FACTBOX | Trump's cabinet: who's been picked, who's in the running?

Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials after his presidential election victory.

Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defence, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policymaking. Some are in contention for a range of posts.

SUSIE WILES, chief of staff

Trump announced last week that Wiles, one of his two campaign managers, will be his White House chief of staff.

While the specifics of her political views are somewhat unclear, Wiles, 67, is credited with running a successful and efficient campaign. Supporters hope she will instil a sense of order and discipline that was often lacking during Trump's first four-year term, when he cycled through a number of chiefs of staff.

TOM HOMAN, 'border czar'

Trump announced on Sunday that Homan, the acting director of immigration and customs enforcement during Trump's first administration, will be in charge of the country's borders.

Trump made cracking down on people illegally in the country a central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations.

Homan, 62, said on Monday he would prioritise deporting immigrants illegally in the US who posed safety and security threats as well as those working at job sites.

ELISE STEFANIK, UN ambassador

Trump announced on Monday that Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman and staunch Trump supporter, would be his ambassador to the UN.

Stefanik, 40, a US representative from New York state and House Republican conference chair, took a leadership position in the House of Representatives in 2021 when she was elected to replace then-Representative Liz Cheney, who was ousted for criticising Trump's false claims of election fraud.

“Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart 'America First' fighter,” Trump said.

Stefanik will arrive at the UN after bold promises by Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel's war in Gaza.

LEE ZELDIN, EPA administrator

Trump announced on Monday he had appointed former congressman Lee Zeldin of New York state as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Zeldin said he had accepted the role.

Zeldin, 44, a staunch Trump ally, served in Congress from 2015 to 2023. In 2022, he lost the New York governor's race to Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul.

Trump has promised to overhaul US energy policy, with the aim of maximising the country's already record-high oil and gas production by rolling back regulations and speeding up permitting.

MARCO RUBIO, secretary of state

Trump is expected to tap US Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, sources said on Monday, putting the Florida-born politician on track to be the first Latino to serve as the US' top diplomat.

Rubio, 53, was arguably the most hawkish option on Trump's shortlist for secretary of state. The senator has in past years advocated a muscular foreign policy with respect to US geopolitical foes, including China, Iran and Cuba.

Over the past several years he has softened some of his stances to align more closely with Trump's views. The president-elect accuses past US presidents of leading the US into costly and futile wars and has pushed for a less interventionist foreign policy.

PETE HEGSETH, defence secretary

Trump said on Tuesday he has picked Pete Hegseth as his secretary of defence. Hegseth is a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer.

Hegseth, if confirmed by the US Senate, could make good on Trump's campaign promises to rid the US military of generals who he accuses of pursuing progressive policies on diversity in the ranks that conservatives have rallied against.

It could also set up a collision course between Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown who Hegseth accused of “pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians”.

MIKE WALTZ, national security adviser

Trump said on Tuesday he had picked Republican US Representative Mike Waltz to be national security adviser. Waltz is a retired Army Green Beret who has been a leading critic of China.

Waltz, a 50-year-old Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, has criticised Chinese activity in the Asia-Pacific and has voiced the need for the US to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.

The national security adviser is a powerful role, which does not require Senate confirmation. Waltz will be responsible for briefing Trump on key national security issues and co-ordinating with different agencies.

While slamming the Biden administration for a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Waltz has publicly praised Trump's foreign policy views.

ELON MUSK AND VIVEK RAMASWAMY, heads of department of government efficiency

Trump on Tuesday named Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a newly created department of government efficiency, rewarding two of his well-known supporters from the private sector.

Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies”, Trump said.

The new department “will provide advice and guidance from outside government” and work with the White House and office of management and budget to “drive large scale structural reform and create an entrepreneurial approach”.

KRISTI NOEM, homeland security secretary

South Dakota governor Kristi Noem has been picked to serve as the next homeland security secretary, Trump said on Tuesday.

