Donald Trump has made some of the first potential hires of his incoming administration, naming a defence secretary, a border tsar, a national security advisor, a US ambassador to the United Nations and an environmental protection agency head.

The president-elect also named his top law enforcement officer, Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, ahead of his return to the White House on 20 January 2025.

He has named Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and military veteran, as his pick for defence secretary. Billionaire supporter Elon Musk will play a role in cost-cutting.

A president is responsible for about 4,000 political appointments – a process that can take months or even years.

Here is a closer look at the posts he’s already named replacements for, and the names in the mix for the top jobs.

The US secretary of state is the president’s main adviser on foreign affairs, and acts as America’s top diplomat when representing the country overseas.

Trump announced his pick as Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Rubio, 53, takes a hawkish view of China. He opposed Trump in the 2016 Republican primary but has since mended fences. He is a senior member of the Senate foreign relations committee and vice-chairman of the chamber’s intelligence panel.

He has long been courting the job of the nation’s top diplomat and if approved, he will be the first Latino secretary of state in US history.

No personnel decision may be more critical to the trajectory of Trump’s second term than his appointee to lead the Department of Justice.

After uneven relationships with both Jeff Sessions and William Barr, the attorneys general during his first term, Trump was widely expected to pick a loyalist who will wield its prosecutorial power in the manner of an “attack dog”.

He did just that with Florida congressman Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz, who has served in Congress since 2017, is an outspoken conservative who has frequently sparked outrage with his controversial remarks.

His senate confirmation is likely to be a difficult one as members of both US parties are not fans of Gaetz.

Florida congressman Michael Waltz has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump as the next national security adviser.

In a statement on Tuesday announcing Waltz’s appointment, Trump said the congressman is a “nationally recognized leader in national security,” noting that he is the first Green Beret – or member of the US Army Special Forces – to be elected to Congress and had previously served in the US Army for 27 years.

Trump hailed Waltz as “an expert on threats posed by China, Russia, Iran and global terrorism” and “a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda”.

The national security adviser counsels the president on various threats to the US and Waltz would likely have to help navigate the US position on the wars in Israel, and in Ukraine and Russia.

It is considered an influential role and does not require Senate confirmation.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been nominated for the key role of overseeing US security, including its borders, cyber-threats, terrorism and emergency response.

The agency has a $62bn (£48bn) budget and employs thousands of people. It incorporates a wide variety of agencies under its umbrella, ranging from Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Coast Guard and Secret Service.

In her new position, Noem will work closely with Tom Homan, named border tsar, and Stephen Miller, who is in charge of policy, to deliver on Trump’s immigration pledges.

Noem was passed over to be Trump’s running mate after she told how she killed her pet dog.

Prior to being first elected as South Dakota’s governor in 2018, the 52-year-old Noem served as a US Representative in Congress for eight years and in the state’s House of Representatives for four.

This is a critical job because it includes responsibility for Trump’s mass deportations of millions of undocumented migrants, which was a central campaign pledge.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, calling Homan a “stalwart” on border control.

The former police officer was acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in Trump’s first term and he has advocated a zero-tolerance stance on the issue.

“Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels coming back,” he said in July. “And I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen.”

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has been tapped to lead what Trump has termed a Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) alongside one-time presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.

The department – known as “Doge” in a nod to a cryptocurrency promoted by Musk – will serve in an advisory capacity to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure federal agencies, Trump said in a statement.

According to Trump, the department will provide “guidance” and work closely with the White House and Office of Management and Budget.

While department heads have to be confirmed by the Senate, it is unclear what approval process will be necessary for these roles.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has been tapped to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations.

Stefanik has made national headlines with her sharp questioning in congressional committees, first at Trump’s 2019 impeachment hearings and again this year quizzing college leaders about anti-semitism on campus.

“Elise is an incredibly strong, tough and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to the New York Post.

Certain political appointments in the US – including the UN ambassador job – require the approval of the US Senate. But Trump has demanded that the next Senate leader let him make appointments without traditional confirmation votes.

Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman, has agreed to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, both he and Trump said. The Senate will still need to confirm his appointment.

He will be in charge of tackling America’s climate policy in this role.

“We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI,” Zeldin said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”

Zeldin has long been a Trump ally – and is one of 126 Republican members of Congress who signed onto a brief to the Supreme Court that contested the 2020 election results.

While serving in congress from 2015 to 2023, Zeldin voted against expanding a number of environmental policies. He has already said he plans to “roll back regulations” from day one.

