After being elected into office as the 47 President of the United States, President Donald Trump is tasked with picking people to serve in his cabinet and administration. On top of this, Trump has created a new department: the Department of Government Efficiency. This department will be spearheaded by former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and entrepreneur Elon Musk, and will have a major influence on the government, but will not be a part of it.
Most of the roles have been filled, with some of the most notable being Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary and both Musk and Ramaswamy for the DOGE.
Trump’s picks have received a lot of controversy due to many inexperienced people gaining high positions of power. An example would be Secretary of Navy, John Phelan, who has no military experience and is instead a financier for the Trump campaign.
“[The picks] are more on the loyalist side, versus people who actually have experience in their fields,” Miami Palmetto Senior High U.S. History teacher Kailey Almonte said
Trump’s picks as of December 18th, 2024:
- White House Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles
- Secretary of State: Marco Rubio
- Attorney General: Pam Bondi (after Matt Gaetz withdrew)
- Deputy Attorney General: Todd Blanche
- Health and Human Services Secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Office of Management and Budget Director: Russ Vought
- U.N. Ambassador: Elise Stefanik
- “Border czar”: Tom Homan
- Defense Secretary: Pete Hegseth
- Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins
- National security adviser: Michael Waltz
- Interior Secretary: Doug Burgum
- Secretary of Energy: Chris Wright
- Secretary of Transportation: Sean Duffy
- Secretary of Commerce: Howard Lutnick
- Secretary of Education: Linda McMahon
- Secretary of the Treasury: Scott Bessent
- Secretary of Labor: Lori Chavez-DeRemer
- White House counsel: William McGinley
- U.S. Ambassador to NATO: Matthew Whitaker
- Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem
- HUD secretary: Scott Turner
- CIA director: John Ratcliffe
- Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard
- EPA administrator: Lee Zeldin
- Solicitor general: Dean John Sauer
- FDA commissioner: Marty Makary
- Secretary of Agriculture: Brooke Rollins
- CDC Director: David Weldon
- FCC chairman: Brendan Carr
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator: Dr. Mehmet Oz
- Surgeon General: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat
- U.S. Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee
- U.S. ambassador to Canada: Pete Hoekstra
- U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom: Warren Stephens
- U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York: Jay Clayton
- Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
- Deputy chief of staff: Dan Scavino
- Deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser: Stephen Miller
- Deputy Chief of staff for Legislative, political and Public affairs: James Blair
- Deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel: Taylor Budowich
- Presidential Personnel Office head: Sergio Gor
- White House Communications Director: Steven Cheung
- White House press secretary: Karoline Leavitt
- Domestic Policy Council director: Vince Haley
- Secretary of the Navy: John Phelan
- Director of the National Institutes of Health: Jay Bhattacharya
- U.S. Trade Representative: Jamieson Greer
- Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services: Jim O’Neill
- Director of White House National Economic Council: Kevin Hassett
- Assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia: Retired Gen. Keith Kellogg
- U.S. Ambassador to France: Charles Kushner
- FBI director: Kash Patel
- Administrator of the Small Business Administration: Kelly Loeffler
- Social Security Administration commissioner: Frank Bisignano
- Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman: Paul Atkins
- “Crypto czar”: David Sacks
- U.S. Ambassador to China: David Perdue
- Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Rodney Scott
- Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Caleb Vitello
- U.S. ambassador to Chile: Brandon Judd
- Deputy Homeland Security adviser: Tony Salisbury
- Counselor to the president: Alina Habba
- State Department director of policy planning: Michael Anton
- Counselor of the Department of State: Michael Needham
- Deputy Secretary of State: Christopher Landau
