All the President's Men: Those Who Could Make Team Trump

Donald Trump could begin selecting a Cabinet and selecting other senior administration officials in the coming weeks. The top contenders for some of the key posts are:
Financial secrecy: Scott Bessent
Scott Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is widely seen as a leading candidate for Treasury secretary. A long-time hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, Bessent maintains a warm relationship with the president-elect. While Bessent has long advocated the laissez-faire policies popular in the pre-Trump Republican Party, he has also praised Trump's use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. He praised the president-elect's economic philosophy, which is based on a skepticism of both regulations and international trade.
NSA: Richard Grenell
Richard Grenell is one of Trump's closest foreign policy advisors. Grenell's private dealings with foreign executives and his often caustic personality have made him the center of numerous controversies. Among the measures he advocates is the establishment of an autonomous zone in eastern Ukraine, a position Kiev considers unacceptable.
Secretary of State: Robert O'Brien
Robert O'Brien was Trump's fourth and final national security adviser during his first term. He has maintained close ties with foreign leaders since Trump left office and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel in May. He is a supporter of banning TikTok.
Marco Rubio, a Florida senator and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is also a front-runner for secretary of state, whose policies closely align with Trump's. He was a contender to become Trump's running mate in 2024. Rubio has long been involved in foreign affairs in the Senate, particularly as it relates to Latin America.
Secretary of Defense: Mike Waltz and Mike Pompeo
Mike Waltz, a former Army Green Beret and current U.S. congressman from Florida, has established himself as one of the leading China hawks in the House of Representatives. Among the various China-related bills he has co-sponsored are steps aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on critical minerals mined in China. Mike Pompeo, CIA director and secretary of state during Trump's first term, is also a top contender for the post. He stands out among Trump's allies as perhaps Ukraine's fiercest defender, a position that puts him at odds with most senior figures in the camp.
DHS boss: Chad Wolf
Chad Wolf, who served as Trump's acting Homeland Security secretary for about 14 months during his first term, may have a chance to return to DHS. Wolf loyally implemented Trump's tough immigration policies and sent agents to Portland to control protests during the unrest that followed the killing of black man George Floyd by a white police officer. He may have some criticism against him: He resigned on January 11, 2021, just days after the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
Attorney General: Mike Lee
Although the former prosecutor declined to vote for Trump in the 2016 election, he later became a steadfast ally. As a senator, Lee was a key figure in Trump's attempts to overturn his defeat in 2020 and has promoted conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 attack.