Who will Trump pick for his new administration?

With the transformation of the Republican Party in his image, it was expected Trump loyalists would occupy most administrative positions in his second term.

But there's also a distinctive "home ground" flavor to his team, with many of key appointments ahead of the January 20 inauguration hailing from Trump's residency state of Florida and home state of New York. 

Susie Wiles will be Donald Trump's chief of staff

Trump's first Cabinet appointment is 67-year-old Republican strategist Susie Wiles. The Floridian is highly regarded among the party and was co-chair of his third run for office. She will become Trump's chief of staff and is the first woman to hold the post.

The chief of staff oversees the White House operations and manages the president's policy agenda — in effect, the key adviser across all policy issues.

Wiles has worked in the background to push her candidates forward throughout her career. Like many "back roomers," she has shunned the limelight, earning her the nickname "ice baby" from the US president-elect, presumably in reference to this reputation and her tendency to eschew public appearances.

Her reputation is formidable. She's been widely credited for holding the famously off-leash Trump to his most disciplined campaign. With little detail on how she might run the White House, it would be fair to presume she'll apply similar discipline as chief of staff.

Wiles has long been in Florida-based Trump's orbit, having also run his Florida campaign in 2016 and 2020.

Marco Rubio picked for secretary of state

Florida Senator Marco Rubio was a Trump rival during in the 2016 primaries, but eventually backed his presidency and supported most of Trump's positions in his first administration.

As secretary of state, Rubio would be responsible for America's foreign office and pivotal in negotiating Trump's oft-stated positions to wind down conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

He is considered a China hawk and sees America's Pacific rival as both an economic and geopolitical threat.

Matt Gaetz nominated as attorney general 

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz has been tapped by Trump to serve as the nation's top prosecutor.

The controversial hard-right Republican has been one of Trump's staunchest advocates over the past four years, but has courted controversy himself. Most notably, Gaetz was under investigation into alleged sex trafficking offenses by the Department of Justice, which he would now run under Trump, and by the House Ethics Committee into several allegations, including those of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. He has denied the allegations.

However, Gaetz's position requires Senate approval, and it's unclear whether he will get the necessary support at a confirmation hearing, even with Republican control.

TV host nominated to lead Department of Defense

Trump's desire to surround himself with loyalists is perhaps no better summed up than by Pete Hegseth's nomination as defense secretary.

A combat veteran, Hegseth is better known in his role as a host for the conservative television channel Fox News. In his commentary, he has criticized appointing women to combat roles and has called on Trump to pardon servicepeople accused of war crimes. Observers have noted Hegseth's lack of senior military or national security experience.

Tulsi Gabbard tapped for director of national intelligence 

Tulsi Gabbard was once a Democrat in the House of Representatives, and ran against Joe Biden for the party's 2020 presidential nomination. She switched her allegiances to Trump two years ago.

She has no intelligence background, but served in the US Army National Guard for two decades.

As the next director of national intelligence, Gabbard would be a key adviser to the president.

COVID-era intelligence chief for CIA role

Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe served as Trump's final national intelligence director in 2021, and is set to return as one of Trump's key advisers as CIA director in his second administration.

He was a vocal defender of Trump in Congress during the first impeachment proceeding against the former president.

Michael Waltz as national security adviser

Florida congressman Michael Waltz has been lined up as Trump's national security adviser.

Waltz was the first Special Forces officer in Congress, and previously served in Afghanistan.

His wife, Julia Nesheiwat, was the homeland security adviser to Trump at the end of his first term in office. Like Rubio, Waltz is one of China's biggest congressional critics, aligning him neatly with much of Trump's anti-China economic rhetoric and tariff threats.

Pro-Israel conservative Mike Huckabee to Israel post 

The former governor of Arkansas is an outspoken supporter of Israel and has previously expressed opposition to a two-state solution. In a 2015 video, he remarked there was "no such thing as a Palestinian."

Huckabees's appointment as the next US ambassador to Israel, as the country faces growing international criticism over the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, is the strongest signal yet that Trump's position on Israel will be one of support.

The Huckabee family is closely aligned with Trump. Mike's daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was the White House press secretary for the majority of Trump's first term and is the current Republican governor of Arkansas.

Golf partner to serve as Middle East special envoy

Trump's frequent golf partner, Steve Witkoff, is cut from similar cloth to the president-elect, having built his name as a real estate investor in New York.

