Donald Trump’s top team: Who is in, who is out and who are the leading contenders?
As the dust settles on Donald Trump’s US election win, the president-elect has begun choosing who will be in his administration for his second stint in the White House.
During the campaign, Mr Trump avoided directly confirming any appointments but frequently dropped hints about who he would like in his top team.
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So who is in, who is out and who are the leading contenders for jobs?
Who is in?
Susie Wiles
Susie Wiles at Nashville International Airport in July. Pic: AP
Susie Wiles is a veteran Republican campaign manager – having helped Ronald Reagan and Ron DeSantis get elected as well as Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024. She is the first member of his team to be announced – and becomes the first female chief-of-staff in American history.
The 67-year-old, who lives in Florida, has a political career that spans decades but has largely kept out of the limelight and rarely given interviews.
She is the daughter of late American footballer Pat Summerall and one of her first jobs in politics was as an assistant to one of his former New York Giants teammates when he became a Republican representative.
Outside politics, she has worked in the private sector as a lobbyist, for both Ballard Partners, whose clients include Amazon, Google, and the MLB (Major League Baseball), and then Mercury, which works with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the Embassy of Qatar.
This time around, Mr Trump credited her with his “best-run” presidential campaign, describing her as “incredible” at a Milwaukee rally earlier this year, and an “ice maiden” in his victory speech.
Who is out?
Nikki Haley
Former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley on day two of the Republican National Convention this summer.
Pic: Reuters
Ms Haley was once Mr Trump’s main rival during his run for the Republican presidential nomination.
Despite losing the contest, she proved her popularity with parts of the GOP and previously served in his first presidential cabinet as the US ambassador to the United Nations.
The 51-year-old also served as governor of South Carolina but news of her not being involved this time around was broken by the president-elect on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
In a short statement, Mr Trump said he would not be inviting either her nor former secretary of state Mike Pompeo back but thanked them for their service.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
In response, Ms Haley, who eventually endorsed Mr Trump despite harshly criticising him in the party primaries, said: “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations.
“I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.”
Mike Pompeo
Mr Pompeo also served as the director of the CIA under Mr Trump and had been mentioned in some reports as a possible defence secretary or in relation to another role linked to national security, intelligence or diplomacy.
Mr Trump confirmed Mr Pompeo would not be returning to his cabinet in the same post that he ruled out Ms Haley.
Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Pic: AP
Previously among Mr Trump’s closest allies, Mr Pompeo is one of the fiercest US defenders of Ukraine.
Mike Waltz, a congressman from Florida, and Tom Cotton, a Harvard College and Harvard Law School-educated Army officer-turned-senator from Arkansas, are also believed to be in the running for the defence role.
Who is yet to be decided?
Elon Musk
Elon Musk joined Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Pic: Reuters
Tech billionaire Elon Musk became one of Mr Trump’s staunchest supporters in the months leading up to the election and spent at least $119m (£92m) canvassing for him in the seven battleground states.
His loyalty looks set to be rewarded as Mr Trump has promised the X owner a role as the head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE for short, a reference to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency Mr Musk often promotes).
The department would be “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government”, Mr Trump said at an event in September.
It could give the billionaire the power to slash through the US federal bureaucracy both he and Mr Trump say has long held America back.
Robert F Kennedy Jr
Robert F Kennedy Jr. Pic: AP
Robert F Kennedy Jr abandoned his independent presidential campaign to back Mr Trump in August.
It was a move that saw the prominent vaccine sceptic condemned by many members of his family, but as with Musk, his public support looks set to be rewarded by the president-elect.
Mr Trump has pledged to give him a role focusing on health policy and Mr Kennedy has hinted at one possible initiative, stating on X that “the Trump White House will advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water”, on inauguration day.
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Mr Kennedy – the son of politician Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of assassinated president John F Kennedy – made a name for himself as a vaccine sceptic during the COVID-19 pandemic and has frequently repeated debunked claims, including linking vaccines to autism in children.
Don Jr, Eric and Lara Trump
Don Jr, flanked by Eric and Lara, defending his father outside his hush money trial in May. Pic: AP
Mr Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, were among his senior advisers during his first term. But will the businessman once again keep any family members close when he is in the Oval Office?
In June 2023, Mr Trump said he did not want his children to serve in a second administration, saying it was “too painful for the family”.
Nevertheless, while Ms Trump and Mr Kushner have stayed away from politics since, two of Mr Trump’s other sons – Don Jr and Eric – have played prominent roles on the campaign trail.
Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, already has a significant role in US politics, as she serves as co-chair of the Republican Party.
Richard Grenell
Richard Grenell. Pic: AP
Among Mr Trump’s closest aides on foreign policy, Richard Grenell is thought to be a potential pick for national security adviser.
His private dealings with foreign leaders and often caustic personality have made him into a controversial figure, but he could well be part of Mr Trump’s second administration.
Mr Grenell has in the past supported establishing an autonomous zone in eastern Ukraine to end the war, an idea that Kyiv rejected as unacceptable.
Larry Kudlow
Larry Kudlow hosts shows on Fox News and Fox Business. Pic: AP
Fox News personality Larry Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council for much of Mr Trump’s first term and is said to have an outside shot at becoming his treasury secretary this time around.
Other names being linked to the post include John Paulson – a billionaire hedge fund manager and donor, who hosted a fundraiser that raked in more than $50m (£38m) for the former president.
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio has previously tried to land himself on the Republican presidential ticket. Pic: Reuters
Marco Rubio, a Florida senator who unsuccessfully ran against Mr Trump to be the Republican’s presidential candidate in 2016, is a potential candidate for secretary of state.
His policies are very much in line with Mr Trump’s and he was a contender to be his 2024 running mate before JD Vance landed the role.
Bill Hagerty – another of the running mate contenders – is also being linked to the position, as is Robert O’Brien, who served as Mr Trump’s fourth and final national security adviser during his first term.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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