President-elect Trump has named seven nominees to serve in the cabinet, including secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), State (DOS), Defense (DoD), Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was chosen to lead HHS, which also includes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kennedy, the son of former presidential nominee and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, founded the Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmental advocacy group focused on water quality issues.
North Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was chosen to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Noem is a former member of the House of Representatives, serving from 2010 to 2018.
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz was chosen as the nominee for Attorney General, which oversees the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He has a law degree from William & Mary. Gaetz has already resigned his seat in the House of Representatives, further complicating the math of the House Republican majority.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio was chosen as the nominee for Secretary of State. Rubio has served in the Senate since 2010. He is a University of Miami Law School graduate and has served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will now have to name a replacement for the Senate seat.
Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth, a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, was chosen as the nominee for Secretary of Defense. Hegseth graduated from Princeton and Harvard.
Former Georgia Republican Congressman Doug Collins, who represented northeast Georgia, including Gainesville, was chosen to lead the VA. Collins is a lawyer and a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Former New York Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin was chosen to head the EPA. Zeldin represented New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, which includes Long Island. A lawyer by trade, Zeldin also served in the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Corps.
President-elect Trump has also named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as outside-of-government leaders of a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency,” supposedly tasked with limiting the size of government.
“I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans,” President-elect Trump said. “Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending. … Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026 – A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!”
President-elect Trump has not yet named his nominee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