Noem, 52, once seen as a possible running mate for Trump, is serving her second four-year term as South Dakota's governor. She rose to national prominence after refusing to impose a statewide mask mandate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department of homeland security is responsible for everything from border protection and immigration to disaster response and the US Secret Service.

“Kristi has been strong on border security. She was the first governor to send National Guard soldiers to help Texas fight the Biden border crisis, and they were sent a total of eight times,” Trump said.

Noem would work closely with his “border czar” Tom Homan. In an X post, Noem said she looked forward to working with Homan to “make America safe again”.

JOHN RATCLIFFE, CIA director

Trump said on Tuesday he had picked former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

A former congressman and prosecutor who served as director of national intelligence during Trump's last year in office, Ratcliffe, 59, is seen as a hard-core Trump loyalist who could likely win Senate confirmation. Still, during his time as director of national intelligence Ratcliffe often contradicted the assessments of career civil servants, drawing criticism from Democrats who said he politicised the role.

SCOTT BESSENT, potential treasury secretary

Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is widely seen as a top candidate for treasury secretary. A longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, Bessent has a warm relationship with the president-elect.

While Bessent has long favoured the laissez-faire policies that were popular in the pre-Trump Republican Party, he has also spoken highly of Trump's use of tariffs as a negotiating tool. He has praised the president-elect's economic philosophy, which rests on a scepticism of regulations and international trade.

ROBERT LIGHTHIZER, trade czar, potential treasury secretary

A loyalist who served as Trump's US trade representative for essentially the then-president's entire term, Lighthizer will almost certainly be invited back.

Though Bessent probably has a better shot at becoming treasury secretary, Lighthizer has an outside chance and he might be able to reprise his old role if he's interested.

The Wall Street Journal has reported Trump wanted Lighthizer as his trade czar.

Like Trump, Lighthizer, 77, is a trade sceptic and a firm believer in tariffs. He was one of the leading figures in Trump's trade war with China and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada during Trump's first term.

HOWARD LUTNICK, potential treasury secretary

The co-chair of Trump's transition effort and the longtime CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick is in the running for treasury secretary.

A bombastic New Yorker like Trump, Lutnick, 63, has uniformly praised the president-elect's economic policies, including his use of tariffs.

He has at times given elaborate, unvarnished opinions about what policies will be enacted in Trump's second term. Some Trump allies had privately complained he too often presented himself as speaking on behalf of the campaign.

LINDA McMAHON, potential commerce secretary

Professional wrestling magnate and former small business administration director Linda McMahon is seen as the front-runner to lead Trump's department of commerce, three sources briefed on the plans said.

McMahon, 76, is a major donor and was an early supporter of the Republican president-elect when he first ran for the White House almost a decade ago. This time, Trump tapped her to co-lead a transition team formed to help vet personnel and draft policy before the November 5 election.

McMahon is the co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE. She later served as director of the small business administration, resigning in 2019, and went on to lead a pro-Trump political action committee that supported his 2020 re-election bid.

MIKE LEE, potential attorney-general

A US senator from Utah, Lee is widely seen as a top candidate for attorney-general. Though the former prosecutor declined to vote for Trump during the 2016 election, he later became an unwavering ally and he has become something of an intellectual hero among some factions of Trumpworld.

Lee, 53, was a key figure in attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden and has spread unfounded conspiracy theories about the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol.

KASH PATEL, potential candidate for national security posts

A former Republican House staffer who served in various high-ranking staff roles in the defence and intelligence communities during Trump's first term, Patel frequently appeared on the campaign trail to rally support for the candidate.

Any position requiring Senate confirmation may be a challenge, however.

Patel, 44, has leant into controversy throughout his career. In an interview with Trump ally Steve Bannon last year, he promised to “come after” politicians and journalists perceived to be enemies of Trump.

During Trump's first term, Patel, seen as the ultimate Trump loyalist, drew animosity from some more experienced national security officials who saw him as volatile and too eager to please the then-president.

Reuters