Politics
Trump administration takes shape: President-elect completes top 15 Cabinet picks
President-elect Trump has rounded out his picks for the top 15 positions within his Cabinet, handpicking an array of establishment and unconventional officials for top posts in just three weeks.
Trump has moved at a rapid pace to shape his upcoming administration, which stands in contrast to his first run at the presidency in 2016.
The president-elect’s picks have diverse ideologies united under Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
From Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s pro-choice stance to Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s pro-union stance and former George Soros adviser Scott Bessent, Trump’s Cabinet reflects a new era for Republican presidents.
GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR?
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. waves to the crowd at a campaign rally for former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
1. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – Secretary of Health and Human Services
Kennedy, a former Democrat, has been open about his pro-choice stance, much to the chagrin of conservative Republicans.
The former presidential candidate shared a video on social media this summer, writing in a post, “I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point.”
He suggested that this limit should be “when the baby is viable outside the womb.” Viability is understood to occur around 24 weeks gestation.
Kennedy will likely be asked in his upcoming hearing the extent of his pro-choice stance. Several Republicans are wary of Trump’s pick for HHS, while others expressed confidence he would act in line with the administration.
“I would fully expect any of Trump’s nominees to be pro-life, as is President Trump,” Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. “It does need to be addressed.”
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“I believe what he’s going to do is do the right thing,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said of Kennedy.
Trump’s softening stance toward abortion was a notable point during his campaign. Trump has said he would leave abortion to the states after of Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Trump notably opposes a federal abortion ban but has remained opposed to late-term abortions. In July, the Republican Party abandoned its long-standing position of advocating for abortions.
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., participates in a House Transportation Committee hearing June 27. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
2. Lori Chavez-DeRemer – Labor Secretary
Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination received strong support from unions, which once stood at odds with Republican ideology.
The president-elect lauded her for working “tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America.”
“I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs,” Trump said in an Friday announcement.
During her short stint as a House Republican, Chavez-DeRemer championed labor rights. She co-sponsored the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which increased penalties for employers who break labor law and makes it easier to unionize. She also co-sponsored the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would expand the powers of public sector unions.
Her candidacy for the post was backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, whose president thanked Trump for the pro-labor pick.
“North America’s strongest union is ready to work with you every step of the way to expand good union jobs and rebuild our nation’s middle class,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien wrote on X. “Let’s get to work!”
Similarly, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler praised Chavez-DeRemer for having “built a pro-labor record in Congress.”
“But Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States — not Rep. Chavez-DeRemer — and it remains to be seen what she will be permitted to do as secretary of labor in an administration with a dramatically anti-worker agenda,” Shuler said.
Scott Bessent, founder and CEO of Key Square Group LP, at an interview during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee July 16. (Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
3. Scott Bessent – Treasury Secretary
President-elect Trump nominated Bessent as his top economic official to implement “Trumponomics.”
Bessent made a name for himself at Soros Capital Management, where he worked as chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015. Following his work with Soros, he founded hedge fund Key Square Capital Management and was a key economic policy adviser and fundraiser for the Trump campaign.
He has been an advocate for economic policies like lower taxes, spending restraint and deregulation that have long made up the core of the Republican Party’s platform and has been supportive of Trump’s use of tariffs in trade negotiations.
In a statement, Consumer Bankers Association President and CEO Lindsey Johnson congratulated Bessent on the nomination.
“As an experienced and accomplished businessman, we applaud Mr. Bessent’s recent comments in which he has called for a surge in small business optimism, a smart deregulatory banking agenda and support for Main Street,” Johnson said.
“If confirmed, we look forward to working with Mr. Bessent to advocate for sound financial regulatory policy that enable banks to better support consumers, small businesses and the economy at large.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
4. Marco Rubio – Secretary of State
As America’s top diplomat, Rubio was plucked from his Senate term in Florida to serve in Trump’s upcoming administration.
