Elon Musk? RFK, Jr.? Here’s who’s likely to join Donald Trump’s Cabinet

While Donald Trump has announced a few people who will be part of his new administration, when it comes to Cabinet appointees, things appear to be ramping up fast. Trump has named people to several roles, including chief of staff and border czar, and media reports in the past 24 hours have leaked a number of potential Cabinet appointments–with more to come.

On Monday night, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was expected to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State—the first of the 15 Cabinet posts to be filled. And Tuesday morning, the paper reported South Dakota governor Kristi Noem was being tapped to head Homeland Security. (Trump has yet to confirm either report, though he did confirm that former Rep. Lee Zeldin would be his EPA administrator.)

The job of Cabinet secretaries is to advise the president on issues that are related to their office—and whoever fills those must first be confirmed by the Senate … for now. Trump is already calling on the Republican-controlled Senate to change those rules and let him appoint nominees without a Senate vote.

Nominees for Cabinet positions are normally trusted advisors, experts in their field and sometimes major donors. Tesla CEO and Trump backer Elon Musk also may or may not be involved: He recently put out a call on X saying it “would be interesting to hear recommendations for roles in the new administration for consideration by the President.”

Whether those recommendations will carry any weight is, of course, unknown, but given how close Musk and Trump are—and Trump’s fondness for social media feedback—it can’t be discounted entirely.

That said, here are some of the leading and potential candidates for select Cabinet posts:

Secretary of Defense

Mike Rogers: The Alabama Representative, who is also House Armed Services Chair, has been a strong voice for national security in the House. He has pushed for increased spending to protect the U.S. against China and Russia and lobbied for the modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. He’s also an advocate for sending aid to Ukraine, which could put him at odds with Trump.

Robert O’Brien: O’Brien had been seen as one of the leading candidates for Secretary of State, but if Rubio is indeed taking the role, his background is equally suited to the Department of Defense. Trump’s former (and final) National Security Advisor has kept close contacts with several foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s supportive of aid for Ukraine as well.

Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg: Kellogg served as former National Security Adviser to Vice President Pence and was also former Chief of Staff of the National Security Council. He’s a Trump loyalist who has stayed close to the former president. In June, he presented a plan to end Russia’s war with Ukraine by telling Ukraine it would only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks. Russia, meanwhile, would be brought to the table by the U.S. and NATO partners promising to delay Ukraine’s membership in the organization.

Attorney General

Sen. Mike Lee: Considered by some as the leading candidate, the Utah Senator aided efforts to overturn the 2020 election. He has also spread conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. That’s a big turnaround from 2016, when he did not vote for Trump.

John Ratcliffe: The one-time director of national intelligence during Trump’s final year of his first term, Ratcliffe is a former Congressman who is unflinchingly loyal to Trump. Ratcliffe is also reportedly being considered to run the CIA, though, so it becomes a question of where Trump finds him more valuable.

Jeffrey Clark: Known best as the former assistant attorney general who pressured officials in the Justice Department to overturn Trump’s loss in 2020, Clark is currently under indictment in Georgia for his role in that election. Three months ago, a disciplinary committee in Washington, D.C. said Clark should be disbarred for two years for efforts to interfere with election results.

Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent: The former Soros Fund Management executive (and founder and CEO of Key Square Group) is reportedly Trump’s “go-to economic advisor” and has become the frontrunner in the race for Treasury Secretary after John Paulson removed himself from consideration Tuesday. He has known the Trump family for decades and is friends with JD Vance. He has expressed concerns about the country’s debt levels and believes the way to correct that is by increasing growth. Asked about a possible Treasury secretary role by CNBC, he said “I’m going to do whatever Donald Trump asks.”

Howard Lutnick: While Lutnick, who is CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, might be under consideration, he’s busy right now co-leading the Trump transition team. He and Trump have been friends for over 20 years and he raised or donated over $75 million for Trump’s reelection bid.

Larry Kudlow: Best known as a Fox Business financial commentator, Kudlow served as director of the National Economic Council from 2018 to 2021. He has been a vocal supporter of Trump and his economic policies on Fox throughout the election cycle.

Wild cards

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: While Kennedy has said Trump has “promised” him “control of the public health agencies,” the exact role he will play in the administration (if any) is still very much up in the air. Asked by CNN in August if he would appoint the independent politician to his cabinet, Trump said “he probably would,” but public criticism of Kennedy’s stance on vaccines and water fluoridation has grown considerably since then.

Elon Musk: Musk has stuck close to Trump since the election, even sitting in on a call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There has been intense talk about Musk overseeing vast cuts to government agencies, but he hasn’t agreed to any formal role yet. Musk has, however, taken himself out of the running for any cabinet positions, said Trump. “He doesn’t want to be in the Cabinet, he just wants to be in charge of cost-cutting. We’ll have a new position, secretary of cost-cutting, Elon wants to do that.”