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S.A. McCarthy | The Washington Stand
Equipped with lessons learned the hard way during his first stint in the White House and following a landslide victory last week, President-elect Donald Trump is already preparing to staff his second administration. Trump has previously discussed missteps he made in appointing or trusting the wrong people in 2016, saying in an interview last year, “The mistake would be people.” Some of those mistakes, he explained, included hiring people like Defense Secretary Mark Esper, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Attorneys General William Barr and Jeff Sessions, among others.
In a subsequent interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, Trump admitted that he also regretted picking John Kelly as his Chief of Staff and John Bolton as his National Security Advisor. “I picked some great people, you know, but you don’t think about that. … I picked a few people that I shouldn’t have picked,” Trump told Rogan, describing those “bad picks” as “neocons or bad people or disloyal people or just bad people.” He explained that, during his first term, he had been a Washington outsider with little knowledge of the political world’s players. “I had to rely on people that I respected or liked, but that I didn’t know that well. … Some of those people I campaigned against … but I got to like some of them,” he said. “And I’d rely on them and I’d rely on other people.”
Trump’s picks so far for a second administration have been touted as Trump loyalists and, in most cases, hardliners on priorities like immigration control. Appearing on “Washington Watch” Monday night, Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) commented on the administration’s picks, “So far they’ve been absolutely fantastic with regard to what President Trump is doing.” He continued, “Not only is he picking really quality people that will do a great job of fighting for us, but it also demonstrates that his administration is going to be ready to hit the ground running when they come in.”
Below are some of Trump’s confirmed and reported picks for his historic second administration.
Susie Wiles
One of the first appointments Trump made was that of chief of staff. The president-elect named his campaign co-chair Susie Wiles to the role two days after winning the election, making her the first female chief of staff in White House history.
Prior to orchestrating Trump’s successful 2024 campaign, Wiles worked on the 1980 campaign that earned Ronald Reagan the presidency and embarked on a career organizing campaigns for numerous Republicans, mostly in Florida. She has been credited with helping elect Rick Scott (now a U.S. senator) to the Florida governorship in 2010 and was tasked by Trump with helping elect the Sunshine State’s current governor, Ron DeSantis (R), in 2018. Wiles ran the Florida operations branch of Trump’s 2016 campaign and was elevated to campaign co-chair for his 2024 campaign.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement announcing his campaign co-chair’s new role. He continued, “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. … I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
According to a CNN report, Wiles accepted the position as chief of staff on the condition that she would have increased authority over Trump’s schedule and who has access to the Oval Office, in order to ensure that non-advisors do not have the opportunity to influence policy decisions. “The clown car can’t come into the White House at will,” a source told the outlet.
Wiles is reported to have been acting as Trump’s unofficial chief of staff during his campaign. Politico described Wiles as Trump’s “most important adviser. She’s his de facto campaign manager. She has been in essence his chief of staff for the last more than three years.” Trump team pollster Tony Fabrizio told the outlet, “There is nobody, I think, that has the wealth of information that she does. Nobody in our orbit. Nobody. She touches everything.” Numerous news outlets have described Wiles as a quiet presence behind the scenes, reporting that she rarely makes speeches, grants interviews, or directly addresses the press.
Tom Homan
One Trump appointment which has garnered much attention online is that of Tom Homan as “border czar.” The former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Trump in his first term, Homan has been touted as an immigration hardliner.
A little over a week before the election and well before being named Trump’s go-to guy on border security, Homan was featured in an interview by the CBS News “60 Minutes” program. When asked if Trump’s proposed mass deportation plans could cost tens of billions of dollars, Homan responded, “What price do you put on national security? Is that worth it?” Homan is also known as the chief proponent of an immigration policy adopted under then-President Barack Obama and continued under Trump, whereby illegal migrant children and the adults accompanying them are separated after being detained. When asked if there’s a way to carry out mass deportations without separating families, Homan said, “Of course there is. Families can be deported together.”
While Wiles’s was the first appointment Trump announced after winning the election, Homan’s was the second, signaling the president-elect’s clear focus on border security. “I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing Homan’s role. He continued, “Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job.”
A former police officer in West Carthage, New York, Homan became a Border Patrol agent in 1984 and has been focusing on immigration control ever since. In 2013, he was promoted to head of ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, and was made acting director of the agency in 2017, under Trump. The Washington Post once wrote, “Thomas Homan deports people. And he’s really good at it.”
At a National Conservatism Conference earlier this summer, Homan said that when “Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen. They ain’t seen s*** yet — wait until 2025.” Homan also boasted of mass deportations at the Republican National Convention earlier this year.
