Homeland Security Secretary: Kristi Noem
Longtime Trump loyalist and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was selected to head the Department of Homeland Security, a key role in any Trump plan to restrict immigration or deport undocumented migrants en masse as he has promised.
In her memoir, Noem recounted having shot dead an “untrainable” pet dog after a hunting excursion gone awry. The 52-year-old has said her action showed she was able to make tough choices.
UN ambassador: Elise Stefanik
New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a fierce Trump ally and pro-Israel stalwart, was Trump’s pick for US ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik will represent the administration at the UN as the world body grapples with the war in Ukraine as well as Israel’s bombardments of Gaza and Lebanon.
National Security Advisor: Mike Waltz
Congressman and former special forces officer Mike Waltz has been named by Trump to be his national security advisor, tasked with handling foreign policy challenges including the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon.
Waltz is critical of both China, which he has said is an “existential” threat to the United States, and of Russia — while arguing that Washington should cease supporting Ukraine’s war effort in favor of Trump’s so-far vague promise of a negotiated settlement.
Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee
Trump has called on former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to be US ambassador to Israel, where he has traveled several times over the years.
Trump has said the Christian pastor-turned-politician “loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him.”
In 2017, Huckabee was present in Maale Adumim for the expansion of one of Israel’s largest settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“There’s no such thing as a settlement; they’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation,” he told CNN at the time.
Others
Lee Zeldin has been selected to head the Environmental Protection Agency, with a mandate to slash climate and pollution regulations.
Veteran immigration official Tom Homan will be the country’s “border czar”, with Trump saying Homan would be in charge of “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin.”
Susie Wiles, Trump’s election campaign chief, has been named as his chief of staff.
Trump also announced he was choosing his former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
Reported nominations
Secretary of State: Marco Rubio
Multiple US media have said Trump is expected to tap Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, setting the stage for an existential battle against China.
Rubio has said China “doesn’t just seek to be the most powerful nation in the world, they seek to reorient the world.”
He is also a fervent supporter of Israel and a longtime critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Treasury Secretary: Scott Bessent
Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, a key donor and advisor, is viewed as the top candidate for treasury secretary, in charge of pushing through Trump’s agenda of low taxes, less regulation and high tariffs.