Donald Trump's Cabinet-in-waiting: What we know so far

[Boats]

Donald Trump's Cabinet-in-waiting: What we know so far
By Andrew Restuccia - 11/17/16 08:10 AM EST | Updated 11/17/16 08:10 AM EST

The rumor mill is churning out names as Washington watches to see who President-elect Donald Trump will select for to fill his Cabinet.

The people Trump picks will not only be tasked with running entire departments, they'll be the best indication of how Trump intends to govern and which of his many (and sometimes contradictory) policy positions he intends to pursue.

The following is a list of likely contenders and will be frequently updated as new information becomes available.

Secretary of State

New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s loyal supporters, is a leading candidate for Secretary of State, along with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker has long been mentioned as a front-runner for the job.

Also still in the mix is Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is also being considered for the post, Lt. Gov Henry McMaster said on Wednesday.

Treasury secretary

Steven Mnuchin, a 17-year-veteran of Goldman Sachs who now works as the chairman and chief executive of the private investment firm, Dune Capital Management, is a leading contender for the job. House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, who is set to meet with Trump on Thursday, is another possibility for Treasury Secretary, as is JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.

Secretary of Defense

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, a close Trump adviser who is taking a leading role in the president-elect’s transition team, is the leading candidate for secretary of Defense — if he wants it. Sessions is also a contender for attorney general and appears to have his pick of Cabinet posts.

If Sessions passes on the Pentagon, former George W. Bush National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are in the mix. Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) Clinton CIA director Jim Woolsey and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) have also been mentioned as possible candidates.

Attorney general

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Trump immigration adviser, is a rumored candidate for the job.

Sessions is also seen as a contender for AG.

Other possibilities: Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a lawyer; and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, though the controversy over Trump’s donation to Bondi could undercut her nomination.

Interior secretary

Trump’s presidential transition team is also eyeing venture capitalist Robert Grady, a George H. W. Bush White House official with ties to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Forrest Lucas, the 74-year-old co-founder of oil products company Lucas Oil, is also seen as a contender for Interior Secretary.

Meanwhile, a person who spoke to the Trump campaign told POLITICO that aides have also discussed tapping Sarah Palin for Interior Secretary. Trump has said he’d like to put Palin in his Cabinet, and Palin has made no secret of her interest.

Trump aides are also eyeing Mead Treadwell, the former lieutenant governor of Alaska, for the job, a source told POLITICO.

Other possible candidates include: former Republican Rep. Richard Pombo, who chaired the House Natural Resources Committee from 2003 to 2007; former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer; Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin; Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis; and Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm.

Agriculture secretary

There are several names being considered by Trump aides for Agriculture secretary, according to multiple sources familiar with the transition. The president elect has a deep bench to pull from with nearly 70 leaders on agricultural advisory committee.

The most controversial name on the transition’s current short list is Sid Miller, the current secretary of agriculture in Texas, who caused a firestorm just days ago after his campaign’s Twitter account referred to Clinton as a ‘c---.‘ Miller said it was a staffer mistake and apologized.

Other names include a sitting governor, Sam Brownback of Kansas, and three former governors: Dave Heineman (Nebraska), Sonny Perdue (Georgia) and Rick Perry (Texas). Also in the conversation are Charles Herbster, a Republican donor and agribusiness leader who chairs Trump’s agricultural advisory committee, and Mike McCloskey, a dairy executive in Indiana.

Bruce Rastetter, a major Republican donor in Iowa, and Kip Tom, a farmer who ran for Congress in Indiana this year but was defeated in the primary, are also among those being considered.

Other top Republican insiders expect that Chuck Connor, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Don Villwock, president of the Indiana Farm Bureau and Ted McKinney, the current director of the Indiana Department of Agriculture in the Pence Administration, are also likely to be in the running for the post.

Commerce secretary

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, a Trump economic adviser, could fit the bill, and is Trump’s leading contender for the job.

Dan DiMicco, the former CEO of steelmaker Nucor Corp and a Trump trade adviser, is another possibility, though he is expected to be tapped as U.S. Trade Representative.

Labor secretary

People tracking the transition say Victoria Lipnic -- the Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 2010 who also served as an an assistant secretary of Labor for employment standards from 2002 until 2009 -- is the most likely candidate for Labor Secretary. The Romney transition team reportedly also considered her for a top Labor post back in 2012.

A possible private sector pick is Andrew Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito and Red Burrito.

Health and Human Services secretary

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee and an early Trump backer, is being considered for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is another possible candidate for the job.

Ben Carson, who had been mentioned as a possible HHS Secretary, has said he will not serve in the Trump administration.

Housing and Urban Development secretary

Trump supporters Bud Albright and Scott Keller have been reaching out to housing advocates to take their temperature on a HUD nominee.

Names being circulated include Pam Patenaude, the president of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America's Families, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown and former New York Rep. Rick Lazio (R).

