America first: Here’s who Trump may tap for National Security

Donald Trump’s advisers are swiftly working to form a new administration, and the leaders he chooses to help install his “America First” agenda for foreign policy, regulation and law enforcement will provide clues to how deeply that policy goes.
A Republican Party more unified behind Trump than during his first presidency is on track to win total control of Washington. This week’s elections gave the GOP a majority in the Senate, and it’s closing in on control of the US House with a few seats left to be decided.
Besides national security, Trump will be looking to build out the heads of financial regulatory agencies, which are expected to take a more light-handed approach than President Joe Biden’s administration.
US foreign policy will be even more unpredictable than it was in his first term. Trump has given few details on his plans on many key issues. However, close aides have laid out some dramatic possible options, including a complete economic decoupling from China, deploying nearly 200,000 US marines to Asia and resuming the testing of nuclear weapons.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition, said “President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”
As part of the process toward Trump’s inauguration in January, Biden will host him for a meeting at the White House on Wednesday.
What follows is a list based on who has advised and promoted Trump during the campaign, and who people familiar with the matter say have been floated over the past few months.
Defense Secretary
The post involves overseeing the world’s largest military and the government’s biggest agency, with a budget of about $857 billion in 2023. The secretary advises the president on military deployment and defense alliances around the world and is also intimately linked to defense manufacturers and decisions on multi-billion dollar weapons programs like the the F-35 stealth fighter and the nuclear-submarine force.
National Security Advisor
The White House National Security advisor is also crucial for coordination of high-priority policies. Three names have emerged: Fred Fleitz of the Trump-loyal America First Policy Institute, Keith Kellogg, a retired Army general who worked in the first Trump administration and Waltz.
Attorney General
The attorney general is a cabinet position that oversees the Justice Department, which employs more than 115,000 people and includes agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Antitrust
The Justice Department’s antitrust division is one of two government enforcement agencies charged with enforcing US competition law. The agency reviews mergers, polices anticompetitive conduct and enforces criminal law barring price-fixing and other forms of collusion. The Federal Trade Commission also enforces laws blocking anti-competitive mergers and other business conduct, though it doesn’t have criminal enforcement authority. The agency is led by a bipartisan, five-member body and also handles consumer protection regulations involving data breaches and false marketing practices.
Energy Secretary
The Energy Department has a disparate mission that includes helping to build the nation’s nuclear warheads, maintaining the strong emergency stockpile of oil that Trump has vowed to refill and studying subjects as varied as super computers and capturing carbon dioxide emissions. Under the first Trump administration the agency played a lead role in the incoming president’s efforts to revive US coal power, an effort he’s hinted he may attempt again.
Among the names floated for Energy secretary is Paul Dabbar, who served as undersecretary of science at the agency during the Trump administration. Mark Menezes, who served as the Energy Department’s No. 2 leader during the first term, is also mentioned.Trump is also considering creating an energy czar position, according to people familiar with the matter.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s name has come up as a potential leader in the role, though it’s not clear he is interested in the position, one of the people said.
The role, akin to the position of White House climate adviser created by the Biden administration, would coordinate agencies such as the Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and Energy Department.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator
The agency’s air, water, chemical and biofuel regulations touch nearly every sector of the US economy — from mammoth refineries to family farmers. Trump has vowed to speed the construction of gas-fired power plants and “terminate” what he calls an electric vehicle mandate run through the EPA, which under President Joe Biden imposed stringent regulations targeting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from the electric and transportation sectors. Elon Musk’s presence in Trump’s orbit may influence his strategy on EVs.
Among the contenders to oversee the EPA is Andrew Wheeler, former EPA administrator and deputy administrator under Trump, now a partner at Holland & Hart LLP, as well as Mandy Gunasekara, a former EPA chief of staff under Trump who is now a political consultant and co-founder of the bitcoin advocacy group Satoshi Action Fund.
Interior Secretary
Trump has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and “unleash” America’s energy. The Interior Department oversees energy development, grazing and other activities on some 500 million acres of public land, as well as US federal waters. A new Interior secretary under Trump would likely be tasked with ramping up the sale of oil and gas leases, including in the Gulf of Mexico, and could play a pivotal role in shaping the near-term future for offshore wind farms planned near US coasts.
Contenders include Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Katharine MacGregor, former deputy Interior secretary under Trump, now vice president of environmental services with NextEra Energy Inc.