John Paulson: Trump has referred to Paulson as a “cash machine” for famously making $15 billion betting towards subprime mortgages. Each he and Trump have been born in Queens, are conversant in messy divorces and authorized fights, and are philosophically aligned.
Paulson was a member of Trump’s financial advisory council throughout his first presidential bid, has personally donated and helped increase greater than $50 million at a gathering in his Palm Seashore residence — all proof of the loyalty that Trump likes.
Paulson would include issues. He has a big, undisclosed stake in the popular shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Taking the highest Treasury job would require divestment for the reason that secretary oversees the government-controlled mortgage large, which means a possible loss for Paulson.
Glenn Youngkin: The present governor of Virginia and a former government of Carlyle Group Inc., Youngkin stored Trump at arm’s size in his 2021 marketing campaign. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris carried Virginia in Tuesday’s election within the purple state, however he has been extra supportive of Trump lately. His time period is up in 2025.
Nationwide Financial Council Director
A president’s financial workforce features a director for the White Home’s Nationwide Financial Council. This job requires somebody with political acumen and the flexibility to advertise the president’s agenda in Congress and with the general public.
Anybody into consideration for the Treasury publish may find yourself as NEC director. Kevin Hassett, an economist who served as head of Trump’s Council of Financial Advisers within the first time period, and Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve official, are contenders for that job.
Secretary of State
The secretary of state is the highest U.S. diplomat, with the job of promoting U.S. coverage to the remainder of the world and persuading overseas allies and adversaries to stay to U.S. nationwide safety aims.
However the secretary additionally oversees State’s personal intelligence service, negotiates international treaties and civilian airline routes to overseas international locations, and helps evacuate People from struggle zones.
Ric Grenell: Grenell beforehand served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany after which performing nationwide intelligence chief. He is seen as fiercely loyal to Trump, and led efforts to protest the 2020 vote that Trump falsely claimed was stolen from him in Nevada.
Senator Invoice Hagerty: Whereas he is additionally amongst these touted for Treasury chief, his expertise as U.S. Ambassador to Japan throughout Trump’s first time period and time on the Senate International Relations Committee since then imply he may step into the State Division.
Steven Mnuchin: The previous Treasury chief is among the few officers from Trump’s first time period that lasted all 4 years, and remained loyal even after Jan. 6. He landed a job within the first administration after serving because the 2016 marketing campaign’s nationwide finance chairman, elevating hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, however has remained largely out of re-election efforts in 2024.
Throughout his time at Treasury the US continued its ramped-up use of financial sanctions on adversaries together with Iran, Russia and Venezuela, drawing the company deeper into the nationwide safety sphere.
That units him up as a possible secretary of State, though conflicts abound for him, too. Since leaving authorities, he began Liberty Strategic Capital, a personal fairness agency that has attracted billions of {dollars} from the Center East.
Robert O’Brien: O’Brien was Trump’s nationwide safety adviser for a 12 months and a half on the finish of his first time period. He targeted on confronting China over actions that threatened Hong Kong, its aggressive motion within the South China Sea, and criticized the nation’s response to the outbreak of Covid-19.
He additionally served when the U.S. carried out the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the top of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and chief of the Quds Pressure intelligence group. O’Brien is seen as extra of a standard overseas coverage conservative than a disruptor.
Marco Rubio: Trump referred to as him “Little Marco” in the course of the 2016 major, however the senator from Florida performed a key function in advising Trump on overseas coverage in his first time period, significantly concerning Latin America and Venezuela.
Rubio is a member of the Senate International Relations Committee, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Gang of 8, senior legislators who’re briefed on labeled intelligence issues from the chief department.
He is strongly defended Trump’s immigration insurance policies and his aim of ending the Ukraine struggle, in addition to being a high supporter of Israel’s struggle towards Iran-backed proxies. Trump thought-about him as a attainable working mate this 12 months.
Commerce Secretary
The Commerce Division was a relative coverage backwater within the first Trump administration, with Secretary Wilbur Ross maybe finest identified for falling asleep in conferences. However President Joe Biden’s secretary, Gina Raimondo, injected a brand new power and significance.
That has grown with the $280 billion Chips and Science Act handed in 2022, with the division awarding corporations with tens of billions of {dollars} to return semiconductor manufacturing to the U.S. from Asia.
Commerce performs a key function in commerce promotion, in addition to with export controls used to maintain cutting-edge expertise out of the fingers of China, Russia and different geopolitical rivals.
Two individuals up to now are into consideration: Lighthizer and McMahon.
US. Commerce Consultant
The U.S. Commerce Consultant can even be key for Trump’s populist agenda. Two former USTR officers from the Trump period are into consideration: Jamieson Greer, who served as chief of employees to Lighthizer when he had that function, and Stephen Vaughn, who served as USTR normal counsel.
Credit score: Sarah Rice/Bloomberg
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