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 people Trump is reported to be considering or has chosen for critical Cabinet posts and top White House jobs.
Within a day of winning the election, Trump announced his campaign co-chair Susie Wiles would be his chief of staff. Wiles, an experienced Florida-based political operative based, will be the first woman in U.S. history to fill the role. Chief of staff isn’t a Senate-confirmed position, but it’s a prestigious position often considered to be part of the Cabinet.
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By Kathryn Watson
Trump is expected to nominate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to be secretary of state, though the pick isn’t a done deal, two sources familiar with the talks tell CBS News.
Evan Vucci / AP
Rubio, 53, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is a China hawk with extensive foreign policy experience.
By Fin Gomez, Ed O’Keefe and Margaret Brennan
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.
Stefanik withdrew from the renomination race to be conference chair, confirming in a letter to her GOP colleagues she had spoken with Trump and “shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination.”
The role of U.N. ambassador requires Senate confirmation.
By Fin Gomez and Nikole Killion
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.
This role does not require Senate confirmation.
Homan was recently interviewed by 60 Minutes’ Cecilia Vega before the election. During the conversation, he said Trump’s plan for mass deportation would be implemented.
“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.”
Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican, is expected to be named national security adviser, two sources familiar with the plans said.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Waltz, a Green Beret veteran who served multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, was elected to Congress in 2018, replacing Ron DeSantis who had been elected Florida’s governor.
Waltz, a China hawk, serves on the House China Task Force that aims to develop solutions to address the Chinese Communist Party’s influence. He has also been skeptical of giving more aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion.
By Ed O’Keefe and Sara Cook
Two sources familiar with the transition discussions confirm to CBS News that President-elect Trump is expected to name South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his pick to run DHS.
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Noem, who was elected governor in 2018 after serving eight years in the House, endorsed Trump’s reelection bid in 2023 and joined him at a number of campaign rallies. She had been considered a potential pick for vice president earlier in the campaign.
Noem sparked controversy earlier this year when her new book, “No Going Back,” falsely claimed she had met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and revealed that she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog Cricket after failures at training.
By Major Garrett and Fin Gomez
Trump announced that he will nominate former New York Republican congressman Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. 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,” Trump said in a statement Monday, Nov. 11.
Zeldin tweeted, “It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator.”
Zeldin represented New York’s 1st Congressional District, on Long Island, from 2015 to 2023, and he ran for governor in 2022 but was defeated by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Several names have been floated to lead the Department of Defense, but a choice has not yet been confirmed.
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.
Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Trump’s former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is also being floated for Treasury secretary.
Drew Angerer / Getty Images
By Bob Costa, Major Garrett and Olivia Rinaldi
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
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
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.
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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
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 60, was floated early on 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.”
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.
Brian Hook
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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 to comment.
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 to comment.
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 to comment.
By Margaret Brennan
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Alexander Tin and
contributed to this report.
