Trump’s transition officially kicked off in August, with Cantor Fitzgerald LP CEO Howard Lutnick and World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon serving as co-founders. President. Both men spent time with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where interviews for Cabinet positions are expected to take place.
On Thursday, Trump named campaign manager Suzy Wells as White House chief of staff. She would be the first woman to hold the most powerful position in Washington. She would likely have direct control over the president’s schedule and be able to drive coordination of high-priority policies within the administration and Congress.
She is widely credited with bringing order and discipline to the chaotic world Trump often created and helping him dominate the general election and Republican primaries.
Trump also said he might hire Elon Musk or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to push some of his agenda. Trump’s transition team is more organized than in 2016 as the team aims to avoid a repeat of the chaotic early days of the White House in 2017. By the end of November, he could appoint leaders of the Treasury and State Councils. Trump himself has not commented on personnel matters before Election Day. What follows is a list of people who advised and promoted him during the campaign and helped raise money, as well as those who people familiar with the matter say have emerged in the past few months.
finance minister
This job carries a huge responsibility for the global economy. The Treasury Secretary is the world’s leading spokesperson for the reserve currency, economic cheerleader, financial market regulator, and signatory of the almighty dollar. They wade through the political jungle, spearhead international economic diplomacy, and bring Wall Street expertise to crisis situations that require their access to the financial system’s pipeline. At the same time, they must project predictability and stability—sometimes through their own charisma—to keep investors calm.
- Scott Bessent: He runs macro hedge fund Key Square Capital Management and came to the attention of Trump’s inner circle earlier this year. He helped craft key economic policy speeches, raised money for the campaign and went on television to promote Trump’s second-term agenda. Over the past few months, Bessant has accused Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen of political interference in debt issuance, slammed the Federal Reserve’s half-percentage rate cut in September and floated the idea of accelerating U.S. monetary policy to fit a protectionist agenda.
- Jay Clayton: As SEC chairman, Clayton is tasked by his party with helping public companies through loosening rules and enforcement. Still, as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an independent regulator, he has often been wary of rule changes and often sided with Democrats. He has made frequent television appearances touting his influence during his tenure at Wall Street’s top regulator while questioning the effectiveness of current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s aggressive stance on the industry.
- Senator Bill Hagerty: A native of Tennessee, Hagerty is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, where he oversees regulatory matters and monetary policy, among other issues. He served as an economic adviser to President George H.W. Bush before moving into private equity. He was elected to the Senate in 2020.
- Robert Lighthizer: One of the few cabinet-level advisers during Trump’s first term who not only remained loyal amid the post-presidential controversy but also served as a close adviser this year. He served as U.S. Trade Representative in his first term and was the architect of the U.S.’s hostile stance toward China. Investors are wary of Lighthizer as Treasury secretary because of what that could mean for markets if proud China hawks lead Trump to impose steep tariffs. He may also be considered to run the Commerce Department or serve as a White House trade adviser.
- Howard Lutnick: Cantor Fitzgerald’s chief executive has quickly become Trump’s transition co-chairman and Wall Street’s top cheerleader. From the Hamptons to the heartland, he cultivated donors—raising $15 million in just one event. While Cabinet officials and other senior political appointees must publicly disclose their assets and divest any assets that could create a conflict of interest, Lutnick can serve as a special government employee. The positions can be unpaid, allow individuals to work for a federal agency or the White House for up to 130 days, and do not require divestment or public disclosure.
- John Paulson: Trump once called Paulson a “money machine” because of his $15 billion bet against subprime mortgages. Both he and Trump were born in Queens, are familiar with messy divorces and legal battles, and share a philosophical alignment. Paulson was a member of Trump’s economic advisory council during his first campaign for president, personally donated and helped raise more than $50 million at a party at his Palm Beach home — all a testament to the loyalty Trump favors Spend. Paulson’s arrival will bring complications. He holds large but undisclosed holdings of preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since the Treasury secretary oversees the government-controlled mortgage giant, serving as Treasury secretary would require divestment, meaning Paulson could suffer losses.
- Glenn Youngkin: Now the governor of Virginia and a former Carlyle Group executive, Youngkin has kept his distance from Trump during the 2021 campaign. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris won Virginia in the purple state election on Tuesday, but she has become more supportive of Trump in recent years. His term ends in 2025.
director of the national economic council
The president’s economic team includes the director of the White House National Economic Council. The job requires someone with political acumen and the ability to advance the president’s agenda in Congress and the public. Anyone being considered for a Treasury job could end up becoming director of the National Economic Council. Economist Kevin Hassett, who served as chairman of Trump’s first term Council of Economic Advisers, and former Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh are contenders for the position.
Secretary of State
The secretary of state is the nation’s top diplomat, responsible for promoting U.S. policies to the rest of the world and convincing foreign allies and adversaries to uphold U.S. national security goals. But the secretary of state also oversees the State Department’s own intelligence services, negotiates global treaties and civilian routes to foreign countries, and helps evacuate Americans from war zones.
- Rick Grenell: Grenell served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and later served as acting director of national intelligence. He is considered fiercely loyal to Trump and led protests against 2020 ballots that Trump falsely claimed were stolen from him in Nevada.
- Haggerty: While he’s also been touted as one of the Treasury secretaries, his experience as U.S. ambassador to Japan during Trump’s first term and then on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee means he could move into the State Department.
- Steven Mnuchin: The former Treasury secretary was one of the few officials in Trump’s first term who lasted four years and remained loyal even after January 6. Got a job in the first administration after serving as state finance chair for the 2016 campaign. The intensity of economic sanctions against adversaries such as Russia, Venezuela and Venezuela has given the agency a deeper understanding of national affairs. This made him a potential Secretary of State, although he also faced many conflicts. After leaving government, he founded Liberty Strategies Capital, a private equity firm that attracted billions of dollars in funding from the Middle East.
- Robert O’Brien: O’Brien served as Trump’s national security adviser for a year and a half at the end of Trump’s first term. He has focused on actions that threaten Hong Kong, confronting China over its aggressive actions in the South China Sea and criticizing China’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak. He also served during a U.S. drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and head of the Quds Force intelligence unit. O’Brien is seen more as a conservative on traditional foreign policy than a disruptor.
- Marco Rubio: Trump dubbed him “Little Marco” during the 2016 primaries, but the Florida senator played a key role in Trump’s foreign policy advice during his first term, notably On the Latin American and Venezuelan side. Rubio is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the “Gang of Eight” of senior lawmakers who receive briefings from the executive branch on classified intelligence matters. He has fiercely defended Trump’s immigration policies and goal of ending the war in Ukraine and has been a top supporter of Israel’s war against Iran-backed proxies. Trump considers him a possible running mate this year.
business secretary
During the first Trump administration, Commerce Department policy was relatively stagnant, and Secretary of State Wilbur Ross was perhaps best known for falling asleep in meetings. But President Joe Biden’s secretary, Gina Raimondo, has injected new energy and importance. That number grew with the passage of the $280 billion Chip and Science Act in 2022, which grants companies tens of billions of dollars to return semiconductor production from Asia to the United States. Commerce plays a key role in promoting trade and the export controls used to prevent cutting-edge technologies from falling into the hands of China, Russia and other geopolitical rivals. So far, two people are under consideration: Lighthizer and McMahon.
United States Trade Representative
The U.S. Trade Representative will also be key to Trump’s populist agenda. Two former USTR officials from the Trump era are under consideration: Jamieson Greer, who served as Lighthizer’s chief of staff, and Stephen Vaughn, who served as General Counsel, United States Trade Representative.
