As President-Elect Donald J. Trump prepares for his second term in the Oval Office, he is choosing the members of his new cabinet.
The presidential cabinet is not voted on by the American people but is nominated by the president, then confirmed by and voted on in the Senate. The selection of the cabinet is an arduous—and important—process as they serve as the president’s chief advisors throughout their term.
Although Trump has only just begun making official announcements about his future cabinet, numerous names are likely to make the docket—or already have.
Susie Wiles
Just days after winning the election Trump announced that Susie Wiles—his reelection campaign manager—will be the next White House Chief of Staff. Wiles will make history as the first woman ever to hold a senior position. She found her start in politics as a staffer for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and later went on to work for two mayors of Jacksonville, John Delaney, and John Peyton. During Trump’s first year in office, she was busy advocating for companies in the health, energy, and communication sectors. Then in 2019, she helped with the campaign of the, at the time underdog, Ron DeSantis who won his election and has been the governor of Florida since. Wiles is a strong figure who is described as someone who won’t share the power of her office and will likely come to serve as a key person in Trump’s upcoming administration.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
A potential candidate for the Health and Human Services Secretary is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK), a former presidential candidate who was running as a third party but stepped out of the race and endorsed Donald Trump previously in August. Since then, RFK has made social media posts and given speeches concerning “Making America Healthy Again.” Making his political start as an environmental lawyer, he does not have any scientific or medical credentials but has made numerous claims about the harmful effects that vaccines have on people. Since stepping down from being a presidential candidate, RFK has been poised to take a major role in the health and safety sector under Trump’s administration.
Betsy DeVos
As Trump claims that he will attempt to disband the Department of Education in his coming term, the Secretary of Education is bound to play a crucial role. Betsy DeVos was a leading contender and served as his Secretary of Education during his first term. She is eager to finish what she started during her first term which includes putting an end to “allowing this invasion into women’s sports,” while referring to male-to-female transgender athletes and passing the federal tax credit, a five billion dollar federal tax credit that would fund scholarships for private and religious schools. DeVos has numerous goals that she aims to accomplish as she seeks to rejoin the president’s cabinet this coming year.
The president’s cabinet is a vital part of the administration and completely makes or breaks the outcome of the campaign’s agenda. These are only a handful of the roles that will need to be filled with a total of, depending on the administration, 16 or more members which includes all of the executive department heads, the White House Chief of Staff, and the vice president.
The coming months will continue to reveal more of the cabinet to come and begin to unveil what the next four years will bring.
