Here are the people whose names have been floated for Trump’s Cabinet
The latest on the contenders – from rumored to named – for top spots in the Trump administration. Latest transition updates
Update: Gingrich says he won’t hold Cabinet post under Trump
Updated Nov. 18 at 11:07 a.m.
Agriculture secretary
Current head: Tom Vilsack
Names floated
Sam Brownback
Kansas governor Source Trump promised big income-tax cuts while campaigning. Brownback slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 in hopes of stimulating Kansas's economy. (More)
Chuck Conner
CEO, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Source Not to be mistaken with Chuck Conner III, Maryland Democratic Party executive director. The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives has advocated giving undocumented immigrants who work in the agriculture industry permanent legal status. (More)
Dave Heineman
Former Nebraska governor Source
Tim Huelskamp
Outgoing Kansas congressman Source A member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who repeatedly clashed with Republican House leadership, Huelskamp lost his August primary to a local physician. (More)
Sid Miller
Texas agricultural commissioner Source Miller, an adviser to Trump, made waves with a tweet weeks ago in which he called Hillary Clinton a "c--t." It was soon deleted, blamed on a “third-party vendor.” (More)
Sonny Perdue
Former Georgia governor Source
Commerce secretary
Current head: Penny Pritzker
Names floated
Wilbur Ross
Founder of investment firm WL Ross & Co. Source Ross is a venture capitalist who has focused on buying businesses in distress. (More)
Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas governor Source
Dan DiMicco
Former Nucor CEO Source
Lew Eisenberg
RNC finance chair Source Headed the Republican National Committee’s joint fundraising effort with the campaign.
David Perdue
Senator from Georgia Source
Defense secretary
The defense secretary heads a department with more than 25,000 employees on-site, not to mention the nearly 2 million members of the armed services and reserves, and a budget that constitutes about a sixth of all federal spending.
Current head: Ashton B. Carter
Names floated
Tom Cotton
Senator from Arkansas Source An Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afganistan and, at 39, is the youngest member of the Senate.
Stephen Hadley
Former national security adviser Source
Jim Talent
Former senator from Missouri Source
Duncan D. Hunter
California congressman Source
Kelly Ayotte
Outgoing senator from New Hampshire Source If chosen, Ayotte would stand out in a Trump administration as a neoconservative defense hawk and one of the few women in the Cabinet.
Education secretary
Trump, who called the Common Core State Standards a “total disaster,” has met with some proponents of the program while considering who will head the Education Department. Some conservatives have urged him not to fill the job at all, to signal his intention to eliminate the department, an action he said during the campaign that he would consider.
Current head: John B. King Jr.
Names floated
Williamson Evers
Hoover Institution research fellow Source
Michelle Rhee
Education activist, former chancellor of D.C. Public Schools Source Several years ago, Rhee and Jeb Bush traveled the country urging states not to abandon the Common Core. She has called herself a lifelong Democrat. (More)
Betsy DeVos
Chairman of American Federation for Children, a pro-school-voucher advocacy group Source
Kevin Chavous
Former D.C. Council member and board member at American Federation for Children, a pro-school-voucher advocacy group Source
Energy secretary
Current head: Ernest Moniz
Names floated
Robert Grady
Gryphon Investors partner Source
Harold Hamm
CEO, Continential Resources Source
Health and Human Services secretary
Current head: Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Names floated
Richard Bagger
VP, Celgene Source Was recently replaced by Rick Dearborn, Sen. Jeff Sessions's chief of staff, as the transition’s executive director.
Bobby Jindal
Former Louisiana governor Source
Tom Price
Georgia congressman Source
Newt Gingrich
Former House speaker Source Seems unlikely
Gingrich said he won’t hold a post in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. (More)
Ben Carson
Retired neurosurgeon Source Seems unlikely
“The way I’m leaning is to work from the outside and not from the inside,” Carson said in an interview. (More)
Homeland Security secretary
Few jobs are likely to be as high-profile in the Trump administration than chief of the Department of Homeland Security, the third-largest Cabinet department, with more than 240,000 employees whose jobs include fighting terrorism, protecting the president and enforcing immigration laws.
Current head: Jeh Johnson
Names floated
Michael McCaul
Texas congressman Source
Joe Arpaio
Arizona sheriff Source Arpaio was defeated in his bid for a seventh consecutive term as sheriff. He was charged with criminal contempt of court for resisting a judge’s order to stop detaining people solely on suspicion that they were undocumented immigrants. (More)
David Clarke
Milwaukee County sheriff Source Known for his campaign call for “pitchforks and torches.”
Attorney General
Current head: Loretta E. Lynch
Names floated
Announced
Jeff Sessions
Senator from Alabama Source Sessions, 69, was Trump’s first endorser in the Senate and quickly became the then-candidate’s chief resource on policy. Known for his hard-line views on immigration, the fourth-term senator has been dogged by accusations of racism throughout his career. In 1986, he was denied a federal judgeship after former colleagues testified before a Senate that he joked about the Ku Klux Klan.
