A presidential cabinet is usually made up of 25 members who are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The cabinet acts as an advisory board in a multiplicity of areas spanning each member’s specialty. Members include the vice president and leaders of the 15 executive departments.
Although not all members of President Trump’s 2025 cabinet are officially inducted, below is a dive into the background and current positions of the eight who have been approved and nominees who may soon be elected into position.
Vice President
JD Vance
Vance is the 50th vice president of the United States. Representing Ohio, he served as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 2023 to 2025, up until his current White House role. He is a Yale University graduate and a Marine Veteran.
Vance ran his campaign alongside Trump, advertising the idea of making the “American Dream” a reality through methods including U.S.-based manufacturing and tariffs on foreign countries.
Secretary of State
Marco Rubio
Rubio has had a long history in politics, from becoming part of the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, three-time reelected Republican of the U.S. Senate and opponent to Trump in the 2016 presidency. Rubio’s experience as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee is believed to make him fit for this position.
As Secretary of State, Rubio will be Trump’s foreign affairs adviser and consultant on international relations.
CIA Director
John Ratcliffe
Ratcliffe was the Director of National Intelligence during the last leg of Trump’s first presidential term and COVID-19 pandemic.
As CIA director, Ratcliffe will supervise the operations against military, cyber and other attacks to the U.S.
Defense Department Secretary
Pete Hegseth
As a former FOX News contributor and co-host, Hegseth also served in the Army National Guard for 19 years.
Hegseth’s position as Defense Department Secretary gives him the duty of leading 1.3 million service members worldwide and heading the deployment of the military on U.S. ground. In this role, Hegseth is also in close quarters with national defense policies and the Pentagon.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem
Noem was a two-term governor of South Dakota from 2019 to her resignation this year. Noem will be a vital piece in implementing Trump’s immigration plans.
As Homeland Security Secretary, Noem will oversee border security and anti-terrorism concerns.
Department of the Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent
Bessent served as the CEO of the global hedge fund, Key Square Management. He was also the former money manager for investor and philanthropist George Soros.
As the secretary in this department, Bessent is responsible for managing the country’s finances, improve economic growth and make job opportunities possible for Americans.
Department of Transportation Secretary
Sean Duffy
Duffy served as a district attorney in Wisconsin before becoming a U.S. House member from 2011 to 2019. During this time Duffy was a Financial Services Committee member and advised the subcommittee on insurance and housing.
Now overseeing all of the nation’s transportation matters, Duffy’s role includes national and regional safety for highways, vehicles, aviation, railroads and more.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Lee Zeldin
Zeldin was a member of the New York Senate from 2011 to 2014, and served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. Just two years before this new role, Zeldin unsuccessfully ran for governor of New York.
Zeldin will be responsible for enforcing laws and regulations that protect the environment and ensure the public’s health and safety.
Director of the Interior Secretary
Doug Burgum
In addition to running for president in the 2024 election, Burgum served as a two-time governor of North Dakota and was CEO of accounting software company Great Plains Software.
In his new position, Burgum manages federal land and natural resource conservation methods.
Department of Energy Secretary
Chris Wright
Wright has been CEO of the Denver company Liberty Energy, an oil and gas producer since 2011. Wright has a degree from MIT and experience in electrical engineering but does not have a background in government.
Wright’s responsibility is to make the country’s energy policy and nuclear infrastructure. His plans include becoming energy-dominant with fracking, oil and gas.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary
Doug Collins
Collins was a Baptist minister for 11 years and served in the Air Force and Navy before joining the political realm. In 2007, he was elected to the Georgia statehouse and joined Congress in 2012.
As the Veterans Affairs Secretary, Collins will oversee the care of veterans, which includes health, education and financial benefits.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Scott Turner
Turner is a jack-of-all-trades. In between his nine NFL seasons, Turner interned for former congressman Duncan Hunter. Although he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, Turner became part of the Texas House in 2013. Most recently, Turner headed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in 2019 under President Trump, which aimed to help distressed communities.
In his new position, Turner will be in charge of America’s housing needs, including plans to reduce homelessness and help low-income families.
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Russell Vought
Vought is no stranger to his position as he is returning to it from Trump’s 2016 presidency. Before his White House position, Vought was, among others, policy director for the House Republican Conference and executive director of the Republican Study Committee.
Vought’s returning role is responsible for implementing the president’s policies and plans that are carried out across the Executive Office.
Director of National Intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard
Gabbard served in the Hawaii Army National Guard for 17 years and has served in the United States Army Reserve since 2020. Gabbard was a democratic congresswoman representative of Hawaii and unsuccessful 2020 presidential candidate. In 2022, Gabbard officially left the Democratic party.
In her new position, Gabbard will be in charge of overseeing the National Intelligence Program, its budget and advise the president in intelligence insights related to potential security threats, cyber attacks and more.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Son of politician and lawyer Robert Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr., has made a name for himself as an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and author. Kennedy most notably ran in the 2024 presidential election as a democrat, then independent and later endorsed President Trump.
Kennedy’s new role is responsible for the nation’s access to healthcare, including the regulation of Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
Department of Agriculture Secretary
Brooke Rollins
Rollins is returning to the White House as she previously served as the Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives and Director of the Domestic Policy Council for the first Trump administration. Since then, Rollins founded the nonpartisan, nonprofit research foundation America First Policy Institute.
In this new position, Rollins will be responsible for directing research and educational activities in areas of nutrition, conservation, farming, forestry and others.
Department of Commerce Secretary
Howard Lutnick
Lutnick is a Wall Street broker, chairman and CEO of several financial service firms. At the age of 29, Lutnick became president and CEO of the firm Cantor Fitzgerald, in which he later headed a relief fund for families of his co-workers who passed away on 9/11. He served as co-chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team during the 2024 election.
As the secretary of commerce, Lutnick will manage agencies including patents and national security, oversee trade agreements and policies, and see to the promotion of U.S. businesses.
Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Kelly Loeffler
Loeffler wears many political hats, first as part of the 2020 U.S. Senate representing Georgia and later serving various committees in areas of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. She also founded RallyRight, a technology start-up, and the voter integrity non-profit Greater Georgia Action.
In her new position, Loeffler will assist in small business concerns including loans and assistance programs for entrepreneurs to help preserve free competition.
United States Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer
Greer served as chief of staff to Trump’s first-term trade representative, Robert Lighthizer. In this role, Greer was involved in tariff negotiations and the U.S.- Mexico-Canada Agreement. He was also part of a Washington law firm and practiced in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
In this new role, Greer will oversee the coordination of trade policies and worldwide negotiations. He will act as the president’s adviser and spokesperson for trade-related issues.
Department of Education Secretary
Linda McMahon
Before entering politics, McMahon and her husband founded World Wrestling Entertainment. She was appointed to the Connecticut Board of Education in 2009 and later ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Connecticut’s U.S. Senate. Most recently, McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.
In her new position, McMahon’s responsibilities include advising the president on educational policy issues, administering proper funding for equitable education and overseeing necessary services for students.

This is a developing story.