prioritized loyalty as he built out a team for his second term, surrounding himself with people who served faithfully in his first administration or who worked on one or more of his three campaigns.
Those are not the only ties that connect the people in the highest ranks of his administration. Several are billionaires or campaign donors, or both. There also are media personalities, former lawmakers and people who worked on , the conservative blueprint for slashing government that Trump insisted he had no affiliation with as he campaigned for the White House.
Some people in key roles have personal relationships with Trump that go back years, from a onetime caddy at one of Trump鈥檚 golf courses to his son鈥檚 former fianc茅e. Others came around after opposing Trump in the past; examples include his vice president and a handful of Republicans and Democrats who once ran against him.
These are some of the people Trump picked for top roles in his second administration 鈥� and a look at what they have in common, according to a review by The Associated Press.
Who's who:
Tom , ambassador to Turkey
Scott , treasury secretary
Pam , attorney general
Doug , interior secretary
Lori , labor secretary
Doug , veterans affairs secretary
Sean , transportation secretary
Tulsi , director of national intelligence
Jamieson , trade representative
Kimberly , ambassador to Greece
Kevin , National Economic Council director
Pete , defense secretary
Pete , ambassador to Canada
Tom , border czar
Mike , ambassador to Israel
Jared , NASA administrator
Ronald , ambassador to Mexico
Keith , special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
Robert F. Jr., health and human services secretary
Karoline , White House press secretary
Kelly , administrator of the Small Business Administration
Howard , commerce secretary
Dr. Marty , Food and Drug Administration commissioner
Linda , education secretary
Stephen , White House deputy chief of staff
Elon , Department of Government Efficiency
Peter , White House senior counselor on trade and manufacturing
Janette , surgeon general
Kristi , homeland security secretary
Dr. Mehmet , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Kash , FBI director
David , ambassador to China
John , CIA director
Brooke , agriculture secretary
Marco , secretary of state
Dan , White House deputy chief of staff
Rodney , Customs and Border Protection commissioner
Scott , housing secretary
JD , vice president
Russell , director of the Office of Management and Budget
Mike , national security adviser
Matthew , ambassador to NATO
Susie , White House chief of staff
Steven , special envoy
Chris , energy secretary
Lee , Environmental Protection Agency administrator
What they have in common:
Worked in the Trump administration during his first term: Rollins, Scavino, Greer, Ratcliffe, Leavitt, Patel, Kellogg, Hassett, McMahon, Whitaker, Hoekstra, Navarro, Scott, Johnson, Vought, Turner, Miller, Homan.
Is from Florida, Trump's home when he's not in the White House and site of his estate, Mar-a-Lago: Guilfoyle, Rubio, Waltz, Bondi, Johnson, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.
Gave money to Trump鈥檚 campaign or a pro-Trump PAC, according to campaign finance data: Wright, Musk, Lutnick, Loeffler, Zeldin, McMahon, Hoekstra, Bessent, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.
Employed by Trump's 2016, 2020 or 2024 campaign (or for more than one): Scavino, Leavitt, Guilfoyle, Miller, Wiles.
Previously served in state or federal public office: Perdue, Burgum, Collins, Vance, Ratcliffe, Loeffler, Noem, Zeldin, Chavez-DeRemer, Rubio, Huckabee, Waltz, Bondi, Hoekstra, Turner, Duffy, Gabbard.
Formerly opposed Trump, by being openly critical of him or running against him for president: Burgum, Musk, Vance, Rubio, Kennedy, Gabbard.
Hosted a TV show, was employed by a TV network as a paid contributor or owns 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 contributor to the conservative policy playbook known as Project 2025: Ratcliffe, Hoekstra, Navarro, Vought, Homan.
Has a personal relationship with Trump, such as a longtime friend, business colleague or person with other close ties to Trump family members: Scavino, Guilfoyle, McMahon, Witkoff, Barrack.
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Reporting and research from 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, Alanna Durkin Richer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Fatima Hussein, David Klepper, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Scott McFetridge, Matthew Perrone, Michelle L. Price, Amanda Seitz, Brian Slodysko, Mike Stobbe, Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker.
Parker Kaufmann, Humera Lodhi And Christopher Keller, The Associated Press
