WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump and his senior advisers are privately assembling shortlists of candidates for top jobs in the incoming administration, from national security adviser to Treasury secretary.
The Republican’s decisive victory in Tuesday’s election sets off a roughly 10-week scramble to vet and sign off on top staffing picks before Inauguration Day, after which the soon-to-be GOP-controlled Senate can consider nominations. The party’s majority in the chamber will ensure a smoother confirmation process for many of Trump’s picks, whose fate will be decided by a simple majority vote.
Trump’s transition team, led by co-chair Howard Lutnick, who is overseeing personnel, has put together spreadsheets with names for the former president to consider. The transition team is working with outside firms to vet early front-runners, people briefed on the matter said.
Trump largely had been disengaged with the transition process in the run-up to the election, focusing instead on the campaign, according to aides and others familiar with the matter. Trump, the people said, has his own preferred candidates for many jobs in his administration and has discussed options with campaign advisers, friends and donors.
Here is The Wall Street Journal’s list of leading candidates for crucial government jobs:
White House Chief of Staff
Trump on Thursday tapped Susie Wiles , the Florida political strategist who helped run his campaign, for the highly influential role of White House chief of staff. It is typically the first major personnel choice for an incoming president. Wiles will be the first woman to hold the role in U.S. history.
Susie Wiles, senior advisor of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attend a campaign rally of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
National Security Adviser
Richard Grenell , Trump’s former ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, is seen by people close to Trump as a top candidate for the job.
Other potential candidates include Keith Kellogg , an octogenarian retired three-star Army general and former national security adviser to Mike Pence when he was vice president; former Defense Department official Elbridge Colby ; and Robert O’Brien , who served as the last of four national security advisers during Trump’s first term.
Treasury Secretary
Trump has publicly and privately discussed a pair of finance veterans for the job: Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent , and billionaire investor John Paulson . Lutnick, the transition co-chair, also has been discussed by Trump allies for the job.
Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. August 14, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File Photo
Some of Trump’s allies have also discussed Robert Lighthizer , the U.S. trade representative during Trump’s first term. Several people close to Trump also have said that former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton and GOP Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty , Trump’s former ambassador to Japan, were seen as contenders.
Secretary of State
Hagerty and Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio have been discussed by the former president’s allies as contenders for the job.
Other potential candidates include O’Brien, the former Trump national security adviser; Grenell; and former senior State Department official Brian Hook. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a strong defender of Trump on Capitol Hill, has been discussed by Trump allies for the job, as well as for the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Secretary of Defense
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who received a shout out from Trump early Wednesday morning in his victory speech in Florida, is seen by the president-elect’s allies as a top contender to lead the Pentagon.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a campaign rally by Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and former Rep. John Ratcliffe , who served as Trump’s director of national intelligence, also have been put forward as candidates by some Trump allies.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 3, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
Other names that have been floated by Trump’s allies include Rep. Mike Waltz , a military veteran and former President George W. Bush administration Pentagon official, and O’Brien .
Homeland Security Secretary
The Homeland Security chief will help oversee Trump’s mass-deportation plans as well as his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration. Tom Homan , who served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term, is a leading candidate for the job, according to people close to Trump.
Others who have been discussed by Trump’s allies include Chad Wolf , Trump’s former acting Homeland Security secretary, and Chad Mizelle , former DHS acting general counsel.
Director of National Intelligence
Waltz , the former Pentagon official, has been floated by Trump allies to assume the role that oversees the various government intelligence agencies.
Attorney General
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah; Ratcliffe ; Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri, a former state attorney general; and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas are possibilities.
Trump is also fond of some state attorneys general, including Andrew Bailey of Missouri and Kris Kobach of Kansas, who have filed lawsuits challenging Biden administration policies.
Advocates of Mark Paoletta , former general counsel of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, have personally pitched him to Trump, according to people familiar with the talks.
Clayton is also interested in the job, people familiar with the matter said.
Commerce Secretary
Linda McMahon , the co-chair of Trump’s transition team and his former Small Business Administration chief, is considered by some of the former president’s allies to be a leading contender for the job.
Other candidates include: Rollins , who leads pro-Trump outside group America First Policy Institute; Kelly Loeffler , an Atlanta businesswoman who briefly served in the Senate and was at Mar-a-Lago on election night; and Vivek Ramaswamy , the biotech company founder who competed for the Republican presidential nomination.
White House Press Secretary
Trump’s campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt , has been among the top contenders for the job.
White House Counsel
Mike Davis, a Republican operative and former Senate aide whose Article 3 Project advocates for conservative judges, has been discussed by Trump allies for the job or for another legal-related post in the administration.
Other people to watch
The guest list at Trump’s private celebratory events at his private club Mar-a-Lago on election night offers clues for who he might select to join his next administration or will be influential figures from outside the government. Those included Paulson, Bessent, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr .
Both Musk and Trump have said the billionaire would be in charge of a government- efficiency commission, which would advise Trump on spending cuts. Trump has floated Kennedy as a potential adviser on health matters.
Trump ally and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is a possibility for Interior Secretary, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Some of the most powerful figures in Trump’s second term could get loosely defined adviser roles that don’t require Senate confirmation but nonetheless come with proximity and access to the former president. Trump’s allies expect Stephen Miller , the architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, to land a senior role in the White House.
Write to Andrew Restuccia at andrew.restuccia@wsj.com , Vivian Salama at vivian.salama@wsj.com , Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com and Rebecca Ballhaus at rebecca.ballhaus@wsj.com