Surveys demonstrate that a majority of Americans support Trump’s and Homan’s proposed mass deportation program. Art Del Cueto, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, touted Homan’s emphasis on protecting children from sex trafficking operations and said that the new “border czar” will “do a fantastic job” at protecting the nation’s borders. In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Homan warned governors, mayors, and legislators who support illegal immigration, “If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of the way.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)
Trump also named Rep. Elise Stefanik to be his ambassador to the U.N. “Elise is a strong and very smart America First fighter,” Trump stated when announcing he would be nominating the congresswoman. “She was the first Member of Congress to endorse me, and has always been a staunch advocate,” the president-elect added. He continued, “She will be an incredible Ambassador to the United Nations, delivering Peace through Strength and America First National Security policies!”
“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik told the New York Post after being nominated. She continued, “President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead — both at home and abroad. America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek.”
Stefanik began her political career serving as a staffer for President George W. Bush’s administration, subsequently working on several Republican campaigns, including helping then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan prepare to debate then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2012. In 2014, she became the youngest woman elected to Congress at the time, running on a platform as a “moderate” Republican. Stefanik supported Trump during his first successful presidential bid in 2016 and was herself reelected in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022. In 2021, Trump and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) endorsed Stefanik in the race to chair the House Republican Conference, which she won.
While the congresswoman is described as a Trump loyalist, her voting record has led some to worry that she may not champion pro-family principles on the global stage and may falter in defending pro-life policies. Stefanik has a lifetime scorecard of 82%, according to FRC Action, and an average score of 86% according to the National Right to Life Committee. In 2019, she broke from Republican ranks and joined Democrats in supporting the Equality Act, which would have redefined sex discrimination to promote LGBT ideology and legally equivocate abortion with pregnancy and childbirth. Later, in 2021, she rejected the legislation, but it passed due to a Democratic House majority. She was also one of a coalition of Republicans who voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified same-sex marriage as a right under federal law.
However, many Republicans have praised Trump’s pick, focusing their attention on the international policy reforms they hope Stefanik will bring about. Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Whatley hailed Stefanik as an “outstanding pick by President Trump,” adding that she “will be a brilliant ambassador to the UN and help make America strong on the world stage again!”
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) congratulated Stefanik on her new position, saying, “Elise has been a strong voice for our allies abroad and especially Israel. I know she will champion President Trump’s policies and represent America well on the global stage.” Constitutional lawyer, Trump ally, and Article III Project founder Mike Davis called the congresswoman “by far the best choice to serve as President Trump’s UN ambassador.” He added, “She will bring much-needed reforms to a badly damaged institution.”
Mike Huckabee
Former Arkansas governor and pastor Mike Huckabee has been asked to serve as Trump’s ambassador to Israel. “Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a Truth Social statement. He added, “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!”
It was widely reported that Huckabee had been offered the position of ambassador to Israel during Trump’s first administration, but Huckabee denied the rumors and explained that he and the president decided not to pursue a Cabinet position for Huckabee. However, his daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, went on to serve as one of Trump’s press secretaries.
Huckabee’s appointment as the ambassador to Israel comes amidst ongoing conflict between the Jewish state and Palestine-based terrorist organization Hamas. Trump has reportedly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war with Hamas before Trump is inaugurated on January 20.
Lee Zeldin
Heading Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be former congressman Lee Zeldin, the president-elect announced on Truth Social. “Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies,” Trump stated. He continued, “He 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.” Trump predicted that Zeldin “will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
Shortly afterward, Zeldin announced that he was accepting the position. “It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” he wrote on X. He continued, “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.”
Zeldin once worked as a lawyer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey before opening his own general practice. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 2010, where he opposed gun-control legislation and efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, saying at the time, “It is my belief that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman.” In 2014, Zeldin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he co-sponsored the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, voted to defund Planned Parenthood, and called on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. When the court did finally overturn Roe, Zeldin celebrated the decision as “a victory for life, for family, for the Constitution, and for federalism.”
The former congressman has also been involved with environmental legislation, proposing policies to combat pollution while increasing such businesses as fishing. He is also an opponent of climate change initiatives. In his interview with Joe Rogan, as well as in numerous speeches, Trump has discussed his desire to increase U.S. energy independence and production, referring to oil in particular as “liquid gold.”
Stephen Miller
Trump is also reportedly slated to name longtime advisor Stephen Miller his Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, according to multiple news outlets, including Breitbart. A former speechwriter for Trump and key advisor throughout his campaigns and his first term, Miller is expected to lay a particular emphasis on immigration control, likely coordinating between Wiles and Homan.
