After former US President Donald Trump won the US election again, he still has to wait until January 20 to take office after the inauguration.
In addition, he will need to start the process of forming his cabinet of ministers and other high-ranking officials of the new White House administration.
Reuters has compiled a list of the main contenders for some key positions that will be responsible for defense, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policy. Moreover, several officials are applying for some of these positions at once.
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Who are they, and what is their relation, in particular, to the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war — read in the material:
- Who could become the Treasury Secretary in the Trump administration
- Potential National Security Advisor
- Potential Secretary of State in the Trump team
- Potential Secretary of Defense under Trump
- Potential Candidate for the Post of Secretary of Homeland Security
- Potential Secretary of Homeland Security
- Potential Attorney General in the Trump team
- Potential White House Chief of Staff under Trump
- Sphere national security
Who could become the Trump administration's Treasury Secretary
Jamie Dimon
JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Dimon is considered a strong candidate for the post of Treasury Secretary, although it is far from certain that he will actually take this position, the agency writes.
Dimon is an opponent of what he calls the unduly burdensome regulations that have been imposed by the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other agencies during Joe Biden's presidency. If he joins the administration, he would likely push for a broad rollback of those regulations.
Notably, the New York Times reported in October that Dimon had privately discussed his preference for Kamala Harris for president and that he viewed then-President Trump's actions after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol as close to disqualifying him from holding public office.
Scott Bessent
Then there’s Bessent, a key Trump economic adviser who is often seen as a leading candidate to become Treasury Secretary. A longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale for several years, Bessent has a warm relationship with the president-elect.
While Bessent has long championed the kind of low-involvement economic policies that were popular in the Republican Party before Trump, he has also praised Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. Bessent also praises the president-elect's economic philosophy, which is rooted in skepticism of both regulations and international trade.
John Paulson
Paulson, a billionaire hedge fund manager and major Trump donor, is another leading contender for Treasury Secretary. The veteran financier has told associates he would be interested in the job.
A longtime advocate of tax cuts and deregulation, Paulson is broadly similar to other potential members of Trump's economic team. He has publicly supported targeted tariffs as a tool to ensure U.S. national security and combat unfair trade practices abroad.
One high-profile fundraiser hosted by Paulson in April raised more than $50 million for Trump.
Larry Kudlow
Fox News host Larry Kudlow, who served as director of the National Economic Council for much of Trump's first term, is in line to become Treasury secretary and would likely be given the opportunity to take a separate economics-focused job if he so chooses.
Robert Lighthizer
Lighthizer is a loyalist who served as Trump's trade representative for virtually the entirety of the then-president's term and is almost certain to be invited back. While Bessent and Paulson likely have better chances to become Treasury secretary, Lighthizer has a chance and could possibly reprise his former role if he is interested.
Like Trump, Lighthizer is a trade skeptic and a staunch supporter of tariffs. He was a leading figure in Trump's trade war with China and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with Mexico and Canada during Trump's first term.
Richard Grenell — potential national security adviser
Reuters has named only one candidate for a potential adviser on Trump's team: Richard Grenell. Grenell is one of Trump's closest foreign policy advisers. During the president-elect's first four-year term, he served as acting director of national intelligence and as the U.S. ambassador to Germany. When Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September, Grenell was present for the private meeting. Grenell's private dealings with foreign leaders and his often acerbic personality have made him the center of numerous controversies that could make his Senate confirmation process even more difficult. However, he is considered a leading contender for the post of national security adviser, which does not require Senate confirmation, and Senate confirmation is not out of the question.
Among the policies he has advocated are — creating an autonomous zone in eastern Ukraine to end the war there, which Kyiv considers unacceptable.
Potential Secretary of State on Trump's Team
Robert O'Brien
O'Brien, Trump's fourth and final national security adviser during his first term, has a close relationship with Trump, and the two frequently communicate on national security issues.
He is likely to be a contender for Secretary of State or other top foreign policy and national security posts. Since leaving office, Trump has maintained close contacts with foreign leaders, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel in May.
His views are somewhat more hawkish than those of some of Trump's advisers. For example, he is more supportive of military aid to Ukraine than many of his Republican contemporaries, and is a supporter of banning TikTok in the United States.
Bill Hagerty
A U.S. Senator from Tennessee who served during the Trump transition in 2016, Hagerty is considered a leading contender to become Secretary of State. He has strong relationships with virtually every faction of the Republican Party and is likely to be confirmed in the Senate with ease.
He served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan in the first Trump administration, when the president touted his warm relationship with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Hagerty's policies generally align with Trump's. Earlier this year, he voted against a major military aid package for Ukraine..
Marco Rubio
Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida and the 2016 Republican presidential nominee, is also a leading contender for secretary of state, with policies aligned with Trump's. Like Hagerty, he was a contender to run for Trump in the 2024 election.
Rubio has a long history of working on foreign affairs in the Senate, particularly in Latin America, and has strong ties to the party.
A Potential Defense Secretary Under Trump
Mike Waltz
A former Army Green Beret who is currently a U.S. congressman from Florida, Waltz has established himself as one of the top China hawks in the House of Representatives. Among the various China-related bills he has co-sponsored are measures to reduce U.S. dependence on critical minerals mined in China.
