Donald Trump will return to the presidency of the United States at the end of January. So far, it is not known who Trump plans to appoint as his assistants and ministers.
Trump’s inner circle has been preparing the change of power for months, hidden from the public. The transition team is led by a businesswoman Linda McMahon and a billionaire Howard Lutnick.
Trump has stressed that this time he wants as loyal aides as possible, who will not try to prevent the realization of his goals.
Among other things, these names have come up in interviews, leaks and analyzes made by various media.
It is striking that almost all the people who have been considered for the positions are men.
Future Vice President JD Vance is the only person who is certain to be involved in the future administration. Vance, 40, is a Republican senator from Ohio.
A former critic of Trump has become one of his staunchest defenders. He has caused a stir, among other things, by calling Democrats “childless cat ladies”.
The vice president does not have many tasks, but the president can assign him to lead various projects.
Vance will become president if the 78-year-old Trump dies or becomes so seriously ill that he can no longer carry out his duties.
The richest person in the world and the owner of the X service Elon Musk53, was the biggest supporter of Trump’s campaign with a pot of more than one hundred million euros.
Trump has promised Musk a task where his task would be to make the state administration more efficient.
There is a big conflict of interest in the task. The state administration is, for example, the most important customers of the spacecraft company SpaceX and many other Musk companies.
Most likely, Musk, who runs several companies, would not become a full-time official, but would be some kind of part-time assistant role.
A 70-year-old member of the Kennedy political clan Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president, but abandoned his candidacy in favor of Trump in August.
Trump has promised her a health-related position in his administration.
Kennedy is known as an opponent of vaccines and a propagandist of conspiracy theories. After the election however, he assured that the future administration is not going to take away anyone’s vaccines.
It may be difficult for Kennedy to become the actual health minister because the Senate would have to approve his appointment. Many senators are estranged from Kennedy’s extraordinary claims.
Mike Pompeo60, was CIA director and secretary of state in Trump’s first-term administration. As foreign minister, he strongly supported Israel and sharply criticized China.
Pompeo is one of the few ministers from the previous administration who are believed to return to Trump’s service.
It has been speculated that Pompeo will become either foreign or defense minister.
Richard Grenell served as US ambassador to Germany during the Trump administration. The 58-year-old Grenell was known for his flamboyant style and good relations with the European far-right.
Grenell has been one of Trump’s most important foreign policy advisers during the election campaign.
He has demanded that Europe support Ukraine more and proposed an end to the war in Ukraine, among other things autonomous regions in eastern Ukraine.
Grenell has been speculated to aim for the position of secretary of state or defense, director of the CIA or national security adviser.
Susie Wiles has been another of Trump’s campaign managers.
The 67-year-old Wiles, who avoids the public, has worked in politics more than For 40 years and led several successful election campaigns.
Wiles is a conservative by background, but his political opinions are hardly known.
Wiles has been speculated to be the Trump administration’s chief of staff.
Stephen Miller were key aides in the early stages of Trump’s previous administration.
The 39-year-old Miller, who strongly opposes immigration, was responsible for, among other things, the preparation of the Muslim immigration ban at the time.
This time he has spoken with enthusiasm mass deportations of the undocumentedwhich Trump has promised to implement.
Miller has assisted Trump’s campaign and is involved in the preparations for the incoming administration. It is unclear what kind of task he would be aiming for this time.
Robert Lighthizer77, was a trade representative for the previous Trump administration. He pushed import tariffs against China and was involved in withdrawing the United States from the free trade agreement Nafta.
He has assisted Trump in trade matters even now and is pushing for even higher import tariffs.
Lightizer could become the new administration’s finance minister or minister responsible for internal trade. He could also end up as a sales representative again.
They are hardly seen in the administration
Trump’s previous administration included a daughter Ivanka Trump and his spouse Jared Kusher. This time boys Donald Jr. Trump and Eric Trump have been involved in the campaign.
Trump has announcedthat he doesn’t want his family members in his administration because it would be “too painful.”
Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon was released from prison a couple of weeks before the election and has been campaigning for Trump. However, Trump’s official campaign is fired from his statements.
A far-right senator Tom Cotton has often been mentioned as a possible ministerial candidate. of information from the Axios news site however, Cotton plans to continue as a senator.
Sources: The Guardian, CNN, PoliticoReuters and AP.
Sources of image quotes: JD Vance, Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mike Pompeo, Richard Grenell, Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller, Robert Lighthizer
Photos: EPA-EFE/SARAH YENESEL, EPA-EFE/ERIK S. LESSER, EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO, EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW, Joe Marino/UPI/Shutterstock, Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto/Shutterstock, Andrew Harnik /UPI/Shutterstock