Trump’s key Cabinet picks complete: See who’s nominated

President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend named the last of his picks to lead the nation’s 15 executive agencies under his upcoming presidency. 

Many of his nominations have made headlines in the nearly three weeks since the election, as he’s tapping in several picks outside the Republican mainstream. 

He’s selected television personalities, former Democrats, a wrestling executive in addition to traditional elected Republicans.

Some of his choices could face difficult confirmation battles even with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate. One candidate, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice for attorney general, has withdrawn.

Here are the nominations, in order of succession to the presidency, after the vice presidency and President Pro Tempore of the Senate: 

Secretary of State: Marco Rubio

Florida senator Marco Rubio, 53, is in line to serve as top diplomat. He’s a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. 

His once-rocky relationship with Trump has improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump’s plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations.

Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

READ MORE: Trump pickS Sen. Marco Rubio as Secretary of State

Treasury Secretary: Scott Bessent

Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction.

He’s warned that the ballooning national debt, paired with higher interest rates, drives consumer inflation. But he also supports extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that added to the overall debt and annual debt service payments to investors who buy Treasury notes.

He rejects the idea that Trump’s proposed tariffs feed inflation and instead frames tariffs as one-time price adjustments and leverage to achieve U.S. foreign policy and domestic economic aims.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.

READ MORE: Trump to nominate Scott Bessent as treasury secretary

Defense Secretary: Pete Hegseth

Hegseth, 44, was a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014. He developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.

Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011. He has two Bronze Stars. However, Hegseth lacks senior military and national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises.

A police report made public recently in California revealed a 2017 sexual assault allegation against Hegseth, which he denies. 

RELATED: Police investigated sex assault allegations against Pete Hegseth in California; here’s what they found

Attorney General: Pam Bondi

Pam Bondi, 59, was Florida’s first female attorney general serving between 2011 and 2019. She was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.

Considered a loyalist, she has served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that has helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute.

She was nominated after Trump’s initial pick, U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. 

RELATED: 5 things to know about Pam Bondi

Interior Secretary: Doug Burgum

The governor of North Dakota, once little-known outside his state, is a former Republican presidential primary contender and on the shortlist for Trump’s vice presidential pick. 

The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs.

He will also have a seat on the National Security Council, which would be a first for the Interior secretary.

Agriculture Secretary: Brooke Rollins

Former White House aide Brooke Rollins, 52, was the last Cabinet secretary to be nominated. 

She heads the Trump-allies America First Policy Institute, was the director of his office of American innovation in his first term. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

She graduated from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development.

Commerce Secretary: Howard Lutnick

Howard Lutnick heads up the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is co-chair of Trump’s transition operation, charged along with Linda McMahon with helping the president-elect build a Cabinet for his second administration.

As commerce secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump’s plans to raise and enforce tariffs. He would oversee a sprawling Cabinet department whose oversight ranges from funding new computer chip factories and imposing trade restrictions to releasing economic data and monitoring the weather.

Labor Secretary: Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon has been tapped to sit at the Cabinet table as a pro-union labor secretary alongside multiple billionaires, former governors and others who oppose making it easier for workers to organize themselves.

Health and Human Services Secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Trump’s choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department, and he’s said he intends to take on the U.S. agriculture, food processing and drug manufacturing sectors.

His nomination has alarmed some over his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines. For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. He’s also supports abortion rights, which could conflict Trump’s more conservative Christian base. 

Kennedy ran for president as a Democrat, then as an independent, and then endorsed Trump. He’s the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign.

RELATED: Is beef tallow healthier than seed oils? Unpacking RFK Jr.’s views

Housing and Urban Development Secretary: Scott Turner

Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office.

RELATED: Trump nominates former NFL player Scott Turner as housing and urban development secretary

Transportation Secretary: Sean Duffy

Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump’s most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business.

Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children.

Energy Secretary: Chris Wright

A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Chris Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.

Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States.

Education Secretary: Linda McMahon

McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling mogul, would be making a return appearance in a second Trump administration. 

She led the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019 during Trump’s first term and twice ran unsuccessfully in Connecticut as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. 

She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University. She has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

RELATED: Linda McMahon: A look at the background of Trump’s pick for Education secretary

Veterans Affairs Secretary: Doug Collins

Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial.

Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.

Homeland Security Secretary: Kristi Noem

Noem is a well-known conservative who used her two terms as South Dakota’s governor to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.”

Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.

Other Cabinet-rank status positions:

The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank, and have been filled: 

• White House Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles
• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Lee Zeldin
• Office of Management and Budget Director: Russell Vought
• United Nations Ambassador: Elise Stefanik

As of Nov. 25, 2024, he still has not named his picks for trade representative chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, administrator of Small Business Administration and the Trade Representative Ambassador.