With Republicans taking control of the Senate, many of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees are likely to face an easy path to confirmation, even some who may be controversial.
Here are some of the possible people Trump is considering or has chosen for critical Cabinet posts and top White House jobs.
White House chief of staff
Susie Wiles
The day after he was declared president-elect, Trump announced his campaign co-chair Susie Wiles would be his chief of staff. Wiles, an experienced political operative based in Florida, will be the first woman in U.S. history to fill the role. Chief of staff is not a Senate-confirmed position, but it is a prestigious position often considered to be part of the Cabinet.
Alex Brandon / AP
By Kathryn Watson
Secretary of State
A source with knowledge of the discussions says GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee is under consideration for secretary of state, but so are a number of other candidates.
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Hagerty was the U.S. ambassador to Japan under Trump from 2017 until 2019, when he stepped aside to run for his current Senate seat.
By Margaret Brennan
Secretary of Defense
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 60, was floated as a contender to lead the Defense Department, according to two sources familiar with the process.
However, in a post to his Truth Social platform Saturday, Trump indicated that Pompeo would not be joining the White House. In his post, Trump also said Nikki Haley — who served as U.S ambassador to the United Nations in his first administration, and ran against him in the Republican presidential primary — would not be joining it either.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote. “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country.”
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Pompeo has extensive experience in the Trump administration and in dealing with Trump himself. He was both secretary of state and CIA director in the first Trump administration. He served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain prior to the Berlin Wall falling, before enrolling in Harvard Law School. He also served in Congress from 2011 to 2017.
By James LaPorta and Robert Costa
Treasury secretary
Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Scott Bessent, the founder of a Connecticut-based hedge fund, Key Square Group, is a leading contender for Treasury secretary, and he’s been making a full-court press for the post, according to a source deeply involved in transition planning. Bessent has outside advocates building the case for him to Trump.
Drew Angerer / Getty Images
Trump’s former U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer is also being floated for treasury secretary.
By Bob Costa, Major Garrett and Olivia Rinaldi
Commerce secretary
Linda McMahon, who served as small business administrator in Trump’s first term and is a former WWE CEO, is a top contender to lead the Department of Commerce, multiple sources familiar with discussions about the role say.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“It is hers if she wants it,” one senior Trump official said, adding that she is close to Trump and he trusts her.
McMahon also is co-chairwoman of the pro-Trump super PAC America First Policy Action, and is helping run the transition team with Trump’s friend, Howard Lutnick.
By Major Garrett and Fin Gomez
CIA director
Former U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe, the former Director of National Intelligence under the first Trump administration, is a top name being floated for CIA director, according to several sources familiar with the discussions.
ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
By Major Garrett and Robert Costa
U.N. ambassador
Elise Stefanik
President-elect Donald Trump has offered the job of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to Rep. Elise Stefanik, and the New York Republican has accepted the offer, a senior source close to the presidential transition confirmed to CBS News.
ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images
Stefanik, who represents a district in upstate New York, is a vocal and staunch Trump ally and the No. 4 House Republican as chair of the House Republican Conference,
“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to CBS News. The choice of Stefanik was first reported by the New York Post and CNN.
The role of U.N. ambassador does not require Senate confirmation.
By Fin Gomez and Nikole Killion
“Border czar”
Tom Homan
Trump announced Tom Homan will serve as “border czar” in his incoming administration. Homan was the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration.
60 Minutes
“I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders,” the president-elect wrote late Sunday, Nov. 10, on his Truth Social site.
In addition to overseeing the southern and northern borders and “maritime, and aviation security,” Trump said Homan “will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin” — a major theme of Trump’s campaign.
Such a role would not require Senate confirmation.
Homan was recently interviewed by 60 Minutes’ Cecilia Vega before the election. During the conversation, he addressed Trump’s plan for mass deportation.
“I hear a lot of people say, you know, the talk of a mass deportation is racist. It’s— it’s— it’s threatening to the immigrant community. It’s not threatening to the immigrant community,” Homan said. “It should be threatening to the illegal immigrant community. But on the heels of [a] historic illegal immigration crisis. That has to be done.”
Department of Homeland Security
Homan’s name had previously been floated for DHS secretary, according to multiple sources familiar with the transition discussions.
Chad Wolf, the former acting DHS Secretary under Trump’s first administration, is another name being raised by Trump insiders as a top contender for DHS secretary, according to two sources close to the transition.
Greg Nash / Getty Images
“Look, I’m happy to serve if the president should ask, I think it’s an honor to do that,” Wolf told NewsNation in a recent interview.
“Not only for the president but for the country, so happy to serve if needed,” he said.
Wolf and Homan were at the top of the list according to a source close to the transition, but the source reiterated it is still early in the process and official vetting will begin next week.
By Fin Gomez and Nicole Sganga
Possible role for RFK Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being floated by some Trump allies to serve as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services, multiple people close to the president-elect’s campaign say. Kennedy is scheduled to meet with Trump’s senior team next week, but a role in the administration is still unclear, according to a Trump source familiar with the discussions.
REBECCA NOBLE / Getty Images
The hope among Kennedy’s backers that he could be nominated to lead the department has grown in recent days after Republicans cemented control of the Senate.
Kennedy ran for president as an independent but dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump.
By Fin Gomez and Alex Tin
Trump’s family members
As of yet, it’s unclear whether any of Trump’s family members will work in his administration. In his first term, both daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner worked in the White House, but they’ve taken a step back from involvement in their father’s political work.
Who is running Trump’s national security transition team
Brian Hook
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit
Hook, a former U.S. special representative to Iran during Trump’s first term and an aide to both Pompeo and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, is part of the State Department transition team. He has been working on policy for months and meeting with foreign diplomats, but official transition meetings with the Biden-Harris team have not yet happened. The Trump team has not yet signed a memorandum of understanding, which is an agreement with the General Services Administration to receive assistance and funding from the GSA with the transition process.
Hook maintains U.S. taxpayer-funded diplomatic security protection because of ongoing threats against him from Iran and the 2020 assassination Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
He declined comment when reached by CBS News.
By Margaret Brennan
Joel Rayburn
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
Rayburn, former special envoy to Syria, as well as deputy assistant secretary for Levant Affairs and Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon under Trump, is also back and working on the National Security Council transition team.
He declined comment when reached by CBS News.
By Margaret Brennan
Michael Anton
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Anton, a former NSC spokesperson and deputy national security adviser during the Trump administration, is also working on the NSC transition team.
He declined comment when reached by CBS News.
By Margaret Brennan
Margaret Brennan and
contributed to this report.
