Here are the most talked-about candidates for top posts in Trump’s administration

After winning the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Trump’s next big move is to fill his Cabinet with the right leaders that will reinforce his agenda over the next four years.

There are several candidates rumored for each post, but the following individuals are the most talked-about contenders for the top positions:

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who was a leading contender on Trump’s short list for vice president, has been floated for secretary of state.

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Rubio currently serves as vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and is a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Relations – leading on various initiatives that seek to bolster national security.

The Florida senator didn’t rule out taking a position in the administration during a post-election interview.

“I always am interested in serving this country,” Rubio told CNN. “I haven’t had any set conversations with anybody in the Trump administration. Either way, I plan to work with them, whether it’s in the Senate, which is an important place to be, or in some other capacity.”

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Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., is also being considered for the Cabinet. Hagerty served as ambassador to Japan under Trump and has pushed back on the foreign policies of the Biden-Harris administration.

Former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien is also in contention for the role, Fox News Digital was told. Since leaving the Trump administration, he cofounded the international policy advisory firm American Global Strategies.

Fox News Digital was told that Richard Grenell is also eyeing the position. Grenell is the former ambassador to Germany and former acting director of national intelligence under Trump. He’s also a potential pick for national security adviser.

Combat-decorated Green Beret Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., could be tapped to lead America’s defense agency. 

Waltz, who was CEO of defense contractor Metis Solutions and Pentagon defense policy director under Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, serves on the House China Task Force coordinating policy on China and working to reduce American reliance on Chinese minerals.

Walz serves as the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and as a member of the Oversight and Accountability Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could return to run the defense agency after serving during Trump’s first term.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was being floated for the role but took his name out of consideration for a Cabinet position, a source close to the Republican senator told Fox News. 

Chad Wolf served as the acting secretary of Homeland Security under Trump during his first term. 

Wolf currently works as America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) executive director, chief strategy officer, and chair of the Center for Homeland Security & Immigration.

Tom Homan, former acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, is also a contender. Homan is a former police officer and visiting fellow at the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, an attorney who previously specialized in Supreme Court litigation, served as law clerk to Judge Dee Benson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, and then with future Supreme Court Justice Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

Lee has supported Trump throughout his 2024 campaign, slamming the “Democratic Party establishment” for the criminal cases against the president-elect in an interview with Fox.

While on the campaign trail, Trump said he would consider Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the AG position. Paxton has been a staunch supporter of Trump throughout his challenges to the 2020 election and legal battles.

The day before the election, Paxton filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit supporting claims that special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegally appointed by the DOJ.

Matt Whitiker served as the acting attorney general for a year during Trump’s first term. Prior to taking on the role, Whitiker served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and then as chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who was a leading contender to be Trump’s vice president, is reportedly being considered to head the Department of Energy. 

Burgum leads one of the top energy producing states in the country and has championed “innovation over regulation” on energy policy, saying that the U.S. needs to bolster oil production and not rely on foreign oil. In his speech at the Republican National Convention, Burgum focused heavily on American energy dominance.

Former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette could return to his post in the energy department he led for two years during Trump’s first term. Brouillette recently stepped down as president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute.

Trump could reassign his former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to lead the agency for another four years. 

Also rumored for the position is Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has fought the Biden administration on energy over the years.

Trump has said that he is going to close the Department of Education when he takes office. 

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos could come back to serve another four years in the role under Trump’s second term.

While on the campaign trail, Trump suggested former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy or former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin could be chosen to lead the administration on education.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent has worked as a top economic adviser to Trump. “I’m going to do whatever President Trump asks,” he told CNBC when asked about a potential Cabinet position.

John Paulson, also a billionaire hedge fund manager, recently told the Wall Street Journal that if appointed, he would work with Elon Musk to cut spending and extend the former president’s 2017 tax cuts.

Other contenders include Jay Clayton, who chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump, and Robert Lighthizer, who was Trump’s U.S. rrade representative. Lighthizer serves as the chair of the Center for American Trade at AFPI. 

Susie Wiles, a longtime political strategist who worked closely with Trump as a senior adviser to his 2024 campaign, has been floated as a contender for chief of staff. 

During his victory speech, Trump thanked Wiles for her role in the campaign. Wiles has been a player in Republican politics for several decades, working on former President Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1980.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was previously floated as a possible contender for the role but recently told “The Guy Benson Show” that he would not take the position if it was offered. However, McCarthy did suggest that Wiles would be great for the role.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., one of the first lawmakers in Congress to endorse Trump for re-election, is angling for the role of ambassador to the United Nations, Fox News Digital is told.

That job was previously held by Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.

Karoline Leavitt worked as the national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 campaign. Leavitt served as Trump’s White House assistant press secretary before running to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District in the 2022 midterms. 

Also expected to have significant roles in the administration are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. 

RFK will likely work in redesigning America’s health agencies, recently telling MSNBC he would get rid of “entire departments” within the FDA.

Trump teased that Musk could take on a role as “Secretary of Cost-Cutting” in his administration.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

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