President-elect Donald Trump has begun filling key positions

Susie Wiles, chief of staff

President-elect Donald Trump has begun filling key positions.

Susie Wiles, chief of staff

President-elect Donald Trump has begun filling key positions in his second administration, focusing so far on aides and allies who have been his strongest supporters during the 2024 campaign.

Here's a look at who he's picked so far.

Susie Wiles, chief of staff

Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto director.

Wiles has a background in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump's defeat in the 2024 Republican primary.

Wiles' appointment was Trump's first major decision as president-elect and could be a crucial test for his incoming administration, given her close relationship with him. Wiles is said to have partially earned Trump's trust by steering what was the most disciplined of Trump's three presidential campaigns.

Wiles was able to help Trump stay on track like few others, not by criticizing his motives but by earning his respect by showing that he had succeeded after following her advice.

Tom Homan, “Border Czar”

Homan, 62, was tasked with carrying out Trump's top priority: carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation's history.

Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration as head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue that Trump made central to his campaign.

Although Homan insisted that such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a staunch supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the largest deportation operation this country has ever seen."

Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump's "zero tolerance" border crossing policy during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of asylum-seeking parents and children at the border.

Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador

Stefanik is a New York representative and one of Trump's most vocal defenders since his first impeachment.

Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was chosen by her GOP colleagues as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has held that role ever since as the third-ranking member of the House leadership.

Stefanik's questioning of college presidents about anti-Semitism on their campuses helped lead to the resignation of two of those presidents, boosting her national profile.

If confirmed, she would represent U.S. interests at the United Nations, where Trump has pledged to end Russia's war in Ukraine that began in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah.

Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy

Miller, an immigration hardliner, was an outspoken advocate during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration.

Miller was a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, most notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.

Throughout the campaign, Trump argued that the country's economic, security, and social priorities could be met by deporting people in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as president of America First Legal, an organization of former Trump advisers that aims to challenge the Biden administration, media companies, universities, and others on issues like free speech and national security.

Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency

Trump has tapped former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin as his nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Zeldin appears to have no experience with environmental issues, but he is a longtime supporter of the former president. "We will restore American energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the United States a global leader in artificial intelligence," the 44-year-old former U.S. congressman from New York wrote on X. "We will do it while protecting access to clean air and water."

During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's push for electric vehicles, incorrectly referring to the tax credit on electric vehicle purchases as a government mandate. He also repeatedly told his audience that his administration would "drill, baby, drill," a reference to his support for expanded oil exploration.

In a statement, Trump said Zeldin "will ensure that fair and swift editorial decisions are made and that they are implemented in a way that unleashes the power of American businesses while maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet."