On Wednesday, November 5, Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election with 312 electoral votes as compared to Kamala Harris’s 226. Now, a week into his new status as President-elect, he has been slowly appointing his Cabinet members. At the time of writing, not all of Trump’s picks are announced or official, as positions require Senate approval. However, the new Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans have control of the Senate, House, and Oval Office, will potentially make approval easier for the selected candidates.
The Cabinet includes 15 different departments, with the President-elect appointing the leaders. The 15 different positions Trump will therefore be making nominations for are, “the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General.” (whitehouse.gov). Additionally, the Cabinet includes the Vice President. Trump so far has only made seven out of fifteen of his assignments and nominations. The president can also elevate certain positions to the cabinet, however, the fifteen are the most consistent, thus they will be the focus of this report.
Moving forward, one key role Trump has already covered is Secretary of State, for which he has selected Floridian Senator Marco Rubio. Rubio’s official statement on his selection was shared on X (formerly Twitter), “Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me…Under the leadership of President Trump, we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.” Trump’s pick for Attorney General is Matt Gaetz, whose nomination has been met with much controversy due to his being the subject of a three-year sex trafficking investigation. According to NPR, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine stated, “I was shocked at the nomination,” and continued by stating that his approval process would be difficult.
Trump has tapped Pete Hegseth for the position of Defence Secretary, which he stated is due to his combat experience. Hegseth is currently a Fox News host who has been with the network since 2014 and has historically had aligned views on military processes with Trump. Kristi Noem is the governor of South Dakota and is being nominated by Trump to fill the Homeland Security position. This sect is in charge of immigration which has been a controversial topic throughout the election year. Her alignment with Trump suggests that she will follow through with his plans for immigration if confirmed for the job.
Another nomination by Trump is for R.F.K. Jr. to fill the Health and Human Services job. R.F.K. Jr. has been under fire since the election due to his skepticism on vaccines and medicine, which makes his confirmation difficult to predict, similar to that of Matt Gaetz. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has been nominated for the Interior Department, which during the Trump administration will largely focus on oil and gas drilling within the US. Burgum has ties with oil companies therefore Burgums’ nomination highlights the topic as a key point in Trump’s agenda. The final of Trump’s nominations hitherto is Doug Collins for the Veterans Affairs Department. Collins, being a Veteran himself, made a statement on X regarding his nomination, “We’ll fight tirelessly to streamline and cut regulations in the VA, root out corruption, and ensure every veteran receives the benefits they’ve earned.” He has also been a consistent Trump ally throughout the presidential controversies.
With over half of the positions still open, who Trump will appoint is unpredictable. More announcements will come in the following weeks or even months until January 20th, 2025, when Trump will officially take office following his inauguration.
