Who has joined Trump's team so far?

Former congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy has been selected to lead the Department of Transportation.

If confirmed by senators, he will take charge of aviation, automotive, rail, transit and other transportation policies at the transport department, with a roughly $110bn annual budget.

In the role, the incoming secretary can expect to face a number of safety-related aviation issues, including the continued problems at Boeing, as the troubled manufacturer addresses a series of safety and quality issues.

Oil and gas industry executive Chris Wright will lead the Department of Energy, where he is expected to fulfill Trump's campaign promise to "drill, baby, drill" and maximise US energy production.

Wright, the founder-CEO of Liberty Energy, has called climate activists alarmist and likened Democrats' push for renewables to Soviet-style communism.

In a video posted to his LinkedIn profile last year, he said: "There is no climate crisis, and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either."

Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of Trump's transition team and chief executive of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has been picked to lead the US commerce department.

Trump said Lutnick would spearhead the administration's "tariff and trade agenda".

Lutnick had also been in the running for treasury secretary, a more high-profile role.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder and Trump transition co-chair, Linda McMahon, has been appointed as Trump's nominee for education secretary.

A long-time Trump ally, McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first presidency and donated millions of dollars to his presidential campaign.

Trump has criticised the Department of Education, and has promised to close the agency down - a job McMahon could be tasked with.

In his statement announcing her nomination, Trump said McMahon would "spearhead" the effort to "send Education BACK TO THE STATES", in reference to the pledge.

Treasury secretary

Trump is reportedly considering Robert Lighthizer, a free trade sceptic who led the tariff war with China as the US trade representative, as his chief financial officer.

But at least four others may be under consideration for the role, including Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who has become a major fundraiser and economic adviser to the president-elect; John Paulson, another megadonor from the hedge fund world; former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Jay Clayton; and Fox Business Network financial commentator Larry Kudlow, who ran Trump's national economic council during his first term.

Outside the 15 department heads who make up the core of the cabinet, there are several other roles that are often given cabinet-rank, like the FBI director and the head of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). These roles will also require the nominees to be confirmed by the Senate.

However, there will be other key roles in the Trump administration that will not require Senate confirmation and the people filling these roles - like Elon Musk - will not have to be vetted in the same way.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has been tapped to lead what Trump has termed a Department of Government Efficiency, alongside one-time presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.

The department - whose acronym Doge is a nod to a cryptocurrency promoted by Musk - will serve in an advisory capacity to "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies", Trump said.

It is unclear what approval process will be necessary for these roles.

This is a critical job because it includes responsibility for Trump's mass deportations of millions of undocumented migrants, which was a central campaign pledge.

Homan is a former police officer who was acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in Trump's first term and has advocated a zero-tolerance stance on the issue.

"I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen," he said in July.

Head of Environmental Protection Agency - Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman, has agreed to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), both he and Trump said. The Senate will still need to confirm his appointment.

He will be in charge of tackling America's climate policy in this role.

While serving in congress from 2015 to 2023, Zeldin voted against expanding a number of environmental policies. He has already said he plans to "roll back regulations" from day one.

United Nations ambassador - Elise Stefanik

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has been tapped to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations.

Stefanik has made national headlines with her sharp questioning in congressional committees.

Trump has chosen his former director of national intelligence, ex-Texas congressman John Ratcliffe, to serve as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director.

There are other yet-to-be-appointed key positions running intelligence agencies, including the FBI and director of national intelligence.

Trump has said he would fire FBI Director Chris Wray, whom he nominated in 2017, but has since fallen out with. Jeffrey Jensen, a former Trump-appointed US attorney, has been under consideration to replace Wray.

Trump has named former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard, as director of national intelligence.

The former US Army Reserve officer once campaigned with Senator Bernie Sanders and ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, but has turned toward the Republicans in recent years.

She campaigned with Trump in 2024 and served on his transition team.

National security adviser - Mike Waltz

Florida congressman Michael Waltz has been selected as the next national security adviser.

In a statement on Tuesday announcing Waltz's appointment, Trump noted that Waltz is the first green beret - or member of the US Army Special Forces - to be elected to Congress.

Waltz will have to help navigate the US position on the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Special envoy to the Middle East - Steve Witkoff

Trump has picked real estate investor and philanthropist Steve Witkoff for the role of special envoy to the Middle East.

Witkoff is a close friend of Trump's, who was with the former president when a man allegedly tried to assassinate him at his Palm Beach golf club in September.

