President-elect Donald Trump has wasted little time in selecting the cabinet for his second administration, with a wide-ranging pool of talent from tech billionaire Elon Musk to a Fox News host and a Democratic presidential hopeful.
So who are the individuals that will hold the often volatile positions of influence within the next Trump administration?
Elon Musk embraces Donald Trump during a campaign rally in October.Credit: Getty Images
Who is Susie Wiles?
Upon Trump’s inauguration next year, Susie Wiles, 67, will become the first woman to hold the role of chief of staff to the president, and arguably the most powerful woman in Washington. Wiles has served conservatives well over the years, especially in Florida, where she helped win the state as local campaign manager for Trump in 2016 and 2020, and for Governor Ron DeSantis in 2018. Wiles was co-manager of the national Trump 2024 campaign.
The grandmother, who Trump affectionately calls “Ice Baby” and who rarely appears publicly, has served as a lobbyist for tobacco company Swisher International, and held a key role with lobbying firm Mercury, whose clients include Elon Musk’s SpaceX and telecommunications giant AT&T.
During Trump’s last administration, the president cycled through four chiefs of staff, so the role is anything but secure.
Who is Matt Gaetz?
A member of the House of Representatives since 2017, Gaetz, 42, is a firebrand conservative and Trump loyalist who has faced his fair share of controversy. Now selected to take on the role of attorney general, Gaetz will usher core Trump policies relating to reproductive health and immigration, and a promised restructuring of the justice system.
Gaetz’s career has been nothing short of torrid. While serving in the state legislature, Gaetz was alleged to have been part of a sex competition in which lawmakers won points for sleeping with various political staffers, lobbyists and politicians. Gaetz was also investigated for sex-trafficking crimes that included allegations of sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl. The Florida congressman was not charged and has maintained his innocence.
Gaetz was instrumental in the removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House in October 2023, after corralling the far-right vote in the house to vote against the leader.
Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
The last time Tulsi Gabbard, 43, stood at centre stage was during her unsuccessful run for the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. The Iraq war veteran and congresswoman from Hawaii was a strong sceptic of both Kamala Harris’ 2020 campaign and a number of her own party’s policies under the Obama administration.
Her own 2020 campaign was marred by her history of advocacy against LGBTQ+ rights, and she rarely received more than 5 per cent in the polls. Ultimately, Gabbard dropped out of the 2020 primaries, endorsed Joe Biden, and later left the Democratic Party.
Since leaving political office, Gabbard has changed her allegiance to the Republican Party, espoused more conservative views on issues such as reproductive rights, and campaigned for right-wing politicians. She is now set to take on the role of director of national intelligence.
Donald Trump campaigns with Tulsi Gabbard in Detroit in August.Credit: AP
Who is Mike Waltz?
Mike Waltz, 50, is an unsurprising pick for the role of national security adviser. The Florida congressman is seen as being particularly tough on China and Iran, and has been a fixture on Fox News coverage of foreign affairs. The Afghanistan veteran and Green Beret has been one of Trump’s strongest supporters and advocated for overturning the results of the 2020 election.
He has been vocal on US foreign affairs, and was a strong critic of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. A former Pentagon policy adviser and counterterrorism adviser to vice president Dick Cheney, Waltz will face a number of key geopolitical challenges in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, and has vowed to remove “woke priorities” from the military’s agenda.
Who is Tom Homan?
The former head of the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, Tom Homan, 62, has been tipped as the Trump administration’s border tsar. The role is critical to the implementation of key election promises including mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
The former Fox News contributor and Project 2025 co-author came out of political retirement to take on this new role, after a decades-long career in immigration where he was reportedly an early advocate of family separations. Homan served in the previous Trump administration as director of immigration enforcement.
Who is Marco Rubio?
The son of Cuban migrants, Marco Rubio, 53, has been picked to take on the role of secretary of state, the first Latino to serve in this role. As a senator for Florida since 2011, Rubio has been vocally critical of China and has been sanctioned twice by the superpower.
His appointment comes after a spotty history with the president-elect. During the 2016 Republican primaries, where they were both candidates, Rubio and Trump clashed repeatedly. Rubio attacked Trump’s character, repeating accusations that his business employed undocumented immigrants, while Trump regularly referred to Rubio as “Little Marco”.
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Over the past eight years, their relationship has reportedly improved, and Rubio was a strong supporter of Trump’s recent campaigns, including during the fallout of a racist joke told during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.
Who is John Ratcliffe?
Another staunch Trump ally and former director of national intelligence during the first Trump administration, John Ratcliffe, 59, has been selected to direct the CIA. Praised by Trump for his role in “exposing fake Russian collusion” in the 2016 election, Ratcliffe also worked to pursue investigations into Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, while serving as a Texas congressman.
During the previous Trump administration, Ratcliffe was seen as too partisan and not experienced enough to serve as director of national intelligence, and only took on the position after his second nomination.
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Who is Pete Hegseth?
A Fox News host, former infantry captain in the Army National Guard and failed Senate candidate, 44-year-old Pete Hegseth, has been appointed as secretary of defence. Championing conservatism in the army, Hegseth has spoken out against “woke” Pentagon policies, claiming he left the army in 2021 after being deemed too extreme.
Hegseth, who co-anchored one of Trump’s favourite chat shows, Fox & Friends, does not have the senior military or national security experience typically expected of this role, and will inherit the position in a time of heightened global tension.
Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?
A biotech investor and Trump ally who supported conspiracy theories claiming the January 6 Capitol riots were an inside job, Vivek Ramaswamy, 39, will support Elon Musk in the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. Tasked with dismantling bureaucracy and regulation, the department intends to work until 2026 to minimise the size of the American government.
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a campaign rally in October.Credit: AP
Ramaswamy unsuccessfully ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, after starting a firm aimed at pressuring companies to abandon environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives.
His presidential campaign was buffeted by revelations that the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion candidate had accepted a Soros family scholarship for members of immigrant households while at college.
Who are Trump’s other appointments?
A number of other appointments have been made, including New York representatives Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador and Lee Zeldin as head of the Environmental Protection Agency; speechwriter and former Trump adviser Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy; former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel; real estate investor Steven Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East; former cabinet secretary William McGinley as White House counsel; and anti-COVID-19 lockdown advocate and Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem as head of the Homeland Security Department.
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