After winning the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump’s next big move is to fill his Cabinet with the right leaders that will reinforce his agenda over the next four years.
There are several candidates rumored for each post, but the following individuals are the most talked-about contenders for the top positions:
Secretary of State
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who was a leading contender on Trump’s short-list for vice president, has been floated for the Secretary of State role.
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Rubio currently serves as vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and senior member of the Committee on Foreign Relations – leading on various initiatives that seek to bolster national security.
The Florida senator didn’t rule out taking a position in the administration during a post-election interview.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, appears onstage with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) (R) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders during a campaign rally at the J.S. Dorton Arena on November 4, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Chip Somodevilla)
“I always am interested in serving this country,” Rubio told CNN. “I haven’t had any set conversations with anybody in the Trump administration. Either way, I plan to work with them, whether it’s in the Senate, which is an important place to be, or in some other capacity.”
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Sen. Bill Hagerty’s, R-Tenn., name is also being tossed as a potential pick for the Cabinet. Hagerty served as former ambassador to Japan under Trump and has pushed back on the foreign policies of the Biden-Harris administration.
Former Trump national security advisor Robert O’Brien is also in contention for the role, Fox News Digital was told. Since leaving the Trump administration, he went on to co-found the international policy advisory firm American Global Strategies.
Fox News Digital was told that Richard Grenell is also eyeing the position. Grenell is the former ambassador to Germany and former acting director of national intelligence under Trump. He’s also a potential pick for National Security Advisor.
Secretary of Defense
Combat-decorated Green Beret Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., could be tapped to lead America’s defense agency.
Waltz, who previously was CEO of defense contractor Metis Solutions and Pentagon defense policy director under Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, serves on the House China Task Force coordinating policy on China and working to reduce American reliance on Chinese minerals.
US Representative Mike Waltz, Republican of Florida, speaks during a hearing of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, September 26, 2024. (Mandel Ngan)
Walz serves as the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and a member of the Oversight and Accountability Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could return to run the defense agency after serving during Trump’s first term.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was being floated for the role but took his name out of consideration for a Cabinet position, a source close to the Republican senator told Fox News.
Department of Homeland Security
Chad Wolf previously served as the acting secretary of Homeland Security under Trump during his first term.
Wolf currently works as America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) executive director, chief strategy officer, and chair of the Center for Homeland Security & Immigration.
Tom Homan, former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, is also a contender. Homan is a former police officer and visiting fellow at the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation.
Attorney General
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, an attorney who previously specialized in Supreme Court litigation, served as law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, and then with future Supreme Court Justice Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Lee has supported Trump throughout his 2024 campaign, slamming the “Democratic Party establishment” for the criminal cases against the president-elect in an interview with Fox.
U.S. Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, joins House Freedom Caucus members for a news conference on the national debt ceiling at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in March 2023. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
While on the campaign trail, Trump said he would consider Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the AG position. Paxton has been a staunch supporter of Trump throughout his challenges to the 2020 election and legal battles.
The day before the election, Paxton filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit supporting claims that special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegally appointed by the DOJ.
Matt Whitiker served as the acting attorney general for a year during Trump’s first term. Prior to taking on the role, Whitiker served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and then as chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Department of Energy
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who was a leading contender to be Trump’s vice president, is reportedly being considered to head the department of energy.
Burgum currently leads one of the top energy producing states in the country and has championed “innovation over regulation” on energy policy, saying that the U.S. needs to bolster oil production and not rely on foreign oil. In his speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), Burgum focused heavily on American energy dominance.
Republican North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum during the GOP’s second debate earlier this year. (Robyn Beck)
Former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette could return to his post in the energy department he led for 2 years during Trump’s first term. Brouillette recently stepped down as president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI’s).
Department of Interior
Trump could reassign his former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to lead the agency for another four years.
Also rumored for the position is Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has fought the Biden administration on energy over the years.
Department of Education
Trump has said that he is going to close the Department of Education when he takes office.
Former United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos could come back to serve another four years in the role under Trump’s second term.
While on the campaign trail, Trump suggested former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy or former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin could be chosen to lead the administration on education.
Department of the Treasury
Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent has worked as a top economic adviser to Trump. “I’m going to do whatever president Trump asks,” he told CNBC when asked about a potential Cabinet position.
Scott Bessent, founder and chief executive officer of Key Square Group LP, at an interview during the Republican National Convention (RNC) near the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Vincent Alban)
John Paulson, also a billionaire hedge fund manager, recently told the Wall Street Journal that if appointed, he would work with Elon Musk to cut spending and extend the former president’s 2017 tax cuts.
Other contenders include Jay Clayton, who previously chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump, and Robert Lighthizer, who previously worked as Trump’s United States Trade Representative (USTR). Lighthizer currently serves as the Chair of the Center for American Trade at AFPI.
Chief of Staff
Susie Wiles, a longtime political strategist who worked closely with Trump as a senior adviser to his 2024 campaign, has been floated as a contender for chief of staff.
During his victory speech, Trump thanked Wiles for her role in the campaign. Wiles has been a player in Republican politics for several decades, working on former President Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1980.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was previously floated as a possible contender for the role but recently told The Guy Benson Show that he would not take the position if it was offered. However, McCarthy did suggest that Wiles would be great for the role.
Ambassador to United Nations
House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., one of the first lawmakers in Congress to endorse Trump for re-election, is angling for the role of ambassador to the United Nations, Fox News Digital is told.
That job was previously held by Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.
Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt worked as the national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 campaign. Leavitt served as Trump’s White House assistant press secretary before running to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District in the 2022 midterms.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a Turning Point Action campaign rally at the Gas South Arena on Oct. 23, 2024 in Duluth, Ga. (Anna Moneymaker)
Also expected to have significant roles in the administration are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk.
RFK will likely work in redesigning America’s health agencies, recently telling MSNBC he would get rid of “entire departments” within the FDA.
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Trump teased that Musk could take on a role as “Secretary of Cost-Cutting” in his administration.
Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
