Trump’s Cabinet Nominees
November 26, 2024
What’s happening: The Trump transition team has begun to announce its appointments for the new administration taking office in January.
Listed below are the main appointments for cabinet and high-level positions. All of these require Senate confirmation, and some nominees are already facing reported opposition in the Senate.
The Trump team has announced these nominees sooner than they did in his first term. It remains to be seen who will make it through the Senate confirmation process as some have already stirred controversy.
Click on each nominee’s name below to learn more about them.
- Secretary of State: Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
- Secretary of Treasury: Scott Bessent
- Attorney General: Pam Bondi
- Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth
- Secretary of Interior: Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND)
- Secretary of Agriculture: Brooke Rollins
- Secretary of Commerce: Howard Lutnick
- Secretary of Labor: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR)
- Secretary of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Secretary of Housing & Urban Development: Scott Turner
- Secretary of Transportation: Former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)
- Secretary of Energy: Chris Wright
- Secretary of Education: Linda McMahon
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA)
- CIA Director: Former Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX)
- Secretary of Homeland Security: Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD)
- Environmental Protection Agency: Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY)
- Office of Management & Budget: Russ Vought
- Director of National Intelligence: Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
- Ambassador to the United Nations: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
- Ambassador to NATO: Matt Whitaker
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid: Mehmet Oz (Dr. Oz)
- FCC Chair: Brendan Carr
What’s next: The incoming Senate will consider these nominees in January, with some potentially winning confirmations prior to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. While Republicans control the Senate, nominees may withdraw if they expect to encounter opposition before an actual vote.
- Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has already withdrawn his name from consideration to be Attorney General, with attorney Pam Bondi as Trump’s next pick.
- Gaetz cited the distraction he was causing to the incoming Trump administration for his decision to bow out, and at least four GOP senators had expressed opposition to his nomination.
- The last time the Senate rejected a nominee that made it to a vote was George H. W. Bush’s Secretary of Defense nominee John Tower.
- For a comprehensive list of cabinet-level nominees who were announced and withdrawn, or rejected, throughout U.S. history, click here.
The bottom line: While a number of key roles have been announced, there are also plenty of regulatory roles and other appointees to be named. Often, a cabinet-level appointee may influence certain regulatory appointments (e.g., the Treasury Secretary may influence financial regulator picks). Look for these to be announced in the coming months:
- FBI Director
- Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
- Small Business Administration
- United States Trade Representative
Please contact James Montfort (Jmontfort@crefc.org) with any questions.