Kris Kobach
Kansas secretary of state Source One of Trump’s top advisers, Kobach told Reuters that the president-elect’s advisers have discussed preparing a policy proposal for a registry for Muslims. (More)
Henry McMaster
Lieutenant governor of South Carolina Source McMaster, an early Trump endorser and a U.S. attorney in South Carolina from 1981 to 1985, told the Post and Courier that he has been talking to people on the Trump transition team. (More)
Pam Bondi
Florida attorney general Source Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year after a $25,000 improper gift to Bondi from his foundation made in 2013. Bondi, the attorney general, was considering whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University. She decided not to pursue the case. (More)
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Former New York City mayor Source Seems unlikely
Giuliani appeared to take himself out of the running for the position. “I won’t be attorney general,” he said at a Wall Street Journal event. (More)
Chris Christie
Governor of New Jersey Source Seems unlikely
Mike Pence recently replaced Christie as chairman of Trump’s presidential transition effort. (More)
Secretary of state
Current head: John F. Kerry
Names floated
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Former New York City mayor Source
John Bolton
Former U.N. ambassador Source Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, declared that he is inclined to oppose Bolton or Giuliani if either is nominated for secretary of state.
Nikki Haley
Governor of South Carolina Source Haley is reportedly being considered for several possible Cabinet positions, including secretary of state. She endorsed Marco Rubio in the GOP presidential primary. (More)
Newt Gingrich
Former speaker of the House Source Seems unlikely
Gingrich said he won’t hold a post in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. (More)
Bob Corker
Senator from Tennessee, Foreign Relations Committee chairman Source Seems unlikely
"Has my name been in the mix? I’m pretty sure, yeah. Have I been having intimate conversations? No," Corker said in an interview. (More)
Interior secretary
Current head: Sally Jewell
Names floated
Jan Brewer
Former Arizona governor Source
Mary Fallin
Governor of Oklahoma Source
Cynthia M. Lummis
Wyoming congresswoman Source
Sarah Palin
Former Alaska governor Source It's not clear how serious her consideration may be, but it's one that would certainly make liberals' heads spin. That said, Palin wasn't a hugely visible supporter of Trump on the campaign trail. (More)
Forrest Lucas
President, Lucas Oil Products Source
Robert Grady
Gryphon Investors partner Source
Harold Hamm
CEO, Continential Resources Source
Treasury secretary
Current head: Jack Lew
Names floated
Steve Mnuchin
Banker Source Served as finance chair on Trump’s campaign. Some potentially thorny conflicts of interest related to his involvement in the federal bank bailout and accusations of discrimination could plague a Mnuchin nomination. (More)
Wilbur Ross
Founder of investment firm WL Ross & Co. Source Ross is a venture capitalist who has focused on buying businesses in distress. (More)
Jeb Hensarling
Texas congressman Source
Thomas Barrack
Founder, Colony Capital Source Global real estate investor and Trump business associate who hosted the candidate’s first fundraiser in May.
Transportation secretary
Naming a transportation secretary doesn’t seem to be a high priority in Trump Tower, despite the fact that the president-elect has promised to pour $1 trillion into roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Current head: Anthony Foxx
Names floated
Shirley Ybarra
Former Reason Foundation senior transportation policy analyst Source Ybarra is the Trump transition team member tasked with finding the new Sec/Trans, and there’s talk that she may be a candidate for the job herself. (More)
James S. Simpson
Former New Jersey Department of Transportation commissioner Source Simpson ran New Jersey’s Department of Transportation under Chris Christie, but after Christie was banished from Trump’s inner-circle, Simpson may fall from favor. (More)
Mark Rosenker
Retired Air Force major general; former chair, National Transportation Safety Board Source
John Mica
Outgoing Florida congressman Source Lost his re-election bid for a House seat he’d held since 1992. (More)
Veterans Affairs secretary
Current head: Robert McDonald
Names floated
Jeff Miller
Florida congressman Source
Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Current head: Gina McCarthy
Names floated
Myron Ebell
Policy director, Competitive Enterprise Institute Source
Robert Grady
Gryphon Investors partner Source
Jeffrey Holmstead
Attorney, lobbyist for Bracewell; former EPA official Source
Mike Catanzaro
Partner at the lobbying firm CGCN; former EPA official Source
White House staff
Names floated
Announced, Senior Counselor, Chief Strategist
Stephen K. Bannon
Breitbart chief Source Bannon’s appointment was denounced by advocacy groups and Democrats, who accuse him of racist, anti-Semitic and misogynist views. (More)
Announced, Chief of Staff
Reince Priebus
RNC chair Source If the campaign is indeed the model for their White House partnership, Bannon will hold more sway over Trump than Priebus. (More)
Announced, National security adviser
Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn
Former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Source Trump asked Flynn, a retired lieutenant general with a record of incendiary statements about Muslims, to be his White House national security adviser. (More)
Ken Blackwell
Senior fellow, Family Research Council Source Blackwell, a prominent social conservative, is leading the transition’s domestic policy efforts, positioning him for a similar White House role.
Don McGahn
Transition chief counsel Source
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