President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has spent the last several months building a short list of industry titans and conservative activists who could comprise his Cabinet, according to a Politico report.
The transition team started with a mandate to hire from the private sector when possible. Trump is also expected to reward his election team, who stood by him during the presidential campaign. However, the transition team remains at this point tight-lipped about cabinet posts and has declined to confirm speculations.
Following is a list of potential picks for Cabinet Posts, compiled by Politico based on their conversations with policy experts, lobbyists, academics, congressional staffers and those close to Trump:
Agriculture Secretary: Possible picks included Sid Miller, the current secretary of agriculture in Texas; Kansas Governor Sam Brownback; former Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman; former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue; and former Texas Governor Rick Perry. Also under consideration are Charles Herbster, Republican donor and agribusiness leader, and Mike McCloskey, a major dairy executive in Indiana.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Myron Ebell, a climate skeptic who is running the EPA working group on Trump’s transition team, is seen as the top candidate. Ebell is an official at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Venture capitalist Robert Grady is also a contender as well as Joe Aielio,director of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Carol Comer, the commissiioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management; and Leslie Rutledge, attorney general of Arkasas and a lead challenger of EPA regulations in that state.
Secretary of State: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are under consideration.
Treasury Secretary: Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s finance chairman. Mnuchin was with Goldman Sachs for 17 years and now works as the chairman and CEO of the private investment firm Dune Capital Management. He also worked for OneWest Bank, which was later sold to the CIT Group in 2015.
Secretary of Defense: Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is being discussed as well as former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and former Senator Jim Talent (R-MO).
Attorney General: former New York City Mayor Giuliani appears to be the leading candidate. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi are also contenders.
Interior Secretary: Forrest Lucas, the 74-year-0ld co-founder of the oil products company Lucas Oil is under consideration. Other possibilities include venture capitalist Robert Grady and Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. Sarah Palin has also expressed interest in the job. Other possible candidates include former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer; Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin; Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis; and Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm.
Commerce Secretary: Possibilities include billionaire investor Wilbur Ross; Dan DiMicco, former CEO of steelmaker Nucor Corp. as well as former Texas Governor Perry and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Labor Secretary: Victoria Lipnic, commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 2010 is being considered. She also served as an assistant secretary of labor for employment standards from 2002 until 2009.
Health and Human Services: Possibilities include Florida Governor Rick Scott, Gingrich, Ben Carson and Rich Bagger, executive director of the Trump transition team, and a former pharmaceutical executive.
Energy Secretary: Continental Resources CEO and billionaire Harold Hamm is a leading candidate. If he passes on the post, venture capitalist Robert Grady is also seen as a top candidate.
Education Secretary: Those included on the shortlist are Ben Carson, William Evers, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and who previously worked at the Education Department during the Bush administration.
Veterans Affairs Secretary: Most mentioned is House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL), who is retiring from the House.
Homeland Security Secretary: David Clark, a conservator sheriff of Milwaukee County, who spoke at the National Convention in Ohio. Chris Cristie is also seen as a possible DHS secretary.
