DemDaily: Trump Administration: The Advisors
December 6, 2024
The Trump transition team, well-armed with a copy of conservative agenda guide Project 2025, have issued their nominations for all 15 of the President-Elect's Cabinet positions, as well as "Cabinet-Level" positions and senior advisors.
As a follow-up to yesterday's DemDaily: Update on The Cabinet Contenders, the other nominees that will play a central role in shaping and implementing the Trump agenda over the next four years:
| The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments, which are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. Members of the Cabinet fall in the presidential line of succession and require Senate confirmation. It also includes ten "Cabinet-Level" positions that lead departments and provide counsel on national and international affairs. That list may expand to other positions at the will of the president. |
CABINET-LEVEL NOMINEES
Following The Cabinet, in order of succession to the Presidency
* Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles, Senior campaign adviser who managed Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and the only campaign manager to survive an entire campaign working for the former president, She has worked in Republican campaigns and administrations since the Reagan era and will be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. The only cabinet position that does not require Senate confirmation.
* Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Lee Zeldin, former New York Congressman who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022. He expected to deliver on Trump's campaign promise to attack key environmental protections, including US government attempts to mitigate the effects of climate change.
* Director, National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard, US Army Reservist and former four-term Congresswoman (D) from Hawaii, known for her strong stand against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and her controversial positions on Syria. A candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Gabbard later turned against the party, joining the GOP as a vocal Trump advocate.
* US Trade Representative: Jamieson Greer. Served as Chief of Staff to then trade representative Robert E. Lighthizer, in Trump's first term. He was involved in the Trump administration’s trade negotiations with China, as well as the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
| Confirmation hearings will begin immediately after the new Republican-controlled US Senate is sworn in on January 3, 2025. |
* Ambassador to the United Nations: Elise Stefanik, conservative New York Congresswoman, Chair of the House Republican Conference. She has been a vocal supporter of Trump'a since his first impeachment. She has minimal experience in foreign policy and national security.
* Chair, Council of Economic Advisors: Kevin Hassett. A key economic adviser to Trump in his first term, Hassett headed the White House Council of Economic Advisers, which advises the president on economic policy, from 2017-2019.
* Administrator, Small Business Administration (SBA): Kelly Loeffler. Appointed as Interim US Senator from Georgia by Governor Brian Kemp (R) in 2020 to fill the seat vacated by Senator Johnny Isakson (R). She was defeated by the Reverand Raphael Warnock in a special election in January 2021. She touts a "100% Trump voting record" during her term.
* Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Russell Vought. A leading figure in Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for governing the Trump administration. He served as director of OMB in Trump’s first term
* Science Advisor to the President & Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy: TBD
* Director, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): John Ratcliffe, a former member of Congress from Texas who served in Trump's first term as Director of National Intelligence.
Update: Trump has finally agreed to let the FBI do background checks on his Cabinet nominees, which is expected to trigger a number of red flags in the personal backgrounds or professional records of his nominees.
Trump is unconcerned. As president, he can grant anyone a security clearance, regardless of what the FBI discovers.
Related: DemDaily: Update on The Cabinet Contenders 12/7/24
| There are more than 4,000 Presidential or "political" appointees, approximately 1,340 of which require Senate approval, including Cabinet secretaries, agency directors and ambassadors. |
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Sources: New York Times, Politico, White House, The Times