Waltz is on good terms with Trump and is considered a strong contender for defense secretary.
Mike Pompeo
Pompeo, who served as CIA director and secretary of state during Trump's first term, is considered a leading contender for defense secretary, but could serve in a variety of national security, intelligence, or diplomatic roles.
While Pompeo flirted with Trump during the Republican primaries, he never decided to run, and is now back on friendly terms with elected president after a period of awkwardness.
He stands out as perhaps the most ardent defender of Ukraine among Trump's close allies, a position that puts him at odds with most of the senior figures in his potential boss's camp.
Tom Cotton
A Harvard College and Harvard Law School-educated Army officer who became a U.S. senator from Arkansas, Cotton is a popular choice among Trump's donors and a strong contender for Secretary of Defense. Like Hagerty, he has emerged as a dark horse contender to run for Trump in the final weeks of the vice presidential selection process in June and July.
Cotton represents the shrinking hawkish wing of the Republican Party, having consistently supported military aid to Ukraine.
Kate Kellogg — Potential Homeland Security Secretary Candidate
A retired lieutenant general who served as Trump's National Security Council chief of staff, Kellogg is well-liked by Trump and is a contender for several national security posts, though it is unclear where he will fill them.
During the campaign, he presented Trump with a plan to end the war in Ukraine that, among other measures, would have forced both sides to the negotiating table and excluded Ukraine from NATO membership for the foreseeable future.
Potential Homeland Security Secretary on Trump's Team
Tom Homan
Homan, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a year and a half during Trump's first term, is a contender to be secretary of Homeland Security. Trump has made fighting illegal immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, promising mass deportations.
Trump has frequently praised Homan during the campaign, and Homan has frequently traveled to supporters' rallies. During Trump's first term, Homan was a leading proponent of the administration's controversial child separation policy, which separated the children of immigrants who entered the country illegally from their parents.
Chad Wolf
Wolf, who served as acting Homeland Security secretary for 14 months during Trump's first term, is in line to return to DHS.
Wolf has loyally carried out Trump's tough immigration policies and sent federal agents to Portland, Oregon, to monitor protests during the unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer.
He may have some weaknesses, however, as the agency notes. He resigned on January 11, 2021, just days after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump expressed distrust in the return of those who resigned in the final days of his term. However, in resigning, Wolf cited a legal dispute over his nomination as HHS secretary, not the Capitol attack. Several judges ruled that Trump's appointment, which effectively bypassed the Senate, was illegal.
Mark Green
A former Army flight surgeon and the current chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Greene is seen by some Trump allies in Washington as a contender for the top job at the Department of Homeland Security. Greene's supporters call him a Trump loyalist and immigration hardliner with significant legislative experience.
During his first term, Trump nominated Greene to be secretary of the Army, but he withdrew his name as his past comments, widely seen as transphobic and Islamophobic, came under closer scrutiny.
A Potential Attorney General on Trump's Team
John Ratcliffe
A former congressman and prosecutor who served as director of national intelligence during the final year of the Trump administration, Ratcliffe is seen as a potential attorney general, though he could also take a separate national security or intelligence position.
Allies of the president-elect view Ratcliffe as a staunch Trump supporter who would likely win Senate confirmation. However, as director of national intelligence, Ratcliffe often contradicted the assessments of career government officials, drawing criticism from Democrats who said he politicized the role.
Mike Lee
Lee, a U.S. senator from Utah, is widely seen as another leading candidate for attorney general. Although the former prosecutor refused to vote for Trump in the 2016 election, he later became a staunch ally, and in some factions of Trumpworld, he became something of an intellectual hero.
Lee has been a key figure in Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, and has spread baseless conspiracy theories about the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Potential Trump White House Chief of Staff
Susie Wiles
One of Trump's two campaign co-managers, Wiles is considered the front-runner to become Trump's White House chief of staff.
While her political views are unclear, she is credited with successfully and effectively running the campaign. Supporters hope she can instill a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Trump's first term, when he went through several chiefs of staff.
Brooke Rollins
A former acting director of Trump's Domestic Policy Council, Rollins is also a contender for the chief of staff position.
Trump has a close personal relationship with Rollins, often complimenting her in private.
She has been considered one of Trump's more moderate advisers during his administration. Among other policies she supported during Trump's first term were criminal justice reforms that reduced prison sentences for some relatively minor offenses.
National Security
Kash Patel has a chance to be appointed to a national security post.
A former House Republican staffer who held a variety of senior defense and intelligence posts during Trump's first term, Patel has made frequent appearances on the campaign trail to drum up support for the candidate.
Some Trump allies would like Patel, who is seen as a total loyalist, to Trump, was nominated to be the CIA director. However, any job that requires Senate confirmation can be difficult.
Patel has been embroiled in controversy throughout his career. In an interview last year with Trump supporter Steve Bannon, he vowed to “go after” politicians and journalists perceived as enemies of the president-elect.
During Trump's first term, Patel drew ill will from some more experienced national security officials, who viewed him as mercurial and too eager to please the then-president.
