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Who has Trump picked for his Cabinet so far?

At a 'thank you' victory rally in Cincinnati Thursday evening, President-elect Donal Trump announced he would "appoint" former Marine Corps General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense. (Dec. 3) AP

 

President-elect Donald Trump has made a series of nominations for members of his Cabinet and team of advisers in recent weeks. Here's our running list:

The Cabinet

Andy Puzder, Labor secretary

The CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the fast food restaurants Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, was an adviser to Trump during the campaign. Puzder has been critical of government regulations including efforts to raise the minimum wage.

Andy Puzder, President and CEO of CKE Restaurants, shows off one of their Monster Thick Burgers in 2005. (Photo: Tim A. Parker, for USA TODAY)


 

Linda McMahon, Small Business Administration administrator

McMahon is a co-founder and was the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE). During the general election, McMahon was a Trump fundraiser, but she started the cycle supporting one of Trump’s competitors, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. McMahon ran for the Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.

Linda McMahon speaks to the media at Trump Tower on Nov. 30, 2016, in New York City. (Photo: Bryan R. Smith, AFP/Getty Images)

 

Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency administrator

The Oklahoma attorney general will head an agency that he has been highly critical of. In fact, Priutt has sued the EPA previously. Many environmental groups are already lining up against his nomination.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt arrives at Trump Tower on Dec. 7, 2016, in New York City. (Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images)

 

John Kelly, Homeland Security secretary

The former head of U.S. Southern Command will be in charge of the Department of Homeland Security —a sprawling post-9/11 department that includes counter-terrorism and immigration. Kelly spent 40 years in the Marine Corps and retired earlier this year.

Retired Marine general John Kelly arrives at Trump Tower on Nov. 30, 2016, in New York City. (Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

 

Ben Carson, Housing and Urban Development secretary

Carson was one of Trump's competitor's during the Republican primary but got behind Trump in the spring even if he said the man he was supporting "has some major defects." Carson has been one of Trump's most vocal surrogates since he announced his endorsement, frequently appearing as a surrogate for Trump. Carson has no previous government experience but has had a distinguished career as a neurosurgeon.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was selected as Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Housing and Urban development. This file photo taken on March 5, 2016 shows Carson in Oxon Hill, Md. (Photo: Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images)

 

James Mattis, Defense secretary

Mattis, nicknamed Mad Dog, is a retired four-star general known for his aggressive style. His selection signals Trump’s intention to have a wartime leader in the post. Mattis, who left the Marine Corps in 2013, will need a congressional waiver in order to serve due to a federal law that requires a minimum seven-year gap between military service and running the Pentagon.

President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis as he leaves Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

 

Steve Mnuchin, Treasury secretary

Mnuchin has some experience working for Trump; he was chairman of Trump's campaign's finance operation. Mnuchin previously worked as an executive at Goldman Sachs. When he confirmed his appointment on CNBC, Mnuchin said he would focus on cutting taxes — particularly corporate taxes.

Steve Mnuchin, right, and Stephen Miller, a policy adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, get on an elevator at Trump Tower on Nov. 28, 2016. (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)

 

Wilbur Ross, Commerce secretary

Ross is a billionaire investor and one of the authors on an infrastructure plan that Trump is considering. He told CNBC that he would focus on working with individual countries for bilateral trade agreements, rather than pacts like the now-stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross talks with reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower on Nov. 29, 2016, in New York. (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)

 

Elaine Chao, Transportation secretary

Chao was Labor secretary under former president George W. Bush and assistant secretary of Transportation under president George H.W. Bush. Chao was the first Asian-American woman to be appointed to the Cabinet when she was named Labor secretary in 2001. She is also married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Former Labor secretary Elaine Chao arrives at Trump Tower on Nov. 21, 2016, in New York. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

 

Tom Price, Health and Human Services secretary

The Georgia congressman has been a vocal critic of President Obama's health care law and his selection signals Trump's priority in repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Price has been in the House for six terms and is an orthopedic surgeon.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., is pictured on Jan. 5, 2016. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

