Trump makes defense, Doge and Latin America envoy picks for administration

Donald Trump announced a series of appointments to his incoming administration on Sunday evening, including top positions in the Department of Defense and one of the first members of “Elon Musk’s department of government efficiency”.

The president-elect said he would nominate billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg to serve as deputy secretary of defense, the No 2 role at the Pentagon.

Feinberg is the co-chief executive of Cerberus Capital Management LP, a private equity firm that has invested in defense contractors. He served on an intelligence advisory board during Trump’s 2017-2021 White House term.

Elbridge Colby was picked to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy, the number three position at the Pentagon. Colby, known as a China hawk, served as a senior Pentagon official during Trump’s first term.

Trump also announced he chose Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, to join the advisory board to be led by Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy to slash government funding and regulations.

“Katie Miller will soon be joining DOGE! She has been a loyal supporter of mine for many years, and will bring her professional experience to Government Efficiency,” Trump posted in a message on his social media platform Truth Social.

Katie Miller had served in the first Trump administration as deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and as press secretary for the former vice-president, Mike Pence. She is currently a spokesperson for the transition team for Trump’s designated health and human services secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr.

Katie Miller’s married to Trump’s long time aide, Stephen Miller, who will serve as deputy chief of staff and designated homeland security adviser in Trump’s new White House.

Musk and Ramaswamy recently revealed plans to wipe out scores of federal regulations crafted by what they say is an anti-democratic, unaccountable bureaucracy, but have yet to announce members of the Doge team. Musk has said he wants to slash the number of federal agencies from more than 400 to 99.

Trump also said he would nominate Mauricio Claver-Carone to serve as his special envoy to Latin America.

Claver-Carone served in Trump’s first administration and was fired in 2022 as head of the Inter-American Development Bank after an investigation found he had an intimate relationship with a staffer. Investigators also found that Claver-Carone created a hostile environment at the bank. He denied having an affair.

Trump said Claver-Carone was the right man for the job, and would help address migration and drug-smuggling issues. “Mauricio knows the region, and how to put America’s interests FIRST,” Trump said on social media.