He has not earned high marks from environmental groups for his voting record on environmental issues.

Susie Wiles and campaign co-chair Chris LaCivita were the masterminds behind Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris.

In his victory speech, Trump called her “the ice maiden” – a reference to her composure – and said she liked to stay in the background. Wiles was the first appointment in Trump’s top team.

The chief of staff is often a president’s top aide, overseeing daily operations in the West Wing and managing the boss’s staff.

Wiles, 67, has worked in Republican politics for decades, from Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 presidential campaign to electing Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis as governors of Florida.

Republicans have said she commands respect and has an ability to corral the big egos of those in Trump’s orbit, which could enable her to impose a sense of order that none of his four previous chiefs of staff could.

Stephen Miller, Dan Scavino, James Blair and Taylor Budowich were later named as deputy chiefs of staff.

Trump has chosen his former director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, to serve as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director.

Trump said in his statement that the ex-Texas congressman “has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American public”.

There are other yet-to-be-appointed key positions running intelligence agencies, including the FBI and director of national intelligence.

Trump has said he would fire FBI Director Chris Wray, who he nominated in 2017, but has since fallen out with. Jeffrey Jensen, a former Trump-appointed US attorney, has been under consideration to replace Wray.

Pete Hegseth has been nominated to be the next defence secretary.

The army veteran is also a Fox News host and former head of two advocacy groups for military veterans. He previously ran unsuccessfully for a Senate seat in Minnesota, and has not held political office before.

“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” Trump wrote in a statement. “With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – our military will be great again, and America will never back down.”

His appointment is one of the most highly anticipated in Trump’s cabinet as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza rage on.

“Nobody fights harder for the troops,” Trump said.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be US ambassador to Israel, as Trump pledges to end the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“Mike has been a great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years,” the president-elect said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!”

Huckabee’s daughter, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served as Trump’s press secretary during his first term in the White House.

Huckabee is a staunchly pro-Israel official who has previously rejected the idea of a two-state solution to solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

“I feel that we have a responsibility to respect that this is land that has historically belonged to the Jews,” he said of the West Bank in 2015, when he was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump has picked real estate investor and philanthropist Steve Witkoff for the role of special envoy to the Middle East.

Witkoff is a close friend of Trump’s who was with the former president when a man allegedly tried to assassinate him at his Palm Beach golf club in September.

Trump has descibed him as a “highly respected leader in business and philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous”. He added: “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud.”

Republican lawyer William McGinley will take on the role of White House counsel, Trump has said.

“Bill is a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement,” he said in a statement.

McGinley served as White House cabinet secretary during part of Trump’s first term and was the Republican National Committee’s counsel for election integrity in 2024.

Trump is reportedly considering Robert Lighthizer, a free trade sceptic who led the tariff war with China as the US trade representative, as his chief financial officer.

But at least four others may be under consideration for the role, including Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who has become a major fundraiser and economic adviser to the president-elect; John Paulson, another megadonor from the hedge fund world; former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Jay Clayton; and Fox Business Network financial commentator Larry Kudlow, who ran Trump’s national economic council during his first term.

The woman co-chairing Trump’s transition team, Linda McMahon, is tipped as a key contender to represent US businesses and job creation in his cabinet – after previously serving as small business administrator during his first term.

Others who could fill this vacancy include Brooke Rollins; Robert Lighthizer; and Kelly Loeffler, a wealthy businesswoman who briefly served in the US Senate.

Doug Burgum is also a contender to lead the energy department, where he would implement Trump’s pledges to “drill, baby, drill” and overhaul US energy policy.

A software entrepreneur who sold his small company to Microsoft in 2001, Burgum briefly ran in the 2024 Republican primary before dropping out, endorsing Trump and quickly impressing him with his low-drama persona and sizeable wealth.

Former energy secretary Dan Brouillette is also reportedly in the running.

Karoline Leavitt, 27, who impressed Trump as his campaign’s national press secretary, has already served as an assistant White House press secretary and may be a shoo-in to be the administration’s spokesperson.

RFK Jr, as he is known, is an environmental lawyer by trade, a vaccine sceptic by fame and the nephew of former President John F Kennedy.

He is on a shortlist to run the health and human services department, multiple people close to the president-elect’s campaign told CBS.

Despite having no medical qualifications to his name, Kennedy, 70, is expected to become a kind of “public health tsar” in the Trump administration.

There has been speculation about his inability to pass a background check for security clearance due to past controversies, including dumping a bear carcass in New York’s Central Park.