New-look Trump Administration: Who’s in?

• Here’s a look at who the President-elect has announced so far. Check back for the latest as Trump shares his picks.

President-elect Donald Trump is rather swiftly rolling out names he’s asked to serve in his incoming Administration.

Here’s a look at who Trump has publicly announced so far. Magnolia Tribune will continue to update this article as more announcements are made.

Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles

Susie Wiles, 67, will be the first female to serve as White House Chief of Staff. She has a long history in Republican politics, dating back to serving as a scheduler in the Reagan Administration.

Wiles, who will be the 32nd White House Chief of Staff, ran Trump’s Florida campaign operations in both 2016 and 2020 before joining the President-elect’s 2024 team as co-campaign manager. She also assisted in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial campaign for Ron DeSantis.

Famed NFL broadcaster and former professional placekicker Pat Summerall is Wiles’ father.

U.N. Ambassador: Elise Stefanik

Five-term New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has been nominated to serve as U.N. Ambassador.

She has served as the House Republican Conference Chair and most senior Republican in New York while in Congress, winning her seat in 2014.

Stefanik, 40, is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

From 2006 to 2009, Stefanik served in the West Wing of the White House on President George W. Bush’s Domestic Policy Council Staff and the Chief of Staff’s office where she assisted in overseeing the policy development process on all economic and domestic policy issues.

“Border Czar”: Tom Homan

Former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan will be joining the new Trump Administration and will be “in charge of our Nation’s Borders,” the President-elect wrote on TruthSocial. Homan held that title during Trump’s first term for roughly a year and a half.

Homan, 62, will also “be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” Trump said, prompting the moniker of “border czar.”

Homan also served at ICE during the Obama Administration.

Since retiring from ICE in 2018, Homan has testified before Congress, offered commentary on various news outlets, and worked with conservative interest groups such as the Heritage Foundation.

National Security Advisor: Mike Waltz

Three-term Florida Congressman Mike Waltz will serves as the President-elect’s National Security Advisor.

Waltz, 50, is a former Green Beret, the first to be elected to Congress, and former White House and Pentagon advisor. He served as a Special Forces officer with multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa.

During his time in Congress, Waltz has served as Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and House China Task Force.

Ambassador to Israel: Mike Huckabee

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been nominated to serve as the Ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee, 69, an ordained Baptist minister turned author and talk show host first on Fox and now on TBN, ran unsuccessfully for President in 2008 and 2016. He did, however, win the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Huckabee’s daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is now serving as Governor of Arkansas. She served as Trump’s Press Secretary for a part of his first term.

Upon hearing the news, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement welcoming Huckabee’s nomination, “As a longstanding friend of Israel and our eternal capital Jerusalem – I hope you will feel very much at home.”

EPA Administrator: Lee Zeldin

Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin is Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as its next Administrator.

Zeldin, 44, served in the New York State Senate before winning a seat in Congress where he served for 8 years. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor in New York in 2022, winning the most votes by a Republican in the state in 50 years.

Zeldin previously served in the Army in the Military Intelligence Corps before transitioning to the Army Reserves.

Trump said Zeldin would “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, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”

Secretary of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem

Kristi Noem, the two-term Governor of South Dakota and the first female to hold the position, has been nominated to serve as the Secretary of Homeland Security. She is a rancher, farmer, small business owner, and New York Times bestselling author.

Noem, 52, previously served in Congress for four terms after serving in the South Dakota legislature for several years.

In a TruthSocial announcement, Trump wrote of Noem, “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. She will work closely with “Border Czar” Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries.”

Government Efficiency: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy

Trump has announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Administration’s effort to address Government Efficiency. While the effort has been labeled the “Department of Government Efficiency” or DOGE, it is likely to be a commission to, as Trump wrote on TruthSocial, “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

Musk, 53, and Ramaswamy, 39, are both successful businessmen and entrepreneurs.

Musk owns SpaceX, Tesla, and X (formerly Twitter), among other ventures, and stepped his foot into politics this election cycle to back Trump.

Ramaswamy made his name in the bio-tech sphere before he unsuccessfully ran for President this cycle. He has frequently been called on as a surrogate for the Trump campaign at rallies and in interviews.

Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth

FoxNews co-host and author Pete Hegseth, 44, has been nominated as Trump’s Secretary of Defense.

According to FoxNews, Hegseth started as a contributor in 2014 and was named the co-host of “FOX & Friends Weekend” in 2017. He began co-hosting the show on a regular basis in late 2016 and was officially named to the role in January 2017.

Hegseth, a Princeton graduate, served in the Army National Guard, having been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. Trump called him “a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country.”

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): John Ratcliffe

John Ratcliffe began as an attorney before running for Mayor of Heath, Texas. Now, Trump has asked him to lead the CIA as its next Director.

Ratcliffe, 59, was elected to three terms in the U.S House before he was named Director of National Intelligence in the first Trump Administration.

He previously served in the Bush Administration as an U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District in Texas.

Special Envoy to the Middle East: Steven Witkoff

Businessman and real estate investor Steven Witkoff, 67, has been named the Special Envoy to the Middle East.

“Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous. Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

Witkoff was reportedly playing golf with Trump in September as a second assassination attempt on the President-elect unfolded.

White House Counsel: William Joseph McGinley

William Joseph McGinley, Trump’s previous White House Cabinet secretary during his first term, has been tapped to be White House Counsel in the incoming Administration.

McGinley previously served as General Counsel at the National Republican Senatorial Committee and has been a partner at two international law firms, Trump touted.

Trump wrote on TruthSocial that McGinley “is a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”

Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy: Stephen Miller, 39

Stephen Miller is returning to the White House as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He will also be an Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor, per President-elect Trump.

Miller, 39, previously served in the first Trump Administration as a senior policy advisors and director of speechwriting. He also once worked for Congresswomen Michele Bachmann and U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions.

Deputy Chief of Staff: Dan Scavino

Dan Scavino will return as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President in the new Trump Administration. He previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications in the first Trump term.

Prior to working at the White House, Scavino, 48, worked for Trump at his National Golf Club Westchester and was part of his 2016 campaign.

Attorney General: Matt Gaetz

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has been nominated to serve as Attorney General. He is in his fourth term in the U.S. House and serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.

Prior to serving in Congress, Gaetz, 42, worked as an attorney in Northwest Florida with the Keefe, Anchors & Gordon law firm. In 2010, he was elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives.

Upon the announcement of the nomination by Trump, Gaetz resigned from Congress. His resignation ends an investigation into his conduct by the House Ethics Committee, chaired by Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest.

Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard

Former Democratic Congresswomen Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has been named Director of National Intelligence by the President-elect.

Gabbard, 43, served in the U.S. House for four terms, running unsuccessfully for President as a Democrat in 2020. She left the Democrati Party in October 2022 and has since joined Republicans on the campaign trail to promote conservative policies.

Of Gabbard, Trump said in his announcement that she has support in both parties and is now “a proud Republican.”

She earned the rank of Major in the Army National Guard before transferring to the Army Reserves where she served as a Lt. Colonel. Gabbard also previously served in the Hawaii House of Representatives and the Honolulu City Council.

Secretary of State: Marco Rubio

Three-term Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has been nominated to serve as Secretary of State.

Rubio, 53, previously served as a City Commissioner and then the Florida Speaker of the House before winning the U.S. Senate seat in 2011. He ran unsuccessfully for President in 2016, famously trading barbs with Trump on the campaign trail.

In the Senate, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and member of the Committee on Foreign Relations.