Ahead of his inauguration as President of the United States in January, Donald Trump has already begun announcing his Cabinet picks, as well as other high-ranking government officials and key policy advisors.
Some of Trump's appointees are veteran politicians, such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Several others – including the and Fox News host Pete Hegseth – have never been elected to public office.
And on Friday, Trump announced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would become Secretary of Health and Human Services in his administration.
Here's who's made it so far and why, unlike in Australia, those who head departments that help shape US policy are not elected parliamentarians.
The U.S. Cabinet and what its members do
The Cabinet, a body that advises the US President, consists of the Vice President and the heads of the fifteen executive departments, namely:
- State Secretary
- Minister of Finance
- Minister of Defense
- Attorney General
- Minister of the Interior
- Minister of Agriculture
- Minister of Commerce
- Minister of Labor
- Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Minister of Housing and Urban Development
- Minister of Transport
- Minister of Energy
- Minister of Education
- Minister of Veterans Affairs
- Secretary of Homeland Security
After the president and vice president, they are the highest-ranking officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government—and often the closest confidantes of the commander in chief.
Like the vice president, cabinet secretaries are also part of the presidential line of succession.
The president can also elevate other high-ranking government officials to cabinet level, but they are not included in the line of succession.
Examples from the Biden administration include the White House chief of staff, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the director of national intelligence.
How are US cabinet members selected?
Although the Australian Prime Minister can only choose his Cabinet from members of the government elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, there are few restrictions on who the US President can appoint to his Cabinet.
No one in the US is allowed to serve in both the executive and legislative branches at the same time.
If a senator or member of the House of Representatives is elected to a cabinet position, they must resign from Congress.
The president's immediate family members are also off limits.
People born outside the US or under the age of 35 may serve in the Cabinet, but cannot be included in the presidential line of succession.
Cabinet and cabinet-level appointees must pass a thorough Federal Bureau of Investigation background check, and almost all must be approved by the Senate.
Given that Republicans will have a majority in the Senate next year, Trump is unlikely to face much, if any, opposition to his choices.
Trump's cabinet picks and other key roles
Rather than opting for experienced professionals, Trump has largely chosen to appoint people who are loyal to him and who will help advance his agenda.
Despite never serving as an elected official, he is an anchor and military veteran of Fox News Piet Hegseth was nominated by Trump for minister of defense.
In this role, the political commentator and former executive director of advocacy groups including Concerned Veterans for America and Vets for Freedom would lead the world's most powerful military.
Hegseth volunteered to be placed on active duty in the National Guard to protect Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration, but was excluded along with 11 others after being found to have ties to right-wing militias or to have posted extremist views online.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.who is criticized by some as a vaccine skeptic, ran for president in 2024 as an independent before dropping out and supporting Trump in exchange for a role in his administration. He has been chosen as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
He disputes the anti-vaccine label and says he wants more rigorous testing of vaccines instead. However, he was chairman of the Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit organization that focuses on anti-vaccine messages.
RFK Jr is the nephew of Democratic President John F Kennedy Jr and son of former Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s.
The president-elect previously said he would let Kennedy “go wild” on health and food policy, which alarmed many experts.
President-elect Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in August. Trump has picked RFK Jr. to lead health and human services in his Cabinet. Source: MONKEY / Evan Vucci/AP
Trump's selection of congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general post caused immediate controversy.
Gaetz, a pro-Trump firebrand in Congress, is under a House ethics investigation into alleged sex trafficking. The Ministry of Justice, which he would lead, announced last year that it would not file charges after a lengthy investigation into the same case.
If approved by the Senate, Marco Rubio would be the first Latino to as State Secretary – the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Trump has appointed the senator from Florida as top diplomat, with the aim of intensifying the US power struggle with China. Rubio has said that China “wants not only to be the most powerful nation in the world, but also to reorient the world.”
He is a staunch supporter of Israel and a longtime critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Congressman and former Special Forces officer Mike Waltz is Trump's choice national security advisora top foreign policy position in the White House. Waltz criticizes both China – which he calls an “existential” threat – and Russia, but supports phasing out aid to Ukraine.
Longtime Trump loyalist and governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem would play a key role in any Trump effort to restrict immigration and deport undocumented migrants Secretary of Homeland Security.
Noem became infamous for this earlier this year and said it showed her ability to make tough choices.
If 'border tsar'experienced immigration officer Tom Homan will be tasked with fulfilling Trump's promise of mass deportation of undocumented migrants. and Heritage Foundation Fellow will be in charge of the “southern border, the northern border, all maritime and aviation security.”
Former Hawaii Congressman and Iraq War Veteran Tulsi Gabbard is what Trump chooses director of national intelligence, a role that entails oversee the coordination of 18 intelligence services.
After unsuccessfully seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, she left the party in 2022 before campaigning for and endorsing Trump in 2024. Gabbard has long espoused an isolationist view of foreign policy and has made comments supportive of America's adversaries, including Russia.
Director of National Intelligence at the tumultuous end of Trump's first term, John Ratcliffe, has been tapped as the next one director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Ratcliffe is close to the former president and defended him during his first impeachment trial for allegedly blackmailing the Ukrainian president. But he is seen as something of an industrialist and a relatively safe bunch at the CIA.
The richest man in the world, alongside another wealthy Trump ally, Vivek Ramaswamy.
Musk has said he aims to cut $2 trillion ($3.1 trillion) from the $7 trillion ($10.8 trillion) government budget, but has not explained where these cuts will come from.
There has also been no explanation as to how the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink would handle conflicts of interest arising from his position as a major US government contractor.
making her the first woman to hold the influential role. Known by some as the 'Ice Maiden', she played a major role in Trump's re-election.
New York Congressman . She is a vocal Trump ally and staunchly pro-Israel.
Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee will serve as the American ambassador to Israel. Trump says the Christian pastor-turned-politician “loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and the people of Israel love him the same way.”
With reporting by Agence France-Presse
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