Who might fill Trump’s Cabinet?
with republicans control In the Senate, many of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees may face an easy path to confirmation, even some who may be controversial.
Here are some possible candidates Trump is considering or has selected for key Cabinet positions and senior White House positions.
white house chief of staff
Suzy Wells
Alex Brandon/AP
The day after Trump was elected president Announce His campaign co-chair Suzy Wells will serve as his chief of staff. Wiles, a veteran Florida politician, would be the first woman to hold the position in U.S. history. The chief of staff is not a Senate-confirmed position, but it is a prestigious position that is often considered part of the Cabinet.
Catherine Watson
Secretary of State
A source familiar with the discussions said Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is being considered for secretary of state, but so are a number of other candidates.
Andrew Harnick/Getty Images
Hagerty served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan under Trump from 2017 to 2019, when he resigned from his post to run for his current Senate seat.
Margaret Brennan
minister of defense
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 60, has been named as a contender for defense secretary, according to two people familiar with the matter.
However, in a postal On Saturday, Trump said on his “Truth Social” platform that Pompeo would not be joining the White House. Trump also said in the post Nikki Haley — who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the first administration and ran against him in the Republican presidential primary — will also not join.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join the Trump Administration that is currently being formed,” Trump wrote. “I greatly enjoy and appreciate working with them before and am grateful The service they provide to our country.”
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Pompeo has extensive experience in the Trump administration and dealing with Trump himself. He served as secretary of state and CIA director in Trump’s first administration. Before attending Harvard Law School, he served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served in Congress from 2011 to 2017.
Author: James Laporta and Roberto Costa
finance minister
Vincent Orban/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Scott Bessent, founder of Connecticut-based hedge fund Key Square Group, is the leading contender for Treasury secretary and has been vying for the job, according to a source deeply involved in transition planning. One position. Bessant has outside supporters defending him against Trump.
Drew Angler/Getty Images
Trump’s former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has also been nominated to run for Treasury secretary.
Authors: Bob Costa, Major Garrett, and Olivia Rinaldi
business secretary
Multiple sources familiar with discussions for the position said Linda McMahon, a small business administrator during Trump’s first term and a former Commerce Department executive, is the top contender for the Commerce Department leadership post. CEO of WWE.
Andrew Haller/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“If she wants it, it’s hers,” a senior Trump official said, adding that she has a close relationship with Trump and that he trusts her.
McMahon is also co-chairman of the pro-Trump super PAC America First Policy Action and helped run the transition team with Trump friend Howard Lutnick.
Author: Major Garrett and Finn Gomez
director of cia
Andrew Harnick/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Former U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe, the former director of national intelligence in Trump’s first administration, is a front-runner to head the CIA, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Author: Major Garrett and Robert Costa
Department of Homeland Security
Tom Homan is one of several nominees for Homeland Security secretary, according to multiple sources familiar with transition discussions. Homan served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration.
60 minutes
homan recent be interviewed Cecilia Vega on 60 Minutes Before the Election. During the conversation, he addressed Trump’s mass deportation plans.
“I hear a lot of people say, you know, the rhetoric around mass deportations is racist. It’s a threat to immigrant communities. It’s not a threat to immigrant communities,” Homan said. “This should be a threat to the illegal immigrant community. But in the wake of the historic illegal immigration crisis. It has to be done.”
Greg Nash/Getty Images
Chad Wolf, the former acting secretary of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration, is another top contender proposed by Trump insiders to be the homeland security secretary, according to two sources with knowledge of the transition. a name.
“Look, if the president asks, I’d be happy to serve you, and I think it would be an honor to do that,” Wolf told NewsNation in a recent interview.
“Not just for the president, but for the country, I would be happy to serve if the need arises,” he said.
Homan and Wolff are at the top of the list, according to a source close to the transition, but the source reiterated that it’s still a transitional phase and a formal review will begin next week.
Author: Finn Gomez and Nicole Sganga
Robert RFK Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Several people close to the president-elect’s campaign say some of Trump’s allies are proposing to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is scheduled to meet with Trump’s senior team next week, but his role in the administration remains unclear, according to a Trump source familiar with the discussions.
Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
Hopes among Kennedy’s supporters that he could be nominated to lead the department have grown in recent days after Republicans consolidated control of the Senate.
Kennedy ran for president as an independent but dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump.
Author: Finn Gomez and Alex Tian
trump family
So far, it’s unclear whether any of Trump’s family members will work in his administration. Daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner both worked in the White House during his first term, but they are no longer involved in their father’s political work.
Who is running Trump’s national security transition team
Brian Hook
Concordia SummitLeigh Vogel/Getty Images
hook, Former U.S. Special Representative to Iran He was an aide to Pompeo and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during Trump’s first term and was a member of the State Department transition team. He has been working on policy and meeting with foreign diplomats for months, but formal transition meetings with the Biden-Harris team have yet to take place. The Trump team has not yet signed a memorandum of understanding with the General Services Administration to receive assistance and funding from the administration during the transition process.
hook maintain U.S. taxpayers fund diplomatic security protection as Iran and U.S. continue to threaten him 2020 assassinations Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
He declined to comment when contacted by CBS News.
Margaret Brennan
Joel Rayburn
Fabrice Coferini/AFP via Getty Images
Rayburn, former special envoy for syriaAs well as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Levantine affairs and the senior director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon under Trump also return to serve on the National Security Council transition team.
He declined to comment when contacted by CBS News.
Margaret Brennan
Michael Anton
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Anton served as National Security Council spokesman and deputy national security adviser during the Trump administration and currently serves on the National Security Council transition team.
He declined to comment when contacted by CBS News.
Margaret Brennan
contributed to this report.
