RFK Jr, Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard: Who will be in Trump White House 2.0?

As president-elect Donald Trump transitions to staffing his administration, the coalition of celebrities and politicians who fueled his victory could be key figures.
From influencers like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk to potential global envoys like Tulsi Gabbard and Robert O’Brien, here’s a look at who could fill roles in Trump’s cabinet or federal government.
Kennedy’s role in the Trump administration seems to be a foregone conclusion. Kennedy, who ended his independent presidential campaign in August and endorsed Trump, says the president-elect has promised him “control” over the federal government’s public health agencies. Trump says he will let Kennedy “go wild on health.”
The question, then, is what exact position Kennedy will assume. A Cabinet-level position, such as Secretary of Health and Human Services or Agriculture, would require Senate confirmation.
Kennedy has already begun making promises on behalf of Trump: the incoming administration, he says, will move to remove fluoride from drinking water and provide alternate information about vaccines. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, said Wednesday he would not “take away anybody’s vaccines,” but simply give Americans “the best information.”
Perhaps no individual poured more resources into Trump’s victory than the world’s richest man. Musk’s America PAC led a $175 million canvassing and advertising effort across the swing states. Musk himself bankrolled a daily $1 million sweepstakes contest for registered voters. On Election Night, Musk huddled with Trump in Florida; the day after, the two celebrated.
Will Musk be rewarded for his efforts? Trump seems amenable to the idea. He spent nearly four minutes of his 25-minute victory speech early Wednesday morning heaping praise on Musk, calling him a “super genius.” Last month, Trump said he wouldn’t add Musk to his cabinet, saying Musk didn’t want that; instead, he suggested Musk would lead some sort of federal government cost-cutting initiative. (By Musk’s estimate, the cuts would be to the tune of $2 trillion.)
On Joe Rogan’s podcast, Musk said he hopes to “curtail (federal) agencies to be much smaller,” streamlining the federal government to “stick to what Congress authorized instead of all this other stuff.” Ironically, Musk hopes to do this by creating another federal agency: the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.”
Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., proved to be a successful fundraiser and surrogate for his father during this election cycle and in 2020. Now, he will be at the helm of Trump administration 2.0.
He took on the role of Trump’s trusted adviser after the former president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who oversaw the 2020 campaign, decided to not return to politics. Trump Jr. is credited with enlisting Kennedy, and influencing his father to pick Sen. JD Vance, now vice president-elect, as his running mate. On Thursday morning, Trump Jr., in an interview with Fox News, said he will be “heavily involved” with the presidential transition.
“I want to make sure now that we know who the real players are, the people who will actually deliver on the president’s message, the people who don’t think that they know better than the duly elected president of the United States,” he said. “I want to make sure that those people are in his cabinet. I want to make sure that those people are in this administration.”
Gabbard, a former Democratic representative and presidential candidate who left the party in 2022, became known for openly criticizing the left while showing her loyalty to Trump. Reports indicated she was involved in helping Trump prepare for the presidential debate.
While on the campaign trail for Trump in October, Gabbard revealed she switched her party affiliation from independent to Republican.
“The Democrat Party has no home for people like us, but we do have a home in the Republican Party — where we are welcomed with open arms by President Trump and so many of you who love our country,” she said.
The military veteran also said last month that she would “be honored to serve” in the Trump administration. She is strongly aligned with Trump’s “America First” foreign policy — including not supporting Ukraine amid its war with Russia — and could potentially be considered for the role of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
Ramaswamy, a rising star within the Republican Party, ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. He ended his nearly 11-month campaign in January and endorsed Trump, while positioning himself as a vocal proponent of the “Make America Great Again” movement. He was a frequent surrogate for the Trump campaign in recent months.
As for whether he would be a part of the Trump White House, the entrepreneur in a podcast interview revealed he talked with Trump about a “substantial” role in the new administration.
