Donald Trump is preparing to stack his cabinet with billionaires and loyalists if re-elected – and is carving out a special role for one giddy supporter who happens to be the world’s richest man.
Trump’s cabinet during his four years in the White House featured an extraordinary level of tumult.
The wealthiest cabinet in history, it was hit by a series of resignations amid investigative reports on misuse of government aircraft, pricey furniture expenditures, and other scandals.
Some members who lasted that long resigned in the wake of January 6. His last Attorney General called him unfit for office.
If Trump takes the oath of office again on January 20th, he has made clear he will bring in pro-MAGA loyalists who will implement the changes he has called for on the campaign trail.
That means an Interior Secretary who will ‘frack, frack, frack,’ and an Attorney General who will shut down special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump.
Budget slashing role for Elon Musk
He’d have to divest from his massive holdings to take on a Cabinet-level role – and likely could never get Democrats to confirm his nomination anyway, but one person Trump has made it clear will be joining him in some governing capacity is Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk.
After Musk jumped up and down at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania and donated millions to his campaign, Trump has said the billionaire could oversee a commission on streamlining government and eliminating bureaucratic waste.
Trump has also floated a new cabinet position he said would involve ‘doing everything in the federal government’s power to reduce the cost of living,’ but Musk would be out of the running for such a role.
The role would be to head the department of the Department Of Government Efficiency or D.O.G.E.
At the Madison Square Garden rally last weekend, Musk said a Trump would get the government ‘off’ of the back of Americans and ‘out of their pocketbooks’.
He also said he could save the U.S. $2 trillion in spending cuts.
RFK Jr. to be self-styled health czar
Trump rival-turned-endorser Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will also get a role – at least according to RFK Jr. himself.
‘The key, which President Trump has promised me, is control of the public health agencies, which is HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH and a few others,’ he said on a Zoom call with supporters.
Kennedy said the weekend before the election that Trump had ‘promised him’ control of the ‘public health agencies’.
One of his first policies, Kennedy said, would be to advise all public water systems in the U.S. to remove fluoride from its water.
At his rallies, Trump has touted Kennedy’s focus on healthy food and said he would let the former independent presidential candidate ‘go wild’ with his oversight.
Trump seeks ‘SOB diplomat’
At CPAC, Trump called for an ‘SOB diplomat.’
Trump still refers to former U.S. ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell as his ‘envoy’ and he has turned up in Guatemala and other countries where officials have reason to believe he speaks for Trump.
Robert O’Brien, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, has defended the former president publicly and said some former cabinet members who didn’t were not ‘America First folks.’
Whoever fills the top foreign policy roles for Trump will face high expectations. Trump has said he could end Russia’s war on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza before he takes office.
Lots of Lutnick
Wealthy investor Howard Lutnick, who raised $75 million for Trump and co-heads his transition effort, could also be up for a prime job.
Politico listed him as a potential Treasury Secretary.
Lutnick was one of the speakers at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally last Sunday.
He also said he has spoken to Musk about cleaning up the government’s financial efficiency.
‘We’re going to rip the waste out of our $6.5 trillion budget and we are going to then balance the budget … we have offices we don’t use, we have procurement waste at vast scale and I mean vast scale,’ said Lutnick.
Others who could be in line for Treasury Secretary include former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who helped Trump formalize trade deals with China, Canada and Mexico.
Another name would be one from the Republican nominee’s first term: Steve Mnuchin.
The former Treasury Secretary has stayed away from the 2024 race and has only made a handful of media appearances since he left the White House.
But he is still considered a top Trump ally.
The Wall Street Journal reported that investor Scott Bessent could also be in the mix.
Raid Congress
Presidents often turn to Congress to fill top agency jobs, and Trump may well be temped to look there again – although the nature of the Senate majority will be critical.
If Republicans pick up the chamber, as many experts predict they will, the size of the majority would shape whether Trump could pluck out a loyalist like Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a former Army officer mentioned as a potential Secretary of Defense.
Cotton has been a loyal Trump defender, an obvious plus given that two previous occupants of the job – former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and James Mattis – have denounced their former commander in chief.
Rep. Mike Waltz, a Green Beret and Trump advisor, has also been mentioned.
So has Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, Trump’s former ambassador to Japan.
Toughest job in Washington – with a certain prerequisite
Among the most closely watched moves if Trump were to win would be his choice for Attorney General.
The nation’s top law enforcement officer always has a critical role. But in Trump’s term, he often clashed with the AG, including over his calls to investigate voter fraud, or to use U.S. military forces to shut down protests.
Trump has spent much of his campaign inveighing against the classified documents probe. Special Counsel Jack Smith has appealed a Trump-appointed judge’s order dismissing it and his January 6 case.
Trump’s language makes it certain he would name someone he trusts. He grew angry at his first Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the Russia probe, and clashed with Bill Barr over his election fraud claims.
One figure Trump could try to bring in is Jeffrey Clark, who played a key role in Trump’s 2020 election overturn effort.
Secretary of State
Trump has a list of allies at his disposal, especially among members of Congress who have served on Intelligence or Foreign Committees in the Senate or House.
Senator Marco Rubio was on the shortlist of running mates and has served as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
He is a member of the GOP who would have an easier ride during the confirmation process.
Haggerty is another potential candidate to be America’s representative on the world stage.
Robert O’Brien, who is not in the Senate and was Trump’s national security adviser, is also a name to be considered.
Energy Secretary
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum would be the likely favorite to take the job.
The Republican was a finalist to be Trump’s vice president and has already seen signs he would be first in line.
When Trump called Burgum to say he wouldn’t be running mate, he referred to him as ‘Mr Secretary’.
The former president also told a rally crowd that Burgum ‘probably knows more about energy than anybody I know’.
Another frequent fixture of Trump’s campaign events has been his slogan ‘drill baby drill’ and his desire to tap into more oil, or ‘liquid gold’, in the United States.
Whoever leads the Department of Energy will be at the forefront of those efforts.
Commerce Secretary
Linda McMahon, the founder of WWE and Trump’s former administrator of Small Business Administration, is now leading Trump’s transition team.
She has been a name considered, along with Lighthizer, for the job of pushing Trump’s aggressive tariff policy that has been at the center of his campaign.
Other names… including allies, Democrats and wildcards
Harris said she would be willing to name a Republican in her Cabinet, and Trump has said he is open to doing the same.
While the names may not come from the traditional Democratic Party structure, the likes of Kennedy and former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard may fit the bill for Trump. Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party to become an independent, announced at a Trump rally last month that she was joining the Republican Party.
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy could be in line for many positions including Commerce Secretary, Homeland Security Secretary or the head of Health and Human Services. ‘We’re gonna bring him in,’ Trump said at an October rally.
The biotech entrepreneur endorsed Trump when he dropped out of the Republican race earlier this year and has been a constant fixture on the campaign trail.
Ben Carson ran the Department of Housing and Urban Development during Trump’s first term and has been loyal to the former president ever since.
The brain surgeon could be in line for another role in the administration if Trump is successful next week.
Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, a Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient, has also hinted he would be open to running the Department of Veteran Affairs.