Rubio, a former critic of Trump, has supported strong relations with foreign alliances, including NATO, advocating for a robust U.S. presence in the world. He has also publicly supported Israel’s war against Hamas and spoken out against continued aid to Ukraine.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that Senator Marco Rubio, of Florida, is hereby nominated to be The United States Secretary of State. Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom,” Trump said in a statement. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.”
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In a statement, Rubio, 53, said he was “honored” by the trust Trump “has placed in me.”
“As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda,” Rubio wrote on X. “Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.”
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5. Pete Hegseth – Secretary of Defense
A combat veteran and former Fox News host, Hegseth was picked as the senior executive in the Department of Defense, which oversees the U.S. military and Pentagon.
Hegseth, who served as an Army infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Minnesota National Guard, has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s national security approach.
Hegseth has been under increased scrutiny after former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s decision to drop out following sexual misconduct allegations. Hegseth is also facing sexual misconduct allegations from a 2017 encounter. Scrutiny increased late Wednesday night after police in Monterey, California, released a report about the allegations.
“The matter was fully investigated, and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday. Through his attorney, he has also acknowledged the sexual encounter but has said it was consensual.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi addresses the Republican National Convention in 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
6. Pam Bondi – Attorney General
Following Gaetz’s removal from consideration for the nation’s top cop, Trump chose Bondi as his attorney general pick.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, was named by Trump hours after Gaetz withdrew. Bondi is a longtime Trump supporter who served on his legal team during his impeachment trial.
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump wrote in his announcement. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.
“I have known Pam for many years – She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”
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7. Doug Burgum – Secretary of the Interior
North Dakota Gov. Burgum, a staunch advocate of expanded fossil fuel production, was picked as Trump’s secretary of the interior. Trump also named him to the newly created “energy czar” position.
Burgum has been an ally of Trump since he suspended his own presidential campaign. Burgum made energy and natural resources a key part of his campaign for the GOP nomination.
The president-elect said in a statement the newly formed National Energy Council “will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation.”
Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of AFPI, during the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit in 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
8. Brooke Rollins – Agriculture Secretary
Rollins, who grew up on a farm in Glen Rose, Texas, was a surprise pick for the position. Others, including former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., were floated as top contenders.
Rollins served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration. Since her time in the Trump White House, Rollins co-founded the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute think tank.
“A proud Graduate of Texas A&M University, Brooke earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Agriculture Development, and J.D., with Honors,” the announcement said. “From her upbringing in the small and Agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with Future Farmers of America and 4H, to her generational Family Farming background, to guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Brooke has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep Policy credentials in both Nonprofit and Government leadership at the State and National levels.”
Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of the Trump 2024 Transition Team, speaks during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York Oct. 17. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
9. Howard Lutnick – Commerce Secretary
Lutnick, 63, has served as the co-chair of Trump’s transition team and was a key fundraiser for Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns.
“I am thrilled to announce that Howard Lutnick, Chairman & CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, will join my Administration as the United States Secretary of Commerce,” Trump said in a statement. “He will lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”
The Commerce Department plays a key role in regulating international trade with the U.S. as well as promoting economic growth domestically.
There are several notable bureaus within the Commerce Department, including the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Industry and Security, which work on issues related to national security and sensitive technologies by enforcing export controls and promoting the health of the U.S. defense industrial base.
Scott Turner at the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda summit in Washington, D.C., in 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
10. Scott Turner – Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Turner, 52, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a former NFL player.
He served in Trump’s first administration as executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
“Scott is an NFL Veteran, who, during my First Term, served as the First Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC), helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities,” Trump said in a statement Friday.
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11. Sean Duffy – Secretary of Transportation
Duffy is a former Wisconsin congressman and former Fox News contributor and FOX Business co-host.
“Sean has been a tremendous and well-liked public servant, starting his career as a District Attorney for Ashland, Wisconsin, and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District,” Trump said in his announcement Monday.
“Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”
HERE ARE THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT CANDIDATES FOR TOP POSTS IN TRUMP’S ADMINISTRATION
Shortly after the announcement, a spokesperson for Fox News Media released the following statement: “Sean Duffy provided valuable insights and analysis in co-hosting the FOX Business Network program ‘The Bottom Line.’ As Duffy departs FOX News Media effective today, we wish him the best of luck in his return to Washington. Moving forward, ‘The Bottom Line’ will continue with Dagen McDowell joined by rotating co-hosts.”
Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. CEO Chris Wright, center, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Reuters)
12. Chris Wright – Secretary of Energy
Wright, the CEO and founder of Liberty Energy, will lead the Department of Energy.
“I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my Administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and Member of the newly formed Council of National Energy,” Trump said in a statement.
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According to Liberty Energy’s website, Wright graduated from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also completed graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT.
“[Wright] is a self-described tech nerd turned entrepreneur and a dedicated humanitarian on a mission to better human lives by expanding access to abundant, affordable, and reliable energy,” the company’s website says.
The key Cabinet position announcement comes after Trump made energy independence and bolstering oil and gas production a cornerstone of his campaign.
President Trump shakes hands with Linda McMahon, the outgoing administrator of the Small Business Administration, March 29, 2019. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
13. Linda McMahon – Secretary of Education
McMahon serves as co-chair of Trump’s transition team and is a major GOP donor and a retired World Wrestling Entertainment executive.
Clips of McMahon’s body slams have resurfaced across social media in the days since the announcement of her appointment.
McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009. She told lawmakers at the time she had a lifelong interest in education and once planned to become a teacher. She attempted two runs at the Senate as a Connecticut Republican, losing the 2010 race to Richard Blumenthal and the 2012 race to Chris Murphy.
McMahon then provided $6 million to help Trump’s candidacy after he secured the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. She served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2019.
Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., speaks during a campaign event in Buford, Ga., in 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
14. Douglas Collins – Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Former Rep. Collins, R-Ga., is an Air Force Reserve chaplain.
Collins, 58, last ran for office in 2020 when he vied for a Georgia Senate seat and served two years as a Navy chaplain before joining the Air Force as a chaplain after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Trump praised Collins in the appointment announcement, saying he would be a “great advocate for active-duty service members, veterans and military families to ensure they have the support they need.”
“We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform,” Trump said. “Thank you, Doug, for your willingness to serve our country in this important role.”
Former President Trump listens as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, March 16. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
15. Kristi Noem – Homeland Secretary
Noem, who has served as South Dakota’s governor since 2019, has been a staunch Trump ally throughout his campaigns.
The Department of Homeland Security oversees U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
If selected, Noem would work with Tom Homan, who was announced as Trump’s “border czar,” and Stephen Miller, who was announced as the White House deputy of staff for policy.
Politics
Trump signs order to protect Venezuela oil revenue held in US accounts
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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order blocking U.S. courts from seizing Venezuelan oil revenues held in American Treasury accounts.
The order states that court action against the funds would undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.
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President Donald Trump is pictured signing two executive orders on Sept. 19, 2025, establishing the “Trump Gold Card” and introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. He signed another executive order recently protecting oil revenue. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Trump signed the order on Friday, the same day that he met with nearly two dozen top oil and gas executives at the White House.
The president said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s “rotting” oil infrastructure and push production to record levels following the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The U.S. has moved aggressively to take control of Venezuela’s oil future following the collapse of the Maduro regime.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Politics
Column: Some leaders will do anything to cling to positions of power
One of the most important political stories in American history — one that is particularly germane to our current, tumultuous time — unfolded in Los Angeles some 65 years ago.
Sen. John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, had just received his party’s nomination for president and in turn he shunned the desires of his most liberal supporters by choosing a conservative out of Texas as his running mate. He did so in large part to address concerns that his faith would somehow usurp his oath to uphold the Constitution. The last time the Democrats nominated a Catholic — New York Gov. Al Smith in 1928 — he lost in a landslide, so folks were more than a little jittery about Kennedy’s chances.
