Trump Names His Picks for Key Roles: Gaetz, Musk, Ramaswamy, Hegseth, and More

President-elect Donald Trump's camp is releasing a new batch of names as he continues to reveal more key nominations for his administration. This article is being updated regularly with the latest announcements:

Attorney General of the United States

On Wednesday, Trump nominated Congressman Matt Gaetz, of Florida, to be the Attorney General of the United States, calling him "a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law." 

Gaetz was trained as an attorney at the prestigious William & Mary College of Law and he has been serving on the House Judiciary Committee which oversees the Dept. of Justice. 

Trump said in a statement, "Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System. Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans' badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department."

Non-Cabinet Dept. of Government Efficiency

Billionaire CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will team up to head up a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a non-cabinet post. In a statement, Trump said, "Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

In a post on X, Musk wrote that the department's findings will be published online "for maximum transparency," and will feature a "leaderboard for the most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars."

Secretary of Defense

A surprise choice for the Department of Defense as Trump selected longtime Fox News host Pete Hegseth to oversee the Pentagon.

About Hegseth, who served in Afghanistan, the president-elect wrote, “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.” 

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal recently reported, "The Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes a 'warrior board' of retired senior military personnel with the power to review three- and four-star officers and to recommend removals of any deemed unfit for leadership."

It could bring unprecedented scrutiny to what President Dwight Eisenhower called "The Military-Industrial Complex."

CIA Director

John Ratcliffe, who served as President Trump's Director of National Intelligence at the end of his first term, is slated to take over at Langley. Ratcliffe is a trusted ally of the president and was a vocal critic of the Biden administration's Israel policy.

Ambassador to Israel

Trump announced on Tuesday afternoon he's nominating former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee as the ambassador to Israel. 

Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and has led tour group visits to the country for decades. 

"Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East," Trump said in a statement. 

Huckabee is a former Baptist minister and Fox News host. He currently hosts the "Huckabee" show for the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The hour-long program is "a down-home slice of wholesome Americana in all of its patriotic, God-honoring, and family-friendly glory," according to a website description.

His daughter, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served as White House press secretary during Trump's first presidency.

David Friedman, who served as Trump's ambassador to Israel during his first term, said he was “thrilled” by Trump's selection of Huckabee.

Secretary of State

Trump confirmed Wednesday that he's nominating Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be his Secretary of State. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. 

Rubio has a hard-line position on foreign policy, often butting heads with Republicans "about interventions abroad."

The Florida senator could play a major role in Trump's "America First" idea due to his strong stance on China, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. He also sides with Trump about bringing a "conclusion" to Russia's war with Ukraine and has been outspoken "on the need for the United States to be more aggressive on China," the NY Times reports. 

After Trump won the election last Tuesday, Rubio said the U.S. would see "pragmatic foreign policy" from the White House. "We're entering into an era of pragmatic foreign policy in which the world is rapidly changing," Rubio said in an interview with CNN. "Adversaries are uniting — North Korea, Iran, China, Russia [are]  increasingly coordinating — it's going to require us to be very pragmatic and wise and how we invest overseas and what we do."

If confirmed, Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, would become the first Latino to ever serve as the nation's top diplomat.

National Security Advisor

The news came shortly after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had tapped Florida Congressman Mike Waltz to be his national security advisor. 

The national security advisor is a highly influential post appointed by the president that doesn't require Senate confirmation. This person is assigned to coordinate among all the top national security agencies and is tasked with briefing the president and executing his policies.

Waltz is the first retired Green Beret to serve in Congress and was one of Trump's most visible campaign surrogates often making an appeal to military members. He also helped with the Veterans For Trump coalition, Fox News reports.

As a House member, Waltz has served on the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees.

Waltz would step into this role as national security adviser amid conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

According to the New York Center for Foreign Policy Affairs, Trump "will focus on restoring deterrence, fostering transactional relationships with allies, and intensifying diplomatic engagement in global conflicts."

Secretary of Homeland Security

Meanwhile, the President-elect has reportedly tapped South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to fulfill the role of Secretary of Homeland Security.

The Department of Homeland Security oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Noem has served as governor of the Mount Rushmore State since 2019 and has sent troops from the South Dakota National Guard to serve along the U.S. southern border with Mexico on multiple occasions. 

Noem was thought to be a potential running mate for Trump earlier this year but fell out of contention after her book titled No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, came out in May. 

The publication sparked outrage for a story written about her dog named Cricket. She had to put the dog down, according to excerpts first reported by The Guardian.

Noem says she included that excerpt in the story to illustrate her willingness in politics to do anything "difficult, messy and ugly" if it needs to be done. 

As of Tuesday morning, the Trump transition team had not made an official announcement about Noem or Rubio's potential positions. 

UN Ambassador and 'Border Czar'

Trump has already named New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as "border czar", responsible for securing the border and deporting immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally.

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