Who Might Be Chosen for Donald Trump’s Next Cabinet? List of Top Contenders

Now that Donald Trump has won the 2024 election, the race for his Cabinet is on.

Multiple media outlets have reported that people are already floating names for who will fill key roles in a second Trump administration, and that the president-elect’s transition team is racing to put together a shortlist after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election.

Here’s a list of key contenders and what their roles might be in a second Trump administration, according to recent media reports:

Brooke Rollins

Brooke Rollins is a close ally of the president-elect and is the CEO of the America First Policy Institute. Rollins is a contender to be Trump’s next White House chief of staff and was previously a domestic policy adviser in the White House, The Guardian reported. She’s viewed as one of Trump’s more moderate allies.

Susie Wiles

Susie Wiles, Trump’s 2024 campaign chief, is also a contender for the chief of staff role, according to The Wall Street Journal. Wiles joined Trump’s campaign after previously working on Florida Ron DeSantis’ unsuccessful 2024 run, and she’s widely credited with playing a key role in helping deliver Trump the White House for a second time.

Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo served as Secretary of State and CIA director during Trump’s first administration. In a second Trump White House, Pompeo could be a top contender to become the secretary of defense, according to the Journal.

Richard Grenell

Richard Grenell has long been one of Trump’s staunchest allies and is seen as a top pick for several national security and foreign policy roles. The New York Times reported that Grenell, who was Trump’s ambassador to Germany and his acting director of national intelligence, has wanted to be Trump’s secretary of state since late on Election Day 2020. Grenell could also join Trump’s next Cabinet as his national security adviser, according to the Journal.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump has said that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will play a leading role in health, but it’s unclear what his position would be. Kennedy, who has endorsed anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, is said to be aiming for secretary of Health and Human Services, but The Guardian reported that multiple senior members of Trump’s campaign have ruled that out.

CNN reported that some Trump advisers are worried whether Kennedy would be able to get the security clearance necessary to be a Cabinet-confirmed official. Instead, the report said, teams for Kennedy and Trump have spoken recently about him being a czar-like official within the Trump administration, who has frequent access to the president.

Trump, for his part, has said that Kennedy will have carte blanche to “do what he wants” with women’s health and can generally “go wild on health.”

Robert Lighthizer

Robert Lighthizer served as Trump’s top trade representative in his first administration, and the president-elect praised Lighthizer as “the greatest” trade representative in U.S. history. He may be tapped to take on the role again, but, according to the Journal, he may also have a chance at snagging the Treasury secretary role.

Lighthizer faces stiff competition for the latter position; Trump is also reportedly weighing Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Jay Clayton, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CNN reported on Wednesday that Lighthizer is also a possible contender for the chief of staff role.

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican senator, became one of Trump’s key supporters in the Senate after losing the 2016 Republican primary to Trump. He’s taken a hard-line stance against China and was also a contender to be Trump’s vice presidential pick, before the president-elect ultimately chose U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio.

Rubio has been discussed as a possible contender for secretary of state, according to the Journal and CNN.

John Ratcliffe

John Ratcliffe, former U.S. representative from Texas, was also a stalwart Trump supporter on Capitol Hill and spearheaded Republicans’ defense of Trump during the Russia investigation and his first impeachment in 2019.

Trump later nominated Ratcliffe to be the director of national intelligence in 2020. On Wednesday, Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman reported that the president-elect is considering nominating Ratcliffe for CIA director in his next administration, and CNN confirmed Ratcliffe’s name has been floated for other government positions in national security or intelligence.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk went to the mat campaigning for Trump in the final weeks before Election Day, describing himself as “dark MAGA” and “dark, Gothic MAGA” at Trump’s rallies before the election.

It’s unclear what role, if any, Musk would have in a second Trump administration, but the SpaceX CEO has said he would like to see the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump has signaled at least some openness to the idea of Musk spearheading cost-cutting across the federal government. “He’s dying to do this,” Trump said of Musk in an October interview with Fox News. “You know, he’s a great business guy, actually … and he’s a great cost-cutter … and he said ‘I could cut cost without affecting anybody.'”