HUD, Treasury, Labor picks announced: Here’s what Trump’s Cabinet looks like so far

President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team wasted no time in announcing nominations for several key Cabinet positions, installing loyalists who can execute his policies on everything from expanding oil and gas drilling to mass deportation of migrants in the country illegally.
Here is a list of Trump’s Cabinet and administration picks so far:
Housing and Urban Development secretary: Former NFL player and Texas state lawmaker Scott Turner was tapped by Trump to be the next HUD secretary. Turner is chair of the Center for Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank where several former Trump administration officials have worked in the four years he’s been out of office. During Trump’s first term, Turner served as director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
Treasury secretary: Scott Bessent is the founder and CEO of Key Square Capital Management, a hedge fund. He also worked as chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management, according to CNN. “Unlike in past Administrations, we will ensure that no Americans will be left behind in the next and Greatest Economic Boom, and Scott will lead that effort for me, and the Great People of the United States of America,” Trump said, announcing his pick.
Labor secretary: Trump chose former Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his choice to run the Department of Labor. She was backed by Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention, according to Fox News.
Attorney general: After former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration, Trump picked Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and a defense lawyer during Trump’s first impeachment trial, to be attorney general. She has had a 20-year-long career as a prosecutor. Bondi also served on the federal Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during Trump’s first term.
Secretary of State: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida will be responsible for carrying out Trump’s foreign policy through the top post at the State Department.
The Florida Republican ran for president in 2016 but did not make it past the crowded GOP primary. Although Trump and Rubio, who call Florida home, had a fraught relationship during the primary, the situation improved after the president-elect took the White House.
Defense secretary: Pete Hegseth, author, Fox News personality and former Army National Guard officer, is making the rounds among Republican senators ahead of his confirmation vote. Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017, but denies the allegations, saying he was “completely cleared” of wrongdoing.
He has said he supports getting rid of “woke” programs that promote equity and inclusion in the military, and is against women in combat.
Interior secretary: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Stanford University graduate in business administration, will manage public lands.
As the Deseret News’ Amy Joi O’Donoghue reported, “Burgum will move quickly to fortify Trump’s position on energy development, opening public lands to new oil and gas exploration and slashing regulations and conservation programs established under the Biden administration.”
Secretary of Health and Human Services: President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, to oversee the public health infrastructure, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is expected to build on the Make America Healthy Again platform and attempt to eliminate harmful chemicals from food, water and air, according to the MAHA website.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” Trump said, as the Deseret News reported. The Kennedy-led HHS, Trump added, would “play a big role” in “helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives.”
Transportation secretary: Sean Duffy left Fox News, where he co-hosted “The Bottom Line,” when he was tapped for the Cabinet position, according to The Hill. He served Wisconsin as an elected representative from 2011 to 2019, and is the father of nine. Duffy will oversee the distribution of the $1 trillion infrastructure law passed under the Biden administration. As transportation secretary, he can also try to reverse the Biden White House’s vehicle emissions rules.
Secretary of Education: Linda McMahon and Trump have known each other for decades. In 2007, when the president-elect starred on “The Apprentice,” he appeared on World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, founded by McMahon and her husband Vince McMahon, as the Deseret News reported.
After stepping down from WWE in 2009, McMahon unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate twice in 2008 and 2012 and has served on the board of trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She is expected to slash spending at the Education Department and return funds and power to states.
Commerce secretary: Howard Lutnick is a co-chair of the Trump-Vance presidential transition team, and the head of Cantor Fitzgerald, a brokerage and investment bank. He is also a “cryptocurrency enthusiast,” The Associated Press reports.
Lutnik previously led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term and also made an appearance on the president-elect’s show.
Homeland Security secretary: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will likely carry out the incoming Trump administration’s mass deportation plans. Axios noted that she is experienced working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on immigration. She has also overseen her state’s response to floods, tornados and wildfires.
Veterans Affairs secretary: Doug Collins, another former congressman, will be in charge of the department that oversees active duty servicemen, veterans and their families. The former Georgia representative is a veteran who served in Iraq as a U.S. Navy chaplain.
Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic representative, veteran and presidential candidate who left the party in 2022, does not have experience working with intelligence agencies. She has a history of criticizing President Joe Biden’s decision to help Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
CIA director: Former Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas has served on judiciary and intelligence committees, and is a staunch supporter of the president-elect. ”From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation to catching the FBI’s abuse of Civil Liberties at the FISA Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump said in his announcement. Ratcliffe is a co-chair at the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute.
United Nations ambassador: Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the current House GOP conference chair, will represent the U.S. at the United Nations. She spent Thursday on Capitol Hill, where she reaffirmed her commitment to Israel and Trump’s America First policies.
In the House, she served on the American Services, Intelligence, and the Education and Workforce committees.
NATO ambassador: Matthew Whitaker, an Iowa native, previously served as the acting attorney general during Trump’s first term. He unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa Supreme Court in 2011 and U.S. Senate in 2014.
Energy secretary: Chris Wright, the chief executive of Liberty Energy, a fracking services company, has pushed back on green energy initiatives. He will likely reform the agency’s goals of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
EPA administrator: Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., promised to make the U.S. energy independent, “revitalize the auto industry,” and cement the country’s place as a leader in artificial intelligence. “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” Zeldin posted on X on Nov. 11.
Trump in his announcement assured Zeldin would create “new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
FCC chairman: Brendan Carr was one of the five commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission after Trump appointed him in 2017. CBS News reports that Carr, who wrote a chapter in Project 2025 about the FCC, also acted as general counsel for the agency.
The FCC doesn’t hold tech giants like Google and Meta accountable for the information posted on their platforms, nor do these companies practice transparency about algorithm changes. But Carr wants to change that, and bring more transparency to the internet, while tackling censorship.
Border czar: Tom Homan will be the “point person” on issues related to the southern border and will have informal powers, unlike other Cabinet positions, as Samuel Benson reported for the Deseret News.
He spent 34 years enforcing immigration rules as a police officer and a special agent for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, border patrol officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and an acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, per The Hill.
Department of Government Efficiency: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead DOGE, created to drastically cut the size and scope of the federal government.
In his press release announcing the creation of the advisory committee, Trump said it would be the “Manhattan Project of our time,” referring to the initiative to create an atomic weapon during World War II. Its mandate is, according to Trump, to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies.”
White House Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles.
National security adviser: Mike Waltz.
Office of Management and Budget: Russell Vought.
Food and Drug Administration: Dr. Marty Makary.
Centers for Disease Control: Dr. Dave Weldon.
Surgeon General: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.
White House press secretary: Karoline Leavitt.
White House counsel: Bill McGinley.
White House director of communications: Steven Cheung.
Deputy chief of staff: Stephen Miller.
Deputy chief of staff: James Blair.
Deputy chief of staff: Taylor Budowich.
Deputy chief of staff: Dan Scavino.
Agriculture secretary
Chief of Small Business Administration
U.S. trade representative
Council of Economic Advisors chair
Contributing: Suzanne Bates