On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump will become the president of the United States for a second time despite, among other things, suggesting Americans ingest bleach in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and inspiring a violent attack on the Capitol that left multiple people dead. The first time Trump was in office, his Cabinet included relatively mainstream Republicans—like Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Many of the individuals he put in top advisory roles—such as retired Marine Corps general John Kelly as White House chief of staff and former Goldman Sachs president and CEO Gary Cohn as National Economic Council director—also had relevant experience. But this time around, Trump is expected to almost exclusively hire people from the far-right whose number one qualification is total loyalty to him.
Speaking to Fox News shortly after the election, Donald Trump Jr., who is “heavily involved on the transition,” indicated that he was focused on installing people who won’t speak up if they disagree with his dad, saying he is looking to staff the administration with individuals who “don’t think that they know better than the duly elected president of the United States.”
The most powerful and coveted gigs are obviously Cabinet positions, which technically require Senate approval. However, many served in “acting” capacities during Trump’s term, allowing them to get around that requirement. In addition, Trump has demanded that Senate Republicans let him bypass the confirmation process altogether by agreeing to “recess appointments.” That scares the hell out of at least one staunch conservative, but it doesn’t mean it won’t happen!
So far, Trump’s Cabinet nominees include:
Matt Gaetz, Attorney General
Is this Donald Trump trying his hand at trolling? An attempt to get millions of people to shout “What the f—ck?!” at the same time? An elaborate lowering of the bar, so that when he nominates, say a serial killer to serve as surgeon general, people will be like “eh, this isn’t that crazy”? It’s potentially all of the above. In addition to having less experience working as an attorney than most law firm associates, Gaetz is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct, which he denies.
Fun fact: In his memoir, Firebrand, Gaetz wrote, of Trump: “The president has called me when I was in my car, asleep in the middle of the night on my Longworth Office cot, on the throne, on airplanes, in nightclubs, and even in the throes of passion (yes, I answered).”
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
Trump tapped the South Dakota governor for one of the most significant jobs in his administration, given his pledge to “carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” Despite not running a border state, Noem has been outspoken in her hardline immigration stance. She has previously called for punishing the “sanctuary cities” that protect undocumented immigrants. And last April Noem was banned from visiting three separate reservations that comprise about 10% of South Dakota’s 75,789.6 square miles of land area after she claimed that Mexican drug cartels “have been successful in recruiting tribal members to join their criminal activity” and that “some tribal leaders…are personally benefiting from the cartels being here.”
Fun fact: If confirmed, Noem would be the first Homeland secretary in history to have written about leading her family dog to a gravel pit and shooting him at close range.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
The GOP senator who mocked Trump’s spray tan and hand size in his 2016 presidential bid, has since become a loyal ally; at one point he was said to be on Trump‘s 2024 short list for VP.
On Capitol Hill, the Florida congressman has a reputation as a foreign policy hawk. In April, he voted against a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine and, in equally worrisome news for the war-torn nation, has said the war started by Russia will likely end with a “negotiated settlement” instead of a victory for the country Vladimir Putin invaded.
Fun fact: If things go south between Trump and Rubio—as they did with Trump’s first secretary of state, who he would later call “dumb as a rock” and “lazy as hell”—the incoming president already has a derogatory nickname for the guy: “Little Marco.”
Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency administrator
At a time when scientists say we’re verging on a point of no return on climate change, the selection of Zeldin is not a great sign for the planet, if an entirely expected one. In 2020, the former New York congressman received the worst score on the League of Conservation Voters’ 2020 National Environmental Scorecard of the entire New York delegation; he has a lifetime score of 14% from the environmental advocacy organization. In an interview, he said his priorities on “day one and the first 100 days” are to “roll back regulations.”
Fun fact: Zeldin voted to overturn the 2020 election results after a mob attacked the Capitol on January 6.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
If you’re familiar with the name Pete Hegseth, it’s probably because the guy is a Fox News host and, if confirmed, would be the first Fox and Friends cohost in US history to become a Cabinet secretary. Hegseth joined the Minnesota National Guard and later the Army National Guard, serving at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq, and Afghanistan, achieving the rank of major. He unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2012 and joined Fox News as a contributor two years later. In 2019, Hegseth reportedly pressed Trump to pardon a number of military members who had been charged with war crimes, including the shooting of civilians; Trump ultimately pardoned three individuals. According to The New York Times, “a former Pentagon official from Mr. Trump’s first term questioned Mr. Hegseth’s lack of experience—other than serving in the military—and raised concerns about his ability to win Senate confirmation, even with a Republican majority in the chamber.” Days before Trump nominated him, Hegseth said in an interview, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.”
Fun fact: During a Fox & Friends Weekend segment in 2022, Hegseth crossed out the word “Harvard” on his Harvard diploma and then wrote “Critical Theory” and “RETURN TO SENDER.” He told viewers “as conservatives and patriots, if we love this country, we can’t keep sending our kids and elevating them to universities that are poisoning their minds (against America).” He then said he planned to return his diploma to the school; it’s not clear if he has.
Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador
A onetime Trump critic turned major loyalist, the New York congresswoman was once viewed as a potential 2024 VP pick. According to the Times, if confirmed, Stefanik “would bring relatively little diplomatic or foreign policy experience to the role, beyond having served as a member of House national security committees.” She has been deeply critical of the UN since October 7, accused it of “antisemitic rot,” and has called for a “complete reassessment of US funding” of the organization.
Fun fact: Trump’s first UN ambassador was Nikki Haley, who would later go on to to run against him for office and call him “unhinged” and “not qualified to be president.” Later, she endorsed him for the job, yet following his reelection Trump told his Truth Social followers: “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley…to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation.”
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
Wiles has been described as “the most feared and least known political operative in America,” and worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and served as co-chair of his 2024 campaign. (In between, she worked for Florida governor Ron DeSantis on his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, which she has since called “the biggest mistake” of her career. That split likely has something to do with DeSantis reportedly being instrumental in getting Wiles booted from Trump’s 2020 reelection effort in Florida.)
Trump, for his part, has called Wiles the “ice maiden,” and one person who considers himself a friend told The Independent: “Susie does not f*** around. There is no other way to say it. It’s not that she’s hard, it’s not that she’s mean, but if you try to promote yourself or if you flimflam or you’re not honest about something, Susie will knife you herself.” Florida Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe told the outlet that her critics would say “she is a dangerous person to cross.”
Fun fact: While not named, Wiles is reported to be the “PAC Representative” cited in Jack Smith’s indictment against Trump, who Trump allegedly showed a classified map to in 2021. (Wiles was not accused of wrongdoing.)
Non-cabinet roles
Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser
Waltz is a GOP congressman and former Green Beret who has served on the House Armed Services, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees. According to the Associated Press, he is “considered hawkish on China” and called for the boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Last year, as head of the Readiness Subcommittee, he declared: “I am ready to get to work to better equip our military and turn our focus away from woke priorities and back to winning wars. Our national security depends on it.”
Fun fact: Trump’s first national security adviser was Mike Flynn, who resigned after the Justice Department revealed he misled officials about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the US. Trump’s second national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, was replaced after year; Trump reportedly complained that McMaster’s briefings were too long. Trump’s third national security adviser, John Bolton, was fired (or resigned, depending on whom you ask) after 17 months on the job, and has since said, among other things, that Trump is unfit to be president.
John Ratcliffe, Director of Central Intelligence Agency
Ratcliffe previously served as director of national intelligence in Trump’s first term, and is one of the few people to return for the sequel. Before that, he was a representative from Texas who was regarded as one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress. In announcing his nomination for CIA director, Trump thanked Ratcliffe for “exposing fake Russian collusion” and “telling the truth” about, wait for it, Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Fun fact: Following the Ratcliffe announcement, Frank Figliuzzi, the FBI’s former assistant director for counterintelligence, wrote on X: “Blindly loyal to Trump, not America.”
Tom Homan, “Border Czar”
Homan served as Trump’s acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2017 to June 2018. In announcing his new gig, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Homan will be in charge of “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.” At the Republican National Convention this summer, Homan declared at an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation: “If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.”
Fun fact: Homan was a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which, among other things, calls for letting ICE use “expedited removal” against immigrants anywhere in the country and would, per the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, “enable raids in sensitive zones like schools, hospitals, and religious institutions.”
Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
Two words: family separation. A veteran of the first Trump administration, Miller’s return is terrifying for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that if he had gotten his way, the first Trump administration would have separated an additional 25,000 children from their parents, on top of the 3,000 it separated before the policy was halted. According to the Times, Miller has spent the last two years “working on detailed plans for mass deportations.” During an interview with the outlet last year, he revealed that those plans include “restricting legal and illegal immigration in a number of ways, including rounding up undocumented immigrants already in the United States and detaining them in camps before they’re expelled from the country.” At a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in the days before the 2024 election, Miller told the crowd: “America is for Americans and Americans only.”
Fun fact: As of 2022, the architect of Trump’s family separation plan policy was still on his parents’ cell phone plan.
Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel
If Trump hadn’t sufficiently signaled his take on the Israel-Gaza war, the appointment of Huckabee should make things pretty clear. The former governor of Arkansas said during his 2008 presidential campaign that there’s “really no such thing as a Palestinian,” and in January 2017, shortly before Trump took office the first time, declared “there is no such thing as a West Bank—it’s Judea and Samaria.” He has since spoken out against a ceasefire.
Fun fact: Huckabee is a Christian Zionist; Christian Zionists believe “Muslims, Jews, and non-Christians are ultimately damned.”
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency
In announcing that he’d selected the richest man in the world and one of his former GOP opponents to oversee “government efficiency,” Trump declared the new commission will be “the Manhattan Project” of our time, which is deeply worrisome on multiple levels. As the Times notes, “The statement left unanswered all kinds of major questions about an initiative that is uncertain in seriousness but potentially vast in scope. For starters, the president-elect did not address the fact that no such department exists. And he did not elaborate on whether his two rich supporters would hire a staff for the new department, which he said is aimed in part at reducing the federal work force.”
While campaigning for Trump, Musk, who donated millions to reelect him, said he would help to cut a whopping $2 trillion from the federal budget. He did not provide details of how that would actually be accomplished, or acknowledge the fact that it would require slashing the entire annual budget by approximately one-third, making it virtually impossible. Also unclear: how Musk will do this job without creating massive conflicts of interest, given that, for example, his company SpaceX has been awarded $10 billion in government contracts in the last decade, and that several other of his companies are under investigation by the federal government.
Fun fact: Nobody say anything about the fact that X is reportedly worth 80% less than it was when Musk bought it two years ago.
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