President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, Department of Government Efficiency

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before president-elect Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27 in New York.

Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency.

The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added that the move would shock government systems.

It's not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.

Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.

Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016.

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

Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.

Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year.

Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign town hall on Oct. 14 in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

President-elect Donald Trump picked a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda.

Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.

South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic.

She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.

John Ratfcliffe, CIA director

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, testifies before a hearing April 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next.

Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel

President-elect Donald Trump talks with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee during a roundtable at the Drexelbrook Catering & Event Center on Oct. 29 in Drexel Hill, Pa.

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, Trump announced Tuesday.

Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.

“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”

Marco Rubio, secretary of state

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., during a campaign rally at on Nov. 4 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

President-elect Donald Trump plans to tap U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, making him the first Latino to helm the State Department, according to a source familiar with the plans.

Trump’s selection of Rubio, born in Miami to Cuban parents, is expected to assuage fears among GOP lawmakers seeking a continued U.S. presence abroad amid a lurch toward isolationism within the party.

Currently serving as vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio has kept focus like few others in Congress on U.S. policy toward Latin America, advocating harsh sanctions on dictatorial regimes in Cuba and Venezuela.

He has been a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine, but also this week said the war had entered a “stalemate” and would need to end, echoing statements from the president-elect. And Rubio is an outspoken critic of the Chinese government and said this summer that Trump would continue supporting Taiwan against a potential invasion, penning legislation that would boost deterrence against a war in the Pacific.

In the Middle East, Rubio has consistently pressed for a maximum-pressure strategy against Iran and supported Trump’s decision to withdraw from an international agreement governing its nuclear program. And he has broadly backed Israel’s wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, rejecting accusations that Israeli forces have used excessive force in either conflict.

Mike Waltz, national security adviser

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., speaks outside the hush money criminal case of Donald Trump in New York in May.

Trump asked Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before Trump made a formal announcement.

The move would put Waltz at the forefront of a litany of national security crises, ranging from the ongoing effort to provide weapons to Ukraine and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah.

Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.

He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its ongoing mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.

Lee Zeldin, EPA

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., speaks at a rally in Concord, N.H., Jan. 19, 2024.

Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X, “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added.

During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.

>In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.”

Susie Wiles, chief of staff

Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport on July 27.

Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.

Wiles has a background in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump's defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary.

Wiles’ hire was Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with the president-elect. Wiles is said to have earned Trump's trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump's three presidential campaigns.

Wiles was able to help keep Trump on track as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, but by winning his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her advice.

Tom Homan, ‘border czar’

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Thomas Homan speaks during an interview in East Point, Ga., April 26, 2018.

Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.

>Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.

Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.”

Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.

Elise Stefanik, United Nations ambassador

Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., waves to supporters at CPAC in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 23.

Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment.

Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership.

Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.

If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah.

Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy

Stephen Miller speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27.

Miller, an immigration hardliner, was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration.

Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.

Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security.

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