Despite having no background in foreign affairs or diplomacy, Trump has chosen Witkoff as the special envoy to the Middle East. He is also a co-chair of the Trump's second inauguration committee.

Elise Stefanik accepts UN ambassadorship

House Republican Elise Stefanik has accepted an offer from Trump to be his UN ambassador.

Stefanik has served for a decade as a New York congresswoman and chairs the House Republican Conference. She has been a long-standing supporter of Trump, defending him during both of his impeachments in the House and supporting his agenda three out of four times in House votes.

As UN ambassador, she would replace career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who currently leads the US mission. The position was restored to the Cabinet under the Biden administration.

Firebrand adviser Miller named in Trump's core team

Trump's former speechwriter and senior adviser, Stephen Miller, will return to the White House under the second administration as deputy chief of staff for policy.

Miller is a hard-right Republican and is considered one of the strongest proponents of Trump's anti-immigration stance. Among his previous policy endeavors were advocating for the US-Mexico border wall, several controversial deportation policies and Trump's ban on migrants from some Muslim-majority countries. He has spent the last four years as a conservative civil liberties advocate but made appearances on the campaign trail with Trump.

CNN first reported Miller's selection on November 11, with Vice President-elect JD Vance congratulating Miller on the social media platform X. 

Tom Homan will be Trump's new 'border czar'

The term 'border czar' was weaponized by the Trump campaign against Kamala Harris when President Joe Biden put her in control of the United States' southern border, but has now been used to crown one of Trump's first non-Cabinet appointments.

Tom Homan was an acting director of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the first Trump administration and is to be its new border czar.

At the Republican National Convention in July, Homan proclaimed undocumented migrants should "start packing [their bags] now," should Trump win the presidency. His hard-line stance will be integral to enacting Trump's promise to send undocumented migrants back to their home countries — described during the campaign as "the largest deportation operation in American history."

While the Trump campaign touted figures of 25 million undocumented migrants in America,government reporting and independent analysis estimate there's about half that number. The cost of enacting such a program has also been widely criticized. The American Immigration Council puts the bill at $315 billion (€293 billion) in total, with $88 billion for a single year of operation.

Lee Zeldin tasked with winding back environment regulations

Former New York congressman Lee Zeldin is another Trump loyalist and is set to take charge of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Posting on X, Zeldin emphasized the incoming administration's energy agenda — which includes winding back climate-oriented policies — automotive and AI priorities. His only mention of the environment was in "protecting access to clean air and water."

While it's unclear which regulations will be priority targets for the Trump administration, the incoming president has put the Paris Agreement in the crosshairs and has repeatedly spoken of a need to increase oil and gas production.

Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead newly minted department 

Trump is known for rewarding loyalty. Such dedication was especially visible with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who contributed more than $133 million to the campaign. Musk's financial and media support through his platform X, formerly Twitter, were seen as important contributors to Trump's campaign.

Trump has handed Musk a joint role in charge of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, in reference to a cryptocurrency Musk has previously favored), tasked with slashing government expenditures deemed wasteful and restructuring federal agencies. His co-lead is Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow billionaire and former Trump rival for the Republican nomination who quickly fell in behind the president-elect.

Musk and Ramaswamy are reportedly targeting $2 trillion in cuts from the federal budget, though as an advisory panel would have little power to enact proposed spending changes. Instead, they would be able to advise Congress on where savings could be made.

What about RFK Jr.?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a former environmental lawyer and particularly well-known for his controversial alternative takes on established health science, including his outspoken opposition to vaccines.

On November 14, Trump nominated Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, Trump has indicated Kennedy will have his blessing to "go wild" on health, food and medicines.

In the lead-up to the election, Kennedy indicated his desire to overhaul Department of Agriculture policy and compel local authorities to stop fluoridating water supplies.

At an event in Arizona on November 11, he indicated his desire to "act fast" to fire 600 staffers at the National Institutes of Health and replace them with 600 new appointees.

Who is being left out?

Before news of Stefanik's appointment, Trump announced he would not offer a position to his former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in his new administration.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor, served in Trump's first administration as UN ambassador. She unsuccessfully ran against Trump for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination.

Trump has also ruled out including his former CIA director and secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, in his next administration.

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu, Martin Kuebler

This article has been updated with Trump's latest Cabinet choices for key roles in his upcoming administration. It was also corrected on November 12 to reflect that Nikki Haley is a former governor of South Carolina, not North Carolina, as stated earlier. DW apologizes for the error.