Transportation secretary

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), who just lost reelection bid, is interested in becoming Transportation Secretary. He told POLITICO recently that he’s talked to top Trump aides about the job, adding he’s received “encouraging” signs about his candidacy.”

Other possible candidate: James Simpson, the former commissioner of New Jersey's Department of Transportation and the former head of the Federal Transit Administration during the George W. Bush administration; and Mark Rosenker, the former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster told POLITICO recently he’s not interested in the job.

Energy secretary

Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm has long been seen as a leading candidate for Energy Secretary. Hamm, an Oklahoma billionaire who has been a friend of Trump’s for years, has been the leading influence on Trump’s energy policy during the campaign. But Hamm has said he plans to stay at Continental.

If Hamm passes, Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a Trump energy adviser, could be offered the job though he’s begun to douse cold water on that idea recently. Other names floating near the top of the mill include venture capitalist Robert Grady, who is also thought to be in line for Interior; James Connaughton, a former utility executive who was President George W. Bush's head of White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Kristine Svinicki, the sole Republican on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is in the running for a high-level post at the Energy Department like undersecretary — a No. 3 job — but a source close to the Trump transition said she’d be considered for secretary as well.

Education Secretary

Indiana Rep. Luke Messer, a longtime school choice proponent, is a top candidate for Education Secretary. Messer told POLITICO in a recent interview that he’s open to serving in the position.

Another possibility is William Evers, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution who has worked on education matters for the Trump transition team. Evers worked at the Education Department during the Bush administration and served as a senior adviser to then-Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.

Also in the mix: Tony Zeiss, a former president of Central Piedmont Community College, one of the largest community colleges in North Carolina. He was president for more than 20 years before retiring in July.

Sources close to Trump’s transition also pointed to a long-shot candidate: Michelle Rhee, an education reform activist who formerly served as the chancellor of Washington D.C.’s public schools.

Other potential candidates include: Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, now the president of the Purdue University System; Gerard Robinson a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute focused on education policy; Tony Bennett, the former Florida Commissioner of Education and the former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; Hanna Skandera, the New Mexico Secretary of Education; and education activists Betsy DeVos; and Kevin Chavous.

Veterans Affairs secretary

The name most commonly mentioned for Veterans Affairs Secretary is House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller, who’s retiring from the House and was an early Trump backer.

Homeland Security secretary

House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul has said he’s interested in becoming Homeland Security Secretary. “I've expressed my interest, and I think the process is taking place,” McCaul told POLITICO recently.

Another potential pick: Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee’s transportation security panel.

A long-shot candidate: David Clarke, the conservative Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis. Clarke has cultivated a devoted following on the right, and he spoke at the Republican National Convention in Ohio, declaring, "Blue lives matter." Christie is also seen as a possible DHS secretary.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator

Candidates for EPA Administrator include Mike Catanzaro, a George W. Bush-era EPA official and energy adviser to former-House Speaker John Boehner who is a top official on Trump’s transition team; Jeff Holmstead, another former Bush EPA official; and Venture capitalist Robert Grady, who was an environmental adviser for George H.W. Bush.

Myron Ebell, a climate skeptic who is running the EPA working group on Trump’s transition team, is also seen as a possibility to lead the agency. Ebell, an official at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, has come under fire from environmental groups for his stances on global warming.

Other potential candidates: Joe Aiello is the director of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Environmental Safety and Quality Assurance; Carol Comer, the commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, who was appointed by Mike Pence; and Leslie Rutledge, the attorney general of Arkansas and a lead challenger of EPA regulations in the state.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Eric Ueland, a veteran Republican Capitol Hill aide and top staffer on the Senate Budget Committee who is working on Trump’s transition team, is seen as a possible candidate to lead the OMB. Former Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is also seen as a potential OMB chief.

Kathryn A. Wolfe, Bryan Bender, Jeremy Herb, Connor O'Brien, Joanne Kenen, Helena Bottemiller Evich, Ian Kullgren, Ben White, Darius Dixon, Esther Whieldon, Marianne Levine, Caitlin Emma, Jennifer Scholtes, Lauren Gardner, Lorraine Woellert, Ellen Mitchell, Rachana Pradhan, Ben Weyl, Cory Bennett and Nahal Toosi contributed to this story.

[Boats]

Just asking and don't know if you know the answer. All these cabinet personnel will have to be paid - wonder what that payroll will look like.

Each department head will have a crew of staffer(s) to assist them with details and research. They have to be paid as well - more money.

Travel expenses - expense accounts - clothing allowances - hmmmmm more money.
Government expenses are pretty intensive.

Congressmen and women have a payroll and staffer's with expenses - hmmmmmm more money.

Who pays for this - YEP TAXPAYERS - You and I

None of these are minimum wage jobs