President-elect Donald Trump is picking key Cabinet positions with an eye on installing loyalists and enacting an aggressive second-term agenda focused on hefty tariffs and mass deportations. 

Trump has announced a few senior staff and Cabinet picks and is reportedly tapping more immigration hardliners and foreign policy hawks to serve in key national security roles.  

It’s still an open question of how diverse Trump’s Cabinet will be compared to his first, which was the least diverse presidential Cabinet in decades, with White men serving in the bulk of Cabinet posts and senior staff positions in the White House.

Of the nearly 40 Senate-confirmed Cabinet officials in the first Trump term, eight were women, and three were women of color. Trump’s first Cabinet included just one Latino, Alex Acosta as secretary of labor, and one Black man, Ben Carson as secretary of housing and urban development. Under Trump, only White men served in the four “inner Cabinet” positions of attorney general and secretaries of state, defense and treasury. 

Trump’s first Cabinet also experienced high levels of turnover and churn. The tumult was especially pronounced in his administration’s final months and weeks, as several top officials quit over Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, insurrection. 

It’s a contrast with the outgoing Biden administration, which has prioritized diversity in Cabinet officials and political appointees. Of the two dozen currently serving Senate-confirmed and acting Cabinet-level officials under Biden, just seven are White men. Biden’s appointees have included several firsts, including the first Black secretary of defense and the first Native person to serve in a presidential Cabinet. 

Here’s what we know so far about Trump’s Cabinet and senior staff picks:

Announced by Trump:  

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights: Harmeet K. Dhillon

Trump will nominate Harmeet K. Dhillon, former vice chair of the California GOP, as the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice. The division enforces federal protections on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion and national origin.

Dhillon gained national attention in 2020 after filing more than a dozen lawsuits for conservative clients against the state of California, challenging COVID-19 restrictions. In 2023, Dhillon represented Tucker Carlson in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News producer.

Dhillon served as a legal adviser for the 2020 Trump campaign. Additionally, she was the co-chairwoman of Lawyers for Trump, a group that challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“In her new role at the DOJ, Harmeet will be a tireless defender of our Constitutional Rights, and will enforce our Civil Rights and Election Laws fairly and firmly,” Trump wrote in a statement on X.

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Eric Dreiband; John M. Gore; Thomas E. Wheeler II

Small Business Administrator: Kelly Loeffler

Loeffler, who represented Georgia in the Senate for just over a year before losing in a January 2021 runoff and supported Trump’s false claims of election problems in her state, is Trump’s pick to run the Small Business Administration. She’s a former financial company executive and former part owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. “She will focus on ensuring that SBA is accountable to Taxpayers by cracking down on waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach,” Trump said in announcing Loeffler as his pick for the SBA. She’s also a co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee.

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Linda McMahon, Jovita Carranza

Director of the FBI: Kash Patel

Trump is looking to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray, his own pick for the position in 2017, for Kash Patel, a staunch supporter who has suggested he would disband the bureau. Wray still has three years left on his 10-year term.

A deeply contentious pick, Patel previously served as chief of staff to then-President Trump’s acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. His nomination would likely force Wray to resign or prompt Trump to fire him. The choice follows a trend of controversial selections whose qualifications may be lighter than their loyalty to the president-elect. 

Patel has vowed to “come after” members of the media. “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media. Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections — we’re going to come after you,” Patel said on a podcast hosted by Steven Bannon last December, referring to the lie that Trump won the 2020 presidential election. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice.” 

The position of FBI director has long been seen as less politicized than other high-profile nominations, and presidents have not replaced FBI directors before their decade-long terms expired in an effort to keep them above the partisan fray.

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: James Comey, Christopher Wray

Director of the National Institutes of Health: Jay Bhattacharya

Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to be director of the National Institutes of Health, which is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.

Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford University. He also directs the university’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging and has researched the epidemiology of COVID-19. He was previously an economist at the RAND Corporation.

During the pandemic, Bhattacharya was an early opponent of lockdowns put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus. In 2020, he was one of three lead authors of the Great Barrington Declaration stating that young low-risk adults should be able to live normally. The following year, he co-authored an editorial that stated “excessive COVID fears fomented by lockdowns drove the decline in mobility and economic activity.”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Francis S. Collins

Secretary of Agriculture: Brooke Rollins

Brooke Rollins, the president of the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute,  has been tapped to lead the Department of Agriculture. The agency is responsible for the country’s food supply, farming and ranching policy, and federal programs aimed at eliminating hunger. It also manages the U.S. Forest Service. Rollins, a lawyer from Texas with no experience in agriculture, served in the first Trump administration in a few different roles, including as the director of the Domestic Policy Council. The institute she currently heads advocates for policies that reduce government spending and limit public welfare programs. As the agriculture secretary she could influence how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, administers food stamps. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Sonny Perdue

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Scott Turner

Former NFL player and White House official Scott Turner has been selected to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. During Trump’s first term, Turner served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which sought to encourage investment in economically distressed communities designated as “opportunity zones” by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

If confirmed as HUD secretary, Turner would oversee a staff responsible for shaping policy on low-income housing programs, housing discrimination issues and projects aimed at community development.

Throughout Trump’s first term, his administration proposed large cuts to federal affordable housing programs and funding that keeps housing units safe and comfortable for residents. During his reelection campaign, Trump said he wants to lower housing costs by ending illegal immigration. He has also said that “the homeless have no right to turn every park and sidewalk into a place for them to squat and do drugs.”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Ben Carson

Secretary of Labor: Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Trump nominated Chavez-DeRemer, a pro-union Republican who recently represented Oregon in Congress, to lead the Department of Labor. She lost her reelection bid in the House, but her campaign was backed by about two dozen unions. While in Congress, she was one of only three House Republicans to back the PRO Act, a bill that would strengthen workers’ rights to organize and curtail retaliation from their employers. She also supported the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would expand collective bargaining rights for government workers. 

In the past, Trump has typically considered and chosen pro-business leaders to head the department — as opposed to someone more focused on workers’ rights, wages and conditions. 

“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump said on social media. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Alexander Acosta, Eugene Scalia

Secretary of Treasury: Scott Bessent

Trump has nominated Bessent, a hedge fund manager who would be the first out gay member of Trump’s Cabinet, for Treasury secretary. If he gets the role, Bessent will likely carry out Trump’s campaign promises to raise tariffs to incentivize companies to manufacture goods in the United States. Many economists have warned that raising tariffs will lead to increased costs to consumers, which may impact low-income families and women the most. Bessent is the billionaire founder of Key Square Capital Management, a global investment firm, and previously the chief investment officer at the hedge fund Soros Fund Management. This election cycle alone, he donated more than $1 million to Trump political action committees.

“For too long, the conventional wisdom has rejected the use of tariffs as a tool of both economic and foreign policy,” Bessent wrote in a November op-ed. “We should not be afraid to use the power of tariffs to improve the livelihoods of American families and businesses.”  

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Steven Mnuchin

Director of Office of Management and Budget: Russell T. Vought

Trump has nominated one of the key authors of Project 2025, Russell Vought, to lead the Office of Management and Budget, which crafts the budget and wrangles agencies to deliver on the president’s agenda. Vought’s selection suggests that while Trump sought to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail, many of the minds behind the conservative blueprint will have leading roles in his second term. In Project 2025, and in interviews and statements, Vought argued for the expansion of presidential power over federal agencies and the military, including challenging the Federal Reserve’s autonomy and using the military to carry out deportations and quiet civil unrest. In a hidden-camera video of Vought, he said he wants to “make sure that we can say we are a Christian nation,” including by pursuing conservative policies on abortion and pornography, and challenging the construction of mosques in the country’s downtowns. He also said that the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a White police officer were “obviously not about race,” but rather about “destabilizing” the Trump administration. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Vought held the job in the second half of Trump’s first term; Mark Sandy; Mick Mulvaney

Attorney General: Pam Bondi

Trump has named Pam Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general and a longtime ally, for the nation’s top law enforcement role. Bondi replaces former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who withdrew his nomination under mounting pressure for the release of a House Ethics Committee report over sex trafficking allegations, which he has consistently denied.  Bondi has publicly defended Trump throughout his various legal woes and repeated false claims about election fraud in the 2020 election. She was a special adviser for Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment process. Bondi became the first woman to serve as Florida’s attorney general in 2011, a post she occupied for eight years. Prior to that, she was an assistant state attorney in Hillsborough County, Florida. If confirmed as Trump’s attorney general, Bondi would be the third woman to hold the position.

