Politics PAXTON NOEM GRENELL O’BRIEN KUSHNER GRAHAM KUDLOW SIMON JR. WILKIE SCOTT
Who’s Who in Next Trump Administration
WOLF D
Former president will lean on loyalists to fill Cabinet. BY JOHN GIZZI
onald trump is not officially the republican nominee — let alone president — yet speculation is already rampant over who would serve in a second Trump administration. Those close to the former president and his comeback campaign are
assembling résumés and background material on prospective Cabinet members for the man who would be the first president to serve bifurcated terms since Gro- ver Cleveland in the 19th century. They expect loyalty to be the key factor in whomever Trump chooses for his
Cabinet, favoring those who have remained steadfast allies rather than familiar Washington faces. The conservative Heritage Foundation and the America First Foundation, which include alumni from the first Trump administration, are spearheading the effort. Among names under consideration:
SECRETARY OF STATE: Ric Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany and acting director of national defense in the first Trump administration. Former national security adviser
Robert O’Brien. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner,
who served as the former president’s senior adviser.
TREASURY: William Simon Jr., California investment banker, philanthropist, and namesake son of the Treasury secretary under Presidents Nixon and Ford. Larry Kudlow, former director of
the National Economic Council, now a financial broadcaster and columnist.
38 NEWSMAX | MARCH 2024
DEFENSE: Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator, has strong connections to the military and is a self-described “hawk.” Robert Wilkie, widely praised for
his performance as secretary of vet- erans affairs. Sen. Rick Scott, a former governor
of the Sunshine State. Chad Wolf, Trump’s homeland security secretary, is a top choice.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a hero to Lone Star State conservatives who, like Trump, beat off impeachment. Lynn Fitch, Mississippi’s first woman attorney general.
Matt Whitaker, who served as act-
ing U.S. attorney general after Jeff Sessions quit.
INTERIOR: In a Republican administration, the overseer of the nation’s lands is historically a Westerner. Sure enough, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is tipped for the job. The Big Sky Country’s top lawman is a strong Trump supporter.
AGRICULTURE: Although South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been mentioned for vice president, the agriculture secretary slot might be more likely for Noem, who left college before graduating to take over the family farm after her father was killed in a farm machinery accident.
COMMERCE: Linda McMahon, co-founder with her husband, Vince McMahon, of World Wrestling Entertainment, ran the Small Business Administration for Trump. Ross Perot Jr., a Dallas real estate developer. Like his late father — a third- party presidential candidate in 1992 — Perot Jr. is a strong Trump backer.
TRUMP/DAVID BECKER/GETTY IMAGES / BURGUM, CARSON, DÍAZ JR., DONALDS, GRAHAM, GREEN, GRENELL, JACKSON, JOHNSON, KUDLOW, KUSHNER, MCMAHON, O’SCANNLAIN, NOEM, NUNES, PATEL, PAXTON, RUTLEDGE, SCOTT, SHANNON, WILKIE, WHITAKER, WOLF/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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