In response to the Deseret News about whether he would be a part of the Trump administration, he said, “Donald Trump has cultivated a coalition of outsiders and independent thinkers who will transform the federal government and revitalize our state and country.”
“The best way to determine who and how they impact change won’t be sorted out in the press,” he added.
Trump’s daughter and son-in-law both worked in the White House during Trump’s first term, before retreating to private life after Trump’s loss in 2020. Earlier this year, Kushner said he would not return to work in Washington, even if Trump won.
And why would they? The two live in a $24 million mansion in Miami, situated on a private island down the street from Jeff Bezos.
Nothing seems to have changed: even though the couple appeared alongside Trump at his election night party on Tuesday, Page Six reports they have no plans to join his administration.
The former South Carolina governor embarked on her own bid for president, but her performance during the 2024 Republican presidential primary lacked luster, forcing her to drop out of the race in February. She was the last GOP candidate to exit the race.
At the time, she warned Trump would not win the general election. Then, two months later, she offered the former president a lukewarm endorsement, saying he isn’t “perfect” but she would vote for him, as the Deseret News previously reported.
She has softened her tune since then. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed ahead of the general election, Haley said that she agreed with Trump “most of the time,” adding, “I disagree with Ms. Harris nearly all the time.” She offered advice and criticism to the Trump campaign from the sidelines, but did not go out on the trail.
In a television interview, she said she was “on standby,” and that the Trump campaign was aware of that. Although she served as the ambassador to the U.N. under Trump, her spot in his new administration isn’t likely, especially since Trump and his advisors have kept her at arm’s length.
Reports suggest Sen. Marco Rubio is being considered for the position of Secretary of State. When asked if he would be interested in a cabinet position, Rubio told CNN, “I always am interested in serving this country.”
“I’m not trying to play coy, it’s just, literally, just a few hours removed from this election. I haven’t had any set conversations with anybody in the Trump administration,” he added. “Either way, I plan to work with them, whether it’s in the Senate, which is an important place to be, or in some other capacity.”
Robert O’Brien served as national security adviser under the last Trump administration, but this time, he is competing with Rubio for the position of Secretary of State, as Fox News reported. Recent updates to his resume help his case for becoming the president’s foreign affairs adviser. Since leaving the White House, O’Brian cofounded American Global Strategies, an international policy consulting firm.
The South Carolina senator downplayed his willingness to join Trump’s cabinet at an event with Punchbowl News in September, saying he’d probably be “better off serving the people of our country as chairman of the Banking Committee as opposed to going into the administration.”
Sen. Tim Scott ran for president last year but dropped out of the race ahead of the GOP primary.
As Post and Courier notes, Trump did not criticize Scott too harshly when they were opponents, and after Scott dropped out, he endorsed the former president over former South Carolina Gov. Haley.
Election Night’s results put this Utah senator in a favorable position. With the upper chamber now under Republican control, Sen. Mike Lee, one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, could become the president-elect’s chief liaison, shepherding Trump’s legislative requests through Congress, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Lee, who stumped for the former president on several occasions in several weeks, may also be on the shortlist to head Trump’s Justice Department as attorney general, or solicitor general. Although, it’s worth noting, Trump has floated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s name for this position.
In an interview with the Deseret News on Thursday, Lee said, “I have the job I want, and I look forward to working in the next Congress and with President Trump and his team to implement his agenda and the reform agenda that Republicans have offered and campaigned on, and it’s going to be an exciting time. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Lee has been engaged in frequent conversations with Trump’s transition team, he said, and plans to aid the Trump administration by approving the president’s cabinet appointments.
The North Dakota governor was previously in the running to be Trump’s pick for vice president. He said Trump had asked him to serve in his cabinet in July. “Well, I got a call and a great conversation with the president. And he said, ‘Hey, Mr. Secretary,’” Gov. Doug Burgum said.
“We were never running for a cabinet position, never running to be V.P.,” he said, adding he is focused on his job as governor.
Contributing: Brigham Tomco