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr

Secretary of Education: Linda McMahon

McMahon headed up Trump’s Small Business Administration in his first term and then was a co-chair of his transition before being named to head the Education Department. She also chairs the America First Policy Institute, a think tank that works to advance Trump’s public policy platform. McMahon, with her husband, is a founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and has been named in a lawsuit involving wide-ranging claims of sexual misconduct. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Betsy DeVos

Secretary of Commerce: Howard Lutnick

Trump is naming Howard Lutnick, the chairman and CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, as his secretary of commerce. Lutnick, who has co-chaired Trump’s transition team, is now poised to oversee much of the Trump administration’s trade and domestic manufacturing agenda. “He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative,” Trump said. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Wilbur Ross

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator: Dr. Mehmet Oz

Trump announced that he’s picking Dr. Mehmet Oz to run the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and longtime television talk show host, unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania against Sen. John Fetterman. Oz’s show was nominated for 10 Emmy awards, but he’s also come under scrutiny for pushing false or baseless medical claims. In a statement, Trump said Oz will “work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Seema Verma

Secretary of Transportation: Former Rep. Sean Duffy 

Sean Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin, is Trump’s nominee for transportation secretary. Duffy, who has most recently been a co-host on Fox Business’ “The Bottom Line,” was previously a cast member on the 2000s reality show “The Real World.” “Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation,” Trump said in a statement. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Elaine Chao 

Secretary of Energy: Chris Wright 

Trump is tapping Chris Wright, an energy executive and the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy, as his nominee for energy secretary and a member of the National Council on Energy. Wright and Burgum, Trump said, “will drive U.S. Energy Dominance, which will drive down Inflation, win the A.I. arms race with China (and others), and expand American Diplomatic Power to end Wars all across the World.”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Rick Perry, Dan Brouillette 

Press Secretary: Karoline Leavitt 

Trump has tapped Leavitt, who worked in the White House press office in Trump’s first term and served as his 2024 campaign press secretary. Leavitt also previously ran for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire in 2022 but lost to Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt, who is currently 27, will be the youngest White House press secretary in history. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham and Kayleigh McEnany

Secretary of the Interior: Gov. Doug Burgum 

Trump is picking Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, who ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, as his interior secretary and the chair of his newly announced National Energy Council. “Doug Burgum will protect our Nation’s Natural Resources, restore our fabulous Oil and Gas advantage, and Make America, and its Energy, Dominant and Great Again!” Trump said in a statement. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Ryan Zinke, David Bernhardt 

Communications director: Stephen Cheung 

Trump has picked Cheung, who has worked for him in communications for much of the last eight years, as his White House communications director. Cheung worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign and ran rapid response for the White House in Trump’s first term before leaving to start his own firm, which did work for Trump’s 2020 campaign. Cheung served as Trump’s communications director on his 2024 campaign. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Michael Dubke, Anthony Scaramucci, Hope Hicks, Bill Shine and Stephanie Grisham 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Former Rep. Doug Collins 

Trump will nominate former Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia as his secretary of Veterans Affairs. Collins, who served in the Iraq War, is currently a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reverse Command. The former lawmaker defended Trump in his first impeachment trial, which centered on the then-president’s dealings with Ukraine, and unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2020. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: David Shulkin, Robert Wilkie

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump is tapping longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nation’s top health care official, he announced. In a statement, Trump said the department “will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.” Kennedy, who ran for president as an independent before dropping out and endorsing Trump, has long promoted debunked claims linking vaccines to childhood autism. Trump pledged to let Kennedy “go wild” with health policy. Citing unsubstantiated health risks, Kennedy is currently advocating for local health departments to remove fluoride from the supply of drinking water. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Tom Price and Alex Azar

Director of National Intelligence: Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard

Trump is nominating Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate who became a political independent before becoming a Republican and Trump surrogate this year, as director of national intelligence. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” he said. Gabbard has been criticized by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers for parroting Russian propaganda while in Congress and following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Dan Coats, John Ratcliffe 

Secretary of State: Sen. Marco Rubio 

Trump has picked Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida and his onetime political opponent in the 2016 Republican primary, as secretary of state, calling him “a Highly Respected Leader” and “a very powerful Voice for Freedom.” Rubio, a longtime China and Iran hawk, also played a key role in shaping the first Trump administration’s policy toward Latin American countries.

