Elon Musk and RFK Jnr set for key administration roles as Trump turns to loyalists

President-elect’s team is vetting a number of MAGA supporters for top cabinet positions

Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jnr are set to be handed key administration roles, amid expectations that Donald Trump will pack his new cabinet with loyalists.
Mr Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, was singled out for special praise by Trump during his victory speech on Wednesday morning.
“We have a new star – a star is born,” he said. “Elon, he is an amazing guy.”
Trump previously pledged to install Mr Musk, who has called for the federal budget to be slashed by $2 trillion, as the head of a new government efficiