Congressman Dave Weldon will be Trump’s director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Weldon is a veteran of the Army and Army Reserves and worked as a physician before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1995.
He is the author of the Weldon Amendment, passed in 2004, which provides conscience protections for organizations that refuse to perform abortions.
Kash Patel
Director of FBI
Announced
Former attorney and Pentagon Chief of Staff Kash Patel will serve as the head of the FBI in the incoming administration, pending Senate confirmation
Patel is a longtime ally of the former president, and has been an outspoken critic of what he describes as weaponization of federal law enforcement.
He has vowed to bring sweeping changes to the FBI if confirmed. The bureau sits within the Department of Justice.
Dan Driscoll
Secretary of Army
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dan Driscoll to be the next Secretary of the Army.
“As a former soldier, investor, and political advisor, Dan brings a powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social.
Driscoll was an Army Ranger, and was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Cavalry Scout Platoon Leader with the 10th Mountain Division. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, and has been a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Adam Boehler
Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump announced that Adam Boehler will become the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, “with the personal rank of Ambassador.”
“He has negotiated with some of the toughest people in the world, including the Taliban, but Adam knows that NO ONE is tougher than the United States of America, at least when President Trump is its leader,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social. “Adam will work tirelessly to bring our great American citizens HOME.”
Boehler was Trump’s lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords, and he was the first CEO of the United States Development Finance Corporation.
Jared Isaacman
Administrator of NASA
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
“Jared’s passion for space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new era,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social.
Isaacman is the mission commander of the Polaris Program, which utilizes SpaceX technology to push the boundaries of privatized space operations. He commanded both the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn orbital missions, and conducted the first commercial spacewalk. He is also the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, and the co-founder and CEO of Draken Industries.
Michael Faulkender
Deputy Secretary of Treasury
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Michael Faulkender to become the next deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
“Mike is a distinguished economist and policy practitioner who will drive our America first agenda,” Trump wrote in his announcement on Truth Social.
“He will help Treasury Secretary Nominee Scott Bessent usher in a new Golden Age for the United States by delivering a great economic boom for all Americans.”
Faulkender is returning to Washington, having served as the assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during Trump’s first term. He is also the chief economist and vice chair for the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Prosperity.
Gail Slater
Asst. AG for the DOJ Antitrust Division
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gail Slater to become the next assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice.
“In her new role, Gail will help ensure that our competition laws are enforced, both vigorously and FAIRLY, with clear rules that facilitate, rather than stifle, the ingenuity of our greatest companies,” Trump announced on Truth Social. “Congratulations Gail – Together, we will Make America Competitive Again!”
Slater is a familiar face in the Trump camp, previously serving on Trump’s National Economic Council during his first term, and as an advisor to Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who is the incoming Vice President-elect.
Paul Atkins
Chairman of SEC
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Paul Atkins to become the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In his announcement on Truth Social, Trump said that Atkins “believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of investors, & that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to making America greater than ever before.”
Akins returns to the SEC after serving as a commissioner from 2002 to 2008. He is the CEO and founder of the risk management consultancy, Patomak Global Partners, and has served as a co-chairman of the Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance since 2017, focusing on digital assets.
Billy Long
Commissioner of IRS
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump appointed former Missouri congressman Billy Long the next commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
“Taxpayers and the wonderful employees of the IRS will love having Billy at the helm,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social. “He is the consummate ‘people person,’ well respected on both sides of the aisle.”
Long served 12 years in Congress, and has since been working as a business and tax advisor, helping businesses navigate the IRS rules and its regulations. He has also run his own real estate business for more than 30 years and was touted by Trump as being “one of the premier auctioneers in the country.”
Warren Stephens
US Ambassador to the UK
Announced
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Warren Stephens to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.
“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time,” Trump wrote in a statement. “I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved allies.”
Stephens is a prominent investment banker and philanthropist. He currently serves as the chairman, president, and CEO of Stephens Inc., a privately held financial services firm based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The role is the president’s personal representative to the Queen of the United Kingdom and acts as a spokesperson for the United States’ interests and policies.