Early in his career as a speechwriter and communications director, Miller was credited as an integral part of dismantling the “Gang of Eight’s” proposed pro-immigration legislation. The speechwriter was also named the national policy advisor of Trump’s first transition team in 2016 and has been repeatedly hailed as the man who crafted Trump’s immigration policy, including constructing a wall across the southern border, hiring more Border Patrol agents, and initiating mass deportations.
Following the end of Trump’s first administration, Miller founded America First Legal (AFL), which recently succeeded in halting incumbent President Joe Biden’s plans to grant amnesty to an estimated half a million illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S. Miller sparked backlash from left-wing media outlets last month when he spoke at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden and declared that “America is for Americans and Americans only.”
The Trump transition team has not publicly confirmed Miller’s appointment. Trump team spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “President-elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
According to The New York Times, Trump is expected to name Senator Marco Rubio as his secretary of State. While NYT reported that the president-elect “appeared to have settled on Mr. Rubio, whom he also considered when choosing his running mate this year,” sources in the Trump team told the New York Post that “nothing has been confirmed.”
Since being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Rubio has been an outspoken opponent of foreign entities hostile to the U.S., such as China and Iran. He has served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign Relations. Rubio is known for his staunch pro-life advocacy and FRC Action has given the senator a lifetime scorecard of 96%, although he did weaken his stance on abortion earlier this year in what was seen as a bid to win favor with Trump and potentially nab the Republican vice presidential nomination.
However, Rubio has also been praised for his fierce defense of international religious freedom. In comments to The Washington Stand, Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, said, “As senator, Marco Rubio has been a stalwart advocate for international religious freedom, including leading legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.” She continued, “As he enters the critical role of secretary of State, I hope to see the State Department speak up on behalf of persecuted religious believers around the world and work with diplomatic counterparts in other countries to diminish persecution.” Del Turco noted, “The last Trump administration made historic progress elevating religious freedom as a foreign policy issue, and we can pray that resumes under President Trump’s second term.”
Governor Kristi Noem (R-S.D.)
CNN reported that Trump is considering South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. While the Trump team has not confirmed this, CNN said that Noem would be bolstered by both Homan and Miller, whom the outlet classifies as “key immigration hardliners.” South Dakota’s first female governor was rumored to be a potential pick for Trump’s vice president, but he and his team are said to have decided against the move following backlash Noem received when she admitted in a memoir that she had once shot her own dog.
Prior to becoming governor, Noem served in the U.S. Senate, where she co-sponsored pro-life legislation to outlaw abortion at the federal level and attempted to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that legal personhood begins at conception. She also supported Trump’s immigration agenda, including suspending refugee programs. In 2018, Noem was elected Governor of South Dakota, backed by a Trump endorsement. During her time as governor, she supported pro-life trigger laws taking effect after Roe v. Wade was reversed and she was one of the first state governors to reject mask mandates in 2020, during COVID-19 lockdowns; however, she adopted Trump’s position on abortion earlier this year and announced that she would not support pro-life laws at the federal level, only the state level.
In 2021, conservatives were shocked when the governor vetoed legislation protecting girls’ sports, despite widespread support in the state. That decision, along with her financial ties to the transgender movement, helped dampen any enthusiasm for elevating Noem in 2024.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.)
Trump also announced that Rep. Mike Waltz has been asked to serve as the administration’s National Security Advisor. Waltz served in the U.S. Army for over 25 years, achieving the rank of colonel with the Green Berets. An Afghanistan War veteran, the congressman is considered a staunch opponent of Islamic extremism and has alleged that the U.S. is engaged in a “cold war” with China. He currently serves on the House Committee for Foreign Affairs and the House China Task Force.
“I am honored to announce that Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL) is hereby appointed to serve in my Cabinet as my National Security Advisor,” Trump said. He continued to say that Waltz is “a nationally recognized leader in National Security, a bestselling author, and an expert on the threats posed by China, Russia, Iran, and global terrorism.”
Others
Over the course of Trump’s campaign, much was made of the seeming coalition he formed with tech billionaire Elon Musk and former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. While neither has been publicly assigned a confirmed position, Musk spoke with Trump earlier this year about forming a task force to reduce government waste and spending and increase efficiency, and Trump responded favorably to the notion. On a recent episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience,” Musk hinted that the position may soon be a reality.
Likewise, RFK, Jr. has talked about a desire to clean house in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and other health-related agencies in an effort to “make America healthy again.” In a post-election interview with former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Donald Trump, Jr. said that his father intends to honor his promise to Kennedy and assign him a role in the administration.
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON STAND