 

Nikki Haley, U.N. ambassador

The South Carolina governor was critical of Trump during the primary and supported his competitor, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, but she eventually backed the party's nominee. Haley is the first female and minority to be governor of South Carolina. Haley dealt with several crises while leading her state but has little foreign policy experience.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at a luncheon at the National Press Club on Sept. 2, 2015, in Washington. (Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images)

 

Betsy DeVos, Education secretary

DeVos is a Michigan Republican who is a strong advocate of school choice and school vouchers.

President-elect Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos shake hands at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

 

Jeff Sessions, attorney general

A senator from Alabama, Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump and helped advise him as a candidate and president-elect. A key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was Alabama's attorney general before his election to the Senate in 1996. Sessions' appointment to the federal bench was denied in 1986 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, because of remarks he had made that some people deemed racially insensitive. Sessions has long disputed that characterization.

Sen. Jeff Sessions shakes hands with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell following a meeting at the Capitol on Nov. 30, 2016. (Photo: Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images)

 

Reince Priebus, chief of staff

Priebus is the chairman of the Republican National Committee and supported Trump during the general election campaign. While Priebus has been critical of Trump at times, once Trump won the party’s nomination he got behind him fully and encouraged the party to coalesce.

Reince Priebus and President-elect Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club on Nov. 19, 2016, in Bedminster Township, N.J. (Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

 

Other top-level staff

Todd Ricketts, deputy Commerce secretary

Ricketts, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, and comes from the conservative Ricketts family. During the primary Trump threatened the Ricketts family for spending money against him but Ricketts got on board with Trump during the general election.

President-elect Donald Trump and Todd Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, shake hands as Ricketts leaves the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)

 

Kathleen Troia “K.T.” McFarland, deputy national security adviser

McFarland is a veteran national security analyst and Fox News commentator. She served under former presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan and has been a frequent critic of President Obama.

Kathleen "KT" McFarland is seen at her home in New York in this 2006 file photo. (Photo: Jason DeCrow, AP)

 

Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Verma is the CEO of the health policy consulting firm SVC Inc. and was the architect of Indiana's alternative approach to Medicaid, which included charging recipients for services. Indiana's expansion of Medicaid, which was a key part of the Affordable Care Act, was done with the approval of the federal government.

Seema Verma, president and founder of SVC Inc., arrives at Trump Tower on Nov. 22, 2016, in New York City. (Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

 

Stephen Bannon, chief strategist and senior counselor

Bannon was the head of Breitbart News, a conservative website that championed Trump’s candidacy and has been criticized for racist and sexist posts. He took a leave of absence to be the chairman of Trump’s campaign.

Jared Kushner, son in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, left, walks with Stephen Bannon at Indianapolis International Airport on Dec. 1, 2016. (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)

Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, national security adviser

The former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn is a Democrat who was strongly critical of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Flynn was Trump’s top military adviser during the campaign. Flynn was dismissed from the Pentagon’s top intelligence job because of his combative style. He also has been highly critical of Islam. In August, he called Islam “a cancer” and “a political ideology" that "hides behind this notion of it being a religion.”

Mike Flynn walks through the lobby at Trump Tower on Nov. 29, 2016, in New York. (Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

Mike Pompeo, CIA director

A Republican House member from Kansas, Pompeo serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is close to Vice President-elect Mike Pence. During the primaries, Pompeo backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio but supported Trump in the general election campaign.

In this October 2015 file photo, Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., speaks on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

 

Don McGahn, White House counsel 

McGahn is a veteran Washington campaign finance attorney and a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.  One of McGahn's charges will be to help Trump deal with potential conflicts of interest between his businesses and his presidency.

Don McGahn gets into an elevator in the lobby at Trump Tower on Nov. 15, 2016, in New York City. (Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

 

Source: USA Today:

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