President Donald Trump prioritizes loyalty by building a team for his second mandate, surrounded himself with people who served faithfully in his first administration or who worked on one or more of his three campaigns.
These are not the only links that connect people to the highest ranks in his administration. Several are billionaires or campaign donors, or both. There are also media personalities, former legislators and people who worked on Project 2025, the conservative plan for having reduced the government with which Trump insisted that he had no affiliation when he campaigned for the White House.
Some people in key roles have personal relationships with Trump dating back years, a shopping cart in one of Trump’s golf courses in the former fiancée of his son. Others came after opposing Trump in the past; The examples include his vice-president and a handful of Republicans and Democrats who ran against him.
These are some of the people that Trump has chosen for the best roles in his second administration – and a look at what they have in common, according to a review by the Associated Press.
Who is:
Tom Barrack, Ambassador to Türkiye
Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Doug Burgum, interior secretary
Lori Chavez-Deremer, labor secretary
Doug Collins, secretary to veterans combatants
Sean Duffy, transport secretary
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Jamieson Greer, commercial representative
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Ambassador to Greece
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council
Pete Hegseth, defense secretary
Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to Canada
Tom Homan, Tsar Frontier
Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel
Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator
Ronald Johnson, Ambassador to Mexico
Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Social Services
Karoline Leavitt, press secretary of the White House
Kelly Loeffler, administrator of Small Business Administration
Howard Lungick, trade secretary
Dr Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner
Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education
Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff of the White House
Elon Musk, Government Department of Effectiveness
Peter Navarro, Senior White House advisor on trade and manufacturing
Janette Nesheiwat, general surgeon
Kristi Noem, interior security secretary
Dr Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Kash Patel, FBI director
David Lost, Ambassador to China
John Ratcliffe, CIA director
Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff of the White House
Rodney Scott, customs and borders commissioner
Scott Turner, housing secretary
JD Vance, vice-president
Russell Vought, director of the management and budget office
Mike Waltz, national security advisor
Matthew Whitaker, NATO ambassador
Susie Wiles, Chief of the White House Staff
Steven Witkoff, special envoy
Chris Wright, energy secretary
Lee Zeldin, administrator of the environmental protection agency
What they have in common:
Worked in the Trump administration during his first mandate: Rollins, Scavino, Greer, Ratcliffe, Leavitt, Patel, Kellogg, Hassett, McMahon, Whitaker, Hoekstra, Navarro, Scott, Johnson, Vought, Turner, Miller, Homan.
Comes from Florida, Trump’s house when he is not in the White House and the site of his succession, Mar-A-Lago: Guilfoyle, Rubio, Waltz, Bondi, Johnson, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.
Gave money to Trump’s campaign or a pro-Trump CAP, according to campaign financing data: Wright, Musk, Lunick, Loeffler, Zeldin, McMahon, Hoekstra, Bessent, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.
Employed by the 2016 Trump, 2020 or 2024 campaign (or for more than one): Scavino, Leavitt, Guilfoyle, Miller, Wiles.
Previously served in the Federal State or Public Service: lost, Burgum, Collins, Vance, Ratcliffe, Loeffler, Noem, Zeldin, Chavez-Deremer, Rubio, Huckabee, Waltz, Bondi, Hoekstra, Turner, Duffy, Gabbard.
Formerly opposed to Trump, by openly shouting towards him or running against him for the president: Burgum, Musk, Vance, Rubio, Kennedy, Gabbard.
Hosted a television program, was employed by a television network as a paid contributor or has a social media company: Nesheiwat, Oz, Musk, Guilfoyle, Huckabee, Hegseth, Duffy.
Has a personal wealth of $ 1 billion or more, according to AP reporting: Musk, Lutnick, Isaacman, Loeffler, McMahon, Bessent, Witkoff, Barrack.
Was an author or a contributor to the conservative policy game known as the Project 2025: Ratcliffe, Hoekstra, Navarro, Vought, Homan.
To a personal relationship with Trump, like a longtime friend, a business colleague or a person with other close ties with the members of the Trump family: Scavino, Guilfoyle, McMahon, Witkoff, Barrack.
Report and research by Sara Burnett, Lolita C. Baldor, Bill Barrow, Thomas Beaumont, Collin Binkley, Matt Brown, Cathy Bussewitz, Jill Colvin, Bernard Condon, Tara Copp, Matthew Daly, Jack Dura, Alann Durkin Richer, Adriana Gomez Lecon, Fatima Hud Madhani, Scott McFetridge, Matthew Perrone, Michelle L. Price, Amanda Seitz, Brian Slodysko, Mike Stobbe, Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker.
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