You're Hired! A Master List Of Rumored Top Trump Appointees
ByDanielle Keeton-Olsen and Annie ReesPublishedNovember 10, 2016, 6:05 PM EDT
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It's the biggest parlor game in DC when a new President comes to town: Who will occupy the top spots in the new administration?
While resumes are polished, back channels opened and the public and private preening begins, dubious lists appear of prospective, rumored, and wannabe appointees, some lists more reliably informed than others.
TPM will maintain a master list of all of the reported possible picks for the top slots--far-fetched or not--crossing them off as they are eliminated from consideration.
It will be an evolving list so check back as Trump builds out a new administration from scratch.
Click on a link below to go directly to that position:
Secretary of State | Secretary of Treasury | Secretary of Defense | Attorney General | Secretary of the Interior | Secretary of Agriculture | Secretary of Commerce | Secretary of Labor | Secretary of Health and Human Services | Secretary of Energy | Secretary of Education | Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Secretary of Homeland Security | Chief of Staff | White House Counsel | Communications Director | Press Secretary | RNC Chair | Director of Office of Management and Budget | EPA Administrator
Secretary of State:
John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has expressed interest in the role
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Treasury Secretary:
Steve Mnunchin, Goldman banker and Trump finance chair
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, though he said he would not be interested
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the House Financial Services committee
Businessman Carl Icahn
Secretary of Defense:
Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Stephen Hadley, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs under the George W. Bush Administration
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO)
Former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Attorney General:
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, pegged as top contender by Politico
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Pam Bondi, Attorney General of Florida Secretary of the Interior:
Forrest Lucas, oilman
Jan Brewer, former Arizona governor
Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma
Robert Grady, venture capitalist
Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oilman
Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
Donald Trump Jr. reportedly has interest in the job
Secretary of Agriculture:
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback
Chuck Conner, CEO National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
Dave Heineman, former Governor of Nebraska
Sid Miller, Texas’ Secretary of Agriculture
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue
Mike McCloskey, major dairy executive from Indiana
Bruce Rastetter, major GOP donor in Iowa
Kip Tom, farmer who ran unsuccessful Indiana congressional campaign
Don Villwock, president of Indiana Farm Bureau
Ted McKinney, director of Indiana Department of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Dan DiMicco, Former Nucor CEO and Trump trade adviser
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry Secretary of Labor:
Victoria Lipnic, EEOC commissioner
Secretary of Health and Human Services:
Former New Jersey state Sen. Rich Bagger, though Politico calls the suggestion a “longer shot”
Ben Carson
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Florida Gov. Rick Scott Secretary of Energy:
Venture Capitalist Robert Grady
Harold Hamm, Continental Resources CEO
Secretary of Education:
Trump has suggested the Department of Education will be reduced, if not completely dismantled, in his administration, but that has not diminished speculation.
Ben Carson
William Evers, Hoover Institution fellow and senior advisor to Bush Administration’s Secretary of Education
Veterans Affairs:
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)
Secretary of Homeland Security:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee County
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), House Homeland Security chair Chief of Staff:
Reince Priebus, RNC Chairman, considered top contender according to BuzzFeed and NBC
Steve Bannon, Trump's campaign chief and executive chairman of Breitbart
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and owner of the New York Observer, was seen walking with Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, igniting speculation he might be in the running for the position under a Trump administration.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Rudy Giuliani
Reince Priebus
White House Counsel:
Donald McGahn, Trump campaign counsel
Communications Director:
Jason Miller, Trump campaign senior communications adviser
Hope Hicks, Trump campaign press secretary
Press Secretary:
Jason Miller - via CNN
Sean Spicer, RNC communications director
RNC Chair:
Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager and current CNN contributor
David Bossie, Trump’s deputy campaign manager
Director of Office of Management and Budget:
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator:
Myron Ebell, an official at Competitive Enterprise Institute, who has running Trump’s EPA working group
Robert Grady, venture capitalist
Joe Aiello, director, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Environmental Safety and Quality Assurance
Carol Comer, commissioner, Indiana Department of Environmental Management
I've always felt much of the asshole's (fair, as he is one) campaign rhetoric was as much bullshit as it sounded. Which is not to say he is not an unstable man, and as nasty and contemptible as he has been throughout his life.