Who has Trump picked for his cabinet? Here are 12 of his nominees

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, November 27, 2024

SpaceX, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts during the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, in central England, on November 1, 2023. | LEON NEAL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy

Trump announced his intention to appoint entrepreneur Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in a Nov. 12 statement. As Trump explained, the new agency will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies — essential to the ‘Save America’ movement.”

Trump’s announcement about the Department of Government Efficiency suggested that Musk and Ramaswamy may not officially join the Trump administration as cabinet members: “To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”

Musk and Ramaswamy confirmed this in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Nov. 20, indicating that they intend to serve as “outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees.” They also identified federal funding to Planned Parenthood the nation’s largest abortion provider, as one example of government spending that will find itself on the chopping block by the DOGE.

Former Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 24, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland. Attendees descended upon the hotel outside Washington D.C. to participate in the four-day annual conference and hear from conservative speakers from around the world who range from journalists, U.S. lawmakers, international leaders and businessmen. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

“I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans. Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending,” Trump vowed. “They will work together to liberate our Economy, and to make the U.S. Government accountable to ‘WE THE PEOPLE.’”

He added, “Their work will conclude no later than July 4 2026. A Smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.”

Musk, the CEO of X, SpaceX and Tesla, endorsed Trump following the assassination attempt against the former president over the summer. Ramaswamy, who unsuccessfully campaigned for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election, backed Trump after dropping out. The implication that the two will not officially join the cabinet means that they will likely not require Senate confirmations to assume their positions.