Trump has described him as a "highly respected leader in business and philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous".

US ambassador to Israel - Mike Huckabee

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be US ambassador to Israel, as Trump pledges to end the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“Mike has been a great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years," the president-elect said in a statement.

Huckabee is a staunchly pro-Israel official who has previously rejected the idea of a two-state solution to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has been nominated to be the US Ambassador to Nato - the alliance Trump has regularly criticised, and has even previously threatened to withdraw from completely.

"Matt is a strong warrior and loyal Patriot, who will ensure the United States' interests are advanced and defended," Trump said in a statement.

"Matt will strengthen relationships with our Nato Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability - He will put AMERICA FIRST."

Whitaker is a high school football star turned lawyer who has served as a US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. He has little experience of foreign policy.

Solicitor general - Dean John Sauer

Trump has selected Dean John Sauer to be US solicitor general to supervise and conduct government litigation in the US Supreme Court.

Sauer previously served as solicitor general for the Missouri state supreme court for six years, and worked as a clerk for former US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

He also represented Trump earlier this year in several of his court cases, including his US Supreme Court immunity case.

Federal Communications Commission chair - Brendan Carr

Brendan Carr is a current member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates broadcast and internet use. A longtime establishment Republican, in recent years he has embraced Trump's priorities and emerged as a supporter of regulation of "big tech".

"Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and others have played central roles in the censorship cartel," he wrote on X. "The censorship cartel must be dismantled."

Trump has previously vowed to strip TV channels he considers biased of their broadcasting licenses.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Mehmet Oz

Mehmet Oz has been chosen to run the powerful agency that oversees the healthcare of millions of Americans. He, too, will need to be confirmed by the US Senate next year before he officially takes charge.

Oz trained as a surgeon before finding fame on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the early 2000s. He later hosted a TV programme of his own.

“There may be no physician more qualified and capable than Dr Oz to make America healthy again," Trump said.

Oz has been criticised by experts for promoting what they called bad health advice about weight loss drugs and "miracle" cures, and suggesting malaria drugs as a cure for Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

These jobs are in the West Wing - his key advisers.

Susie Wiles and campaign co-chair Chris LaCivita were the masterminds behind Trump's victory over Kamala Harris.

The chief of staff is a cabinet member and often a president's top aide, overseeing daily operations in the West Wing and managing the boss's staff.

Wiles, 67, has worked in Republican politics for decades, from Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 presidential campaign to electing Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis as governors of Florida.

Deputy chief of staff - Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller, who has been Trump’s close adviser and speechwriter since 2015, is Trump’s choice for White House deputy chief of staff for policy.

He will likely shape any plans for mass deportations - and pare back both undocumented and legal immigration.

During Trump's first term, Miller was involved in developing some of the administration's strictest immigration policies.

White House counsel - William McGinley

Republican lawyer William McGinley will take on the role of White House counsel, Trump has said.

“Bill 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,” he said in a statement.

McGinley served as White House cabinet secretary during part of Trump’s first term and was the Republican National Committee’s counsel for election integrity in 2024.

Press secretary - Karoline Leavitt

Karoline Leavitt, 27, will become the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary in US history when Donald Trump returns to office.

She ran for Congress, winning the Republican nomination for New Hampshire in 2022, only to lose in the general election to Democrat Chris Pappas.

Leavitt also served in the White House press office during the first Trump administration, including as an assistant press secretary, according to the website for her run for Congress.

The public will soon see Leavitt in the iconic spot behind the podium in the White House briefing room - a space that led to countless tense exchanges between members of the press and officials in Trump's first administration.

Steven Cheung joined Trump's team in 2016 as his campaign spokesman, and will soon take on a top communications role in the White House.

Raised by Chinese immigrant parents in California, Cheung started out as an intern under then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has also been the spokesman for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Cheung became known for his fierce, and often offensive, attacks towards Trump's opponents. He has said Joe Biden "slowly shuffles around like he has a full diaper in his pants" and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis walks like a girl who “discovered heels for the first time”.

During his first administration, Trump had an unusually high turnover of communications directors - six different people. Anthony Scaramucci infamously only lasted 11 days in the role.

Assistant to the president - Sergio Gor

Sergio Gor is a business partner of Trump's son, Donald Jr. He is the president and co-founder of the younger Trump's publishing company, Winning Team Publishing, which has published a book by the president-elect.

"Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted advisers since my first presidential campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion America First principles," Trump said in a statement.

Source: BBC