Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far
UNB
Publish: 12 Nov 2024, 03:51 PM
WASHINGTON,
Nov 12 (AP/UNB): President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in
his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who
were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.
Here's a look at who
he's selected so far.
Susie Wiles, chief of
staff
Wiles, 67, was a senior
adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.
Wiles has a background
in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida
governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump's defeat of him in the 2024
Republican primary.
Wiles' hire was Trump's
first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test
of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with the
president-elect. Wiles is said to have earned Trump's trust in part by guiding
what was the most disciplined of Trump's three presidential campaigns.
Wiles was able to help
keep Trump on track as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, but by
winning his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her advice.
Mike Waltz, national
security adviser
Trump asked Waltz, a
retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national
security adviser, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.
The person spoke on the
condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before Trump made a formal
announcement.
The move would put Waltz
at the forefront of a litany of national security crises, ranging from the
ongoing effort to provide weapons to Ukraine and escalating worries about the
growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in
the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel
and Hamas and Hezbollah.
Waltz is a three-term
GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in
Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald
Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.
He is considered hawkish
on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its ongoing mistreatment
of the minority Muslim Uighur population.
Tom Homan, 'border czar'
Homan, 62, has been
tasked with Trump's top priority of carrying out the largest deportation
operation in the nation's history.
Homan, who served under
Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the
border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign.
Though Homan has
insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal
supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in
Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation
operation this country's ever seen."
Democrats have
criticized Homan for his defending Trump's "zero tolerance" policy on
border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation
of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.
Elise Stefanik, United
Nations ambassador
Stefanik is a
representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back
to his first impeachment.
Elected to the House in
2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican
Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from
the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020
election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking
member of House leadership.
Stefanik's questioning
of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two
of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.
If confirmed, she would
represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by
Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel
continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to
target Hezbollah.
Stephen Miller, deputy
chief of staff for policy
Miller, an immigration
hardliner, was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for
Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser
during Trump's first administration.
Miller has been a
central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to
separate thousands of immigrant families.
Trump argued throughout
the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social
priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States
illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president
of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed
at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and
others over issues such as free speech and national security.
Lee Zeldin,
Environmental Protection Agency
Trump has chosen former
New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Zeldin does not appear
to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of
the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York
wrote on X, "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," he added.
During his campaign,
Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles,
and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government
mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his
administration would "Drill, baby, drill," referring to his support
for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a statement, Trump
said Zeldin "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."
End/UNB/AP/SU