Donald Trump's top team: Who is in, who is out and who are the leading contenders?

As the dust settles on Donald Trump’s US election win, the president-elect has begun choosing who will be in his administration for his second stint in the White House.

During the campaign, Mr Trump avoided directly confirming any appointments but frequently dropped hints about who he would like in his top team.

So who is in, who is out and who are the leading contenders for jobs?

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Who is in?

Susie Wiles

Susie Wiles is a veteran Republican campaign manager – having helped Ronald Reagan and Ron DeSantis get elected as well as Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024. She is the first member of his team to be announced – and becomes the first female chief-of-staff in American history.

The 67-year-old, who lives in Florida, has a political career that spans decades but has largely kept out of the limelight and rarely given interviews.

She is the daughter of late American footballer Pat Summerall and one of her first jobs in politics was as an assistant to one of his former New York Giants teammates when he became a Republican representative.

Outside politics, she has worked in the private sector as a lobbyist, for both Ballard Partners, whose clients include Amazon, Google, and the MLB (Major League Baseball), and then Mercury, which works with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the embassy of Qatar.

This time around, Mr Trump credited her with his “best-run” presidential campaign, describing her as “incredible” at a Milwaukee rally earlier this year, and an “ice maiden” in his victory speech.

Elon Musk

Tech billionaire Elon Musk became one of Mr Trump’s staunchest supporters in the months leading up to the election and spent at least $119m (£92m) canvassing for him in the seven battleground states.

Awarding his loyalty, Mr Trump announced Mr Musk will head up the new department of government efficiency (DOGE) alongside former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

In a statement on Tuesday, the president-elect said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.

Despite its name, the DOGE is not a government agency and is instead set to provide “advice and guidance” from the outside of government.

The statement released by Mr Trump said it will partner with the office of management and budget to “drive large-scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to government never seen before”.

The department has been given a deadline of 4 July 2026 to conclude its work.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will join Elon Musk in leading the new non-governmental agency called the department of government efficiency (DOGE).

Mr Ramaswamy, the founder of a pharmaceutical company, suspended his campaign in January to support Mr Trump.

In his 2021 bestseller book Woke, Inc, Mr Ramaswamy criticised the decisions of some big companies to base business strategy around social justice and climate change concerns.

Pete Hegseth

Fox News commentator and National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth was picked as Mr Trump’s defence secretary on 12 November.

In a statement, the president-elect described the 44-year-old as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First”.

He said: “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our military will be great again, and America will never back down.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr Hegseth could make good on Mr Trump’s campaign promises to rid the US military of
generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.

In the past Mr Hegseth has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer.

He has also railed against NATO allies for being weak and claimed China is on the verge of dominating its neighbours.

Mr Hegseth has pushed for making the US military more lethal and argued allowing women to serve in combat hurts that effort.

“Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse,” he said in an interview on The Shawn Ryan Show podcast.

Though he said diversity in the military is a strength, he said that was because minority and white men “can perform similarly” but the same is not true for women.

Critics pointed to Mr Hegseth’s lack of experience and some suggested he could be defence secretary in name only as the Trump White House runs the department.

“There is reason for concern that this is not a person who is a serious enough policymaker, serious enough policy implementer, to do a successful job,” said Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Marco Rubio

On 11 November, it was reported Marco Rubio will be announced as secretary of state, making him the first Latino member of the president-elect’s top team.

Mr Rubio, a Florida senator, unsuccessfully ran against Mr Trump to be the Republican presidential candidate in 2016.

In the past, the 53-year-old has advocated for muscular foreign policy with respect to the US’ geopolitical rivals, including China, Iran and Cuba.

However, over the last several years he has softened some of his stances to align more closely with Mr Trump’s views.

He was a contender to be his 2024 running mate before JD Vance landed the role.

Elise Stefanik

According to US network CNN, Mr Trump has offered fierce ally Elise Stefanik the job as US ambassador to the UN.

Citing two anonymous sources, CNN confirms rumours the Republican – who represents New York in the House – was lined up for the role.

Ms Stefanik has built up a national profile as an unwavering ally of the president-elect, shedding her early reputation as a moderate – having worked on Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign – to become the highest-ranking woman in the House Republican leadership.

Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported in January this year she was being considered as Mr Trump’s pick for vice president.

Mr Trump reportedly described her as a “killer”.

Tom Homan

Mr Trump said late on Sunday that Tom Homan will return to government to be in charge of the US’ borders and the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Announcing the news on Truth Social, the president-elect said “there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders” than his new “border czar”.

Mr Homan served as former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Mr Trump’s first term, and was an early backer of the president’s “zero tolerance” policy – which NBC News reported led to at least 5,500 families being separated at the southern border in 2018.

Earlier this year, he told a conservative conference he would “run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen,” per NBC.

Mr Homan was also a contributor to Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership book.

Mike Waltz

Trump loyalist Mike Waltz was picked on 12 November as the president-elect’s national security adviser – a powerful role which does not require confirmation from the Senate.

The 50-year-old, who served in the National Guard, will be responsible for briefing Mr Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.

Having praised Mr Trump’s foreign policy views, Mr Waltz is a leading critic of China, and has spoken out about the country’s activity in the Asia-Pacific, claiming the US needs to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.

Kristi Noem

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has been picked to serve as the next homeland security secretary.

Once seen as a possible running mate for the president-elect, Ms Noem is currently serving her second four-year term as South Dakota’s governor, having risen to prominence after refusing to impose a statewide mask order during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As head of homeland security, she will be responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the US Secret Service.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Trump said: “Kristi has been very strong on border security. She was the first governor to send National Guard soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden border crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times.”

He said Ms Noem would work closely with his “border czar,” Mr Homan.

John Ratcliffe

Former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe has been picked by Mr Trump to serve as director of the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

A former congressman and prosecutor, Mr Ratcliffe is seen as a Trump loyalist who is likely to win Senate confirmation.

Who is out?

Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley was once Mr Trump’s main rival during his run for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite losing the contest, she proved her popularity with parts of the GOP and previously served in his first presidential cabinet as the US ambassador to the United Nations.

The 51-year-old also served as governor of South Carolina but news of her not being involved this time around was broken by the president-elect on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

In a short statement, Mr Trump said he would not be inviting either her or former secretary of state Mike Pompeo back but thanked them for their service.

In response, Ms Haley, who eventually endorsed Mr Trump despite harshly criticising him in the party primaries, said: “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations.

“I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”

Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo also served as the director of the CIA under Mr Trump and had been mentioned in some reports as a possible defence secretary or in relation to another role linked to national security, intelligence or diplomacy.

Mr Trump confirmed Mr Pompeo would not be returning to his cabinet in the same post that he ruled out Ms Haley.

Previously among Mr Trump’s closest allies, Mr Pompeo is one of the fiercest US defenders of Ukraine.

Who is yet to be decided?

Robert F Kennedy Jr

Robert F Kennedy Jr abandoned his independent presidential campaign to back Mr Trump in August.

It was a move that saw the prominent vaccine sceptic condemned by many members of his family, but as with Musk, his public support looks set to be rewarded by the president-elect.

Mr Trump has pledged to give him a role focusing on health policy and Mr Kennedy has hinted at one possible initiative, stating on X that “the Trump White House will advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water”, on inauguration day.

Mr Kennedy – the son of politician Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of assassinated president John F Kennedy – made a name for himself as a vaccine sceptic during the COVID-19 pandemic and has frequently repeated debunked claims, including linking vaccines to autism in children.

Don Jr, Eric and Lara Trump

Mr Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, were among his senior advisers during his first term. But will the businessman once again keep any family members close when he is in the Oval Office?

In June 2023, Mr Trump said he did not want his children to serve in a second administration, saying it was “too painful for the family”.

Nevertheless, while Ms Trump and Mr Kushner have stayed away from politics since, two of Mr Trump’s other sons – Don Jr and Eric – have played prominent roles on the campaign trail.

Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, already has a significant role in US politics, as she serves as co-chair of the Republican Party.

Larry Kudlow

Fox News personality Larry Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council for much of Mr Trump’s first term and is said to have an outside shot at becoming his treasury secretary this time around.

Other names being linked to the post include John Paulson – a billionaire hedge fund manager and donor, who hosted a fundraiser that raked in more than $50m (£38m) for the former president.

Donald Trump’s top team: Who is in, who is out and who are the leading contenders?

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