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo

Deputy chief of staff for policy: Stephen Miller 

Miller, an immigration hardliner and senior adviser to Trump, first entered the president-elect’s orbit as a speechwriter in his 2016 campaign. In the White House, Miller was an architect of the administration’s signature immigration policies, including the ban on immigration from majority-Muslim countries, restrictions on asylum and the separation of children from their parents at the border. Now, Trump has asked Miller to be a deputy chief of staff for policy with an even more expansive mandate than in Trump’s first term, CNN first reported. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Rick Dearborn and Chris Liddell

Secretary of Homeland Security: Gov. Kristi Noem 

Trump has picked Noem, a key ally and the governor of South Dakota, to run the Department of Homeland Security. Noem, who has scant national security experience, would be charged with running a sprawling department including several agencies governing immigration policy, the Transportation Security Agency and the Secret Service. In Trump’s first term, his secretaries of homeland security came under scrutiny for their role in the family separation policy. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: John F. Kelly, Kirstjen Nielsen and Chad Wolf (acting)  

White House counsel: Bill McGinley 

Trump is picking Bill McGinley as his top lawyer in the White House. McGinley previously served as Trump’s Cabinet secretary in his first term in office and has most recently been an outside counsel on election litigation for the Republican National Committee. In Trump’s first term, his White House counsels became embroiled in the investigations into Russian interference in 2016 and Trump’s two impeachments. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Don McGahn, Emmet Flood (acting) and Pat Cipollone 

“The Department of Government Efficiency”: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy 

Trump, as telegraphed in his presidential campaign, is enlisting two allies, the X owner Musk and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy, to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency” or “DOGE.” Because creating a new government agency requires congressional approval and funding, the “Department,” which Trump said could be “the Manhattan Project of our time,” appears to be more of an outside consultancy. It will, Trump said, “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” The department has until July 4, 2026, to complete its work. 

Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth

Trump announced he would seek to appoint “Fox & Friends” weekend co-host Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defense. Hegseth, a veteran who served in the Army National Guard, has been on Fox News for the past eight years and is the author of a bestselling book, but has no previous experience serving in government. In Trump’s first term, Hegseth successfully lobbied Trump to grant clemency to service members accused of war crimes. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: James Mattis, Mark Esper, Christopher Miller (acting) 

Director of the CIA: John Ratcliffe

Trump announced he’s tapping John Ratcliffe, who served as his director of national intelligence in his first term, as CIA director. The former congressman became a top ally of Trump’s in fighting against the Trump’s first impeachment. Weeks before the 2020 election, Ratcliffe garnered criticism for releasing material with unverified claims about 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton that the Senate Intelligence Committee and other officials had previously dismissed. 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel 

Border czar: Thomas Homan 

Trump is bringing back Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in his first term, as a border czar, a non-Senate-confirmed position. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said that Homan’s role would cover “the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security” and that Homan will also “be in charge of all Deportation” of undocumented immigrants. 

National Security Adviser: Rep. Michael Waltz 

Trump is tapping Michael Waltz, a House member from Florida, as his top national security official in the White House. Waltz is the first Green Beret to serve in Congress and is decorated for his service in combat abroad. Waltz also espouses hawkish foreign policy views, especially when it comes to China. In a statement, Trump said Waltz “has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda, and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Michael Flynn, Keith Kellogg (acting), H.R. McMaster, John Bolton, Charlie Kupperman (acting) and Robert O’Brien 

Ambassador to the United Nations: Rep. Elise Stefanik 

Stefanik, who initially entered politics as a moderate, hitched her star to Trump’s wagon and has emerged as one of his most high-profile surrogates and allies in Congress. She’s served in House leadership as conference chair and drew national attention for leading a series of high-profile hearings questioning college presidents about antisemitism on their campuses, which led to three Ivy League university presidents resigning. In a statement, Trump called Stefanik “a strong and very smart America First fighter.” 

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Nikki Haley and Kelly Craft

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Former Rep. Lee Zeldin

Trump is nominating Zeldin, a former House member from Long Island and unsuccessful 2022 candidate for governor of New York, to head up the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “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.”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler  

Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles

Trump announced that Wiles, a longtime Florida political operative who co-managed his successful 2024 campaign, will serve as his White House chief of staff. Wiles will be the first woman ever to serve in the role. Wiles, Trump said in a statement, is “tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected.”

Who held the position in Trump’s first term: Reince Priebus, John F. Kelly and Mark Meadows