Pompeo, Kennedy… and Musk? Who could be in Trump's new administration | US elections 2024

Elon Musk, who has become a bona fide Trump cheerleader and holds billions of dollars in federal contracts, has reportedly sought a role in a second Trump administration where he will be in charge of the regulators that oversee him. Trump appeared to rule out a Cabinet role for Musk, but said he wanted the tech billionaire to play an unspecified role in his administration. The world's richest person has proposed the creation of a Ministry of Government Efficiency.

Mike Pompeo, a former CIA director and secretary of state and loyal Trump ally, decided not to challenge his former boss for the Republican nomination. The staunch supporter of Israel and arch-enemy of Iran is widely seen as a key contender for a top position in the new government, possibly as defense minister.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the assassinated Bobby Kennedy and nephew of JFK, whose independent presidential campaign at times reached up to 10% of the vote, firmly believes that he has a chance of a role in Trump's Cabinet after supporting the Republican . While senior members of Trump's campaign have ruled out Kennedy getting a job at the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump said he would let him “do whatever he wants” with women's health if he made it to the White House, citing Kennedy's comments on it the situation would “freak out” on food and medicine.

Richard Grenell, a former Fox News contributor who is one of Trump's closest foreign policy advisers, is likely in the running for secretary of state or other top foreign policy and national security posts. A former U.S. ambassador to Germany and a vocal supporter of Trump's “America First” credo on the international stage in his first term, he has pushed for the establishment of an autonomous zone in eastern Ukraine to end the war there, a position that Kiev considers unacceptable.

The far-right Republican senator from Arkansas emerged as a dark contender to become Trump's running mate in the final weeks of the vice presidential selection process. In an infamous 2020 New York Times op-ed headlined “Send In the Troops,” Tom Cotton compared the Black Lives Matter protests to a rebellion and called on the government to use the U.S. military against protesters by he invoked the Insurrection Act. He is very popular with Trump donors and is also considered a contender for defense secretary.

Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and former U.S. housing secretary, has advocated for a nationwide ban on abortion – a stance that contradicts most Americans and even Donald Trump himself. During his 2016 campaign, he ran into controversy when he compared abortion to slavery and said he wanted to see the end of Roe v. Wade. When the Supreme Court reversed its decision in the Dobbs case, it called it “a decisive correction.” Carson could be nominated by Trump to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Scott Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump and ally of JD Vance, the manager of the macro hedge fund Key Square, is considered a possible Cabinet candidate. The Wall Street investor and prominent Trump fundraiser has praised Trump's use of tariffs as a negotiating tool.

Michael Waltz, a former U.S. Army Green Beret who now serves as a congressman for Florida, has cemented his reputation as a leading advocate for a tougher stance against China in the House of Representatives. He played a leading role in promoting legislation aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on minerals from China. Waltz is known to have a close friendship with Trump, and he has also expressed support for U.S. aid to Ukraine while pushing for greater control of American taxpayer money allocated to support Kiev's defense efforts become. In the US media he was considered a candidate for the position of Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State.

Robert Lighthizer is Donald Trump's highest-ranking trade representative. He is a strong believer in tariffs and was a leading figure in Trump's trade war with China. Lighthizer is described by Trump as “the greatest U.S. trade representative in American history” and will almost certainly be back in the new Cabinet. Although Scott Bessent and billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson likely have better chances to become Treasury secretary, Lighthizer has a few chances: Maybe he can reprise his old role as U.S. trade representative or become the new commerce secretary.

Brooke Rollins, a former White House domestic policy adviser, has a close personal relationship with Trump. Many consider her to be one of Trump's more moderate advisors. She supported the former president's first-term criminal justice reforms, which reduced prison sentences for some relatively minor offenses, and is considered a leading contender for chief of staff.

One of Trump's two campaign managers, Susie Wiles, may be competing with Brooke Rollins for the job of chief of staff. Although her political views remain somewhat unclear, she is seen as the leader of a successful and smooth presidential campaign. Supporters believe she could introduce a level of organization and discipline that was often missing in Trump's first term, which was marked by a series of changes in the chief of staff role.

Although he was less prominent on the campaign trail than in previous election cycles, the 47th president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has been active behind the scenes, campaigning for his friend JD Vance for vice president. He has built a loyal following in the MAGA universe with his Triggered podcast and, alongside his brother Eric Trump, has taken on a role in the transition process to form a new government. The formal co-chairs of the transition are Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term.

Stephen Miller was a senior policy adviser early in Trump's first term and the main architect of the Muslim travel ban. He is expected to be back in the White House for a second Trump term, which the president-elect says will be the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. The anti-immigrant extremist is also the founder of America First Legal, a group he calls the right's “long-awaited answer” to the American Civil Liberties Union, and is already helping advance plans for Trump's second term .