“I am fully aware of the fact that the Democratic Party, by nominating someone of my faith, has taken on what many regard as a new and hazardous risk,” Kennedy told the crowd at the Memorial Coliseum. “But I look at it this way: The Democratic Party has once again placed its confidence in the American people, and in their ability to render a free, fair judgment.”
The most important part of the story is what happened before Kennedy gave that acceptance speech.
While his faith made party leaders nervous, they were downright afraid of the impact a civil rights protest during the Democratic National Convention could have on November’s election. This was 1960. The year began with Black college students challenging segregation with lunch counter sit-ins across the Deep South, and by spring the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee had formed. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was not the organizer of the protest at the convention, but he planned to be there, guaranteeing media attention. To try to prevent this whole scene, the most powerful Black man in Congress was sent to stop him.
The Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was also a warrior for civil rights, but the House representative preferred the legislative approach, where backroom deals were quietly made and his power most concentrated. He and King wanted the same things for Black people. But Powell — who was first elected to Congress in 1944, the same year King enrolled at Morehouse College at the age of 15 — was threatened by the younger man’s growing influence. He was also concerned that his inability to stop the protest at the convention would harm his chance to become chairman of a House committee.
And so Powell — the son of a preacher, and himself a Baptist preacher in Harlem — told King that if he didn’t cancel, Powell would tell journalists a lie that King was having a homosexual affair with his mentor, Bayard Rustin. King stuck to his plan and led a protest — even though such a rumor would not only have harmed King, but also would have undermined the credibility of the entire civil rights movement. Remember, this was 1960. Before the March on Washington, before passage of the Voting Rights Act, before the dismantling of the very Jim Crow laws Powell had vowed to dismantle when first running for office.
That threat, my friends, is the most important part of the story.
It’s not that Powell didn’t want the best for the country. It’s just that he wanted to be seen as the one doing it and was willing to derail the good stemming from the civil rights movement to secure his own place in power. There have always been people willing to make such trade-offs. Sometimes they dress up their intentions with scriptures to make it more palatable; other times they play on our darkest fears. They do not care how many people get hurt in the process, even if it’s the same people they profess to care for.
That was true in Los Angeles in 1960.
That was true in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
That is true in the streets of America today.
Whether we are talking about an older pastor who is threatened by the growing influence of a younger voice or a president clinging to office after losing an election: To remain king, some men are willing to burn the entire kingdom down.
YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
Politics
Federal judge blocks Trump from cutting childcare funds to Democratic states over fraud concerns
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A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stopping subsidies on childcare programs in five states, including Minnesota, amid allegations of fraud.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Biden appointee, didn’t rule on the legality of the funding freeze, but said the states had met the legal threshold to maintain the “status quo” on funding for at least two weeks while arguments continue.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would withhold funds for programs in five Democratic states over fraud concerns.
The programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant, all of which help needy families.
USDA IMMEDIATELY SUSPENDS ALL FEDERAL FUNDING TO MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it would withhold funds for programs in five Democratic states over fraud concerns. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
“Families who rely on childcare and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement on Tuesday.
The states, which include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, argued in court filings that the federal government didn’t have the legal right to end the funds and that the new policy is creating “operational chaos” in the states.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian at his nomination hearing in 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In total, the states said they receive more than $10 billion in federal funding for the programs.
HHS said it had “reason to believe” that the programs were offering funds to people in the country illegally.
‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
The table above shows the five states and their social safety net funding for various programs which are being withheld by the Trump administration over allegations of fraud. (AP Digital Embed)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the ruling a “critical victory for families whose lives have been upended by this administration’s cruelty.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the ruling a “critical victory for families whose lives have been upended by this administration’s cruelty.” (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to HHS for comment.
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