A running list of all the people Trump has picked to serve in his administration
President-elect Donald Trump has been rolling out staffing decisions for his incoming administration, naming some of his top allies to prominent positions in his Cabinet and beyond.
With a slew of dramatic changes expected in his second term, Trump will rely on his band of loyalists to carry out his agenda. Here are all the staffing announcements Trump has made for his second term so far.
Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
Wiles, who worked on all three of Trump’s presidential campaigns, will be the first woman to hold the position in the Oval Office. But it is a notoriously challenging role under Trump, who cycled through four chiefs of staff in his first term.
Wiles, the 67-year-old daughter of the late NFL legend Pat Summerall, is the only campaign manager to have lasted an entire Trump campaign, according to The New York Times.
Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff for policy
Trump is expected to announce Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy, which would likely task an immigration hardliner to the job of implementing Trump’s mass deportation plan.
Trump’s team did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for confirmation, but JD Vance, the vice president-elect, appeared to confirm CNN’s reporting of the news in a post on X on Monday.
Miller served as a senior White House adviser in the first Trump administration. He’s widely considered to be one of the chief architects of the first Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban, which sought to restrict U.S. travel and immigration from several countries with large Muslim populations.
Rep. Mike Waltz, national security adviser
Waltz, a Florida Republican, is a Trump loyalist who has echoed Trump’s complaint about a “woke” military. He is a member of the House Armed Services, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees. He also served in the Defense Department during the George W. Bush administration and was a counter-terrorism adviser to then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
Waltz is widely seen as hawkish on China. A member of the House’s China Task Force, he has argued that the U.S. is not sufficiently prepared for a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
The highly influential role does not require Senate confirmation.
Tom Homan, border czar
Homan, a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, will play a major role in carrying out the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda.
Trump has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he would enact “the largest deportation program in American history,” a plan that would pose monumental logistical, financial and personnel challenges. Trump told NBC News last week that there would be no “price tag” on his mass deportation plan.
Earlier this year, Homan said if Trump wins the election, he’d be on Trump’s “heels” and “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Homan — who was significantly involved in the first Trump administration’s family separation policy — said ICE would implement Trump’s deportation program in a “humane manner.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency administrator
In a statement released on Nov. 11, Trump said he will appoint Zeldin, a New York Republican, to lead the EPA.
“He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet,” Trump said in his statement.
The president-elect has vowed to roll back President Joe Biden’s climate regulation policies, and he has said he will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Zeldin has little experience with environmental regulation, but he has similarly criticized Biden’s climate policies and voted against the Paris accords in the House.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Stefanik, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in the House, will be nominated as United Nations ambassador.
As my colleague Hayes Brown has pointed out, the New York Republican has little diplomatic experience other than her vocal support for Israel in Congress. She has also criticized the U.N. over the organization’s opposition to Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza.
Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel
Trump announced on Tuesday that he will appoint Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, as ambassador to Israel. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
Huckabee has been a vocal defender of Israel’s war on Hamas. He has also advocated against a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying that Israel should “eradicate them.”
Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East
Trump picked Witkoff, a New York real estate investor and golf buddy of the president-elect, to serve as his special envoy to the Middle East.
“Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous,” Trump said in a statement announcing his selection.
Witkoff, who is Jewish, helped recruit pro-Israel donors to Trump’s campaign. “I personally received and helped secure large Jewish donors,” he told The Bulwark in May, adding: “[A]nd I’m not talking four-figure donations. I’m talking six-figure and seven-figure donations.”
He is also co-chairing Trump’s inaugural committee alongside former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, the Trump campaign has said.
John Ratcliffe, CIA director
Trump tapped Ratcliffe, who served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, to serve as the head of the CIA in his second administration.
Critics accused Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas, of politicizing national intelligence during his time as the DNI.
He is currently a co-chair of the Center for American Security at the Trump-aligned group America First Policy Institute.
Pete Hegseth, Defense secretary
Trump nominated Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army veteran, to lead the Defense Department.
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said in a statement. He continued: “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.
The 44-year-old Minnesota native has falsely claimed Democrats created variants of the Covid-19 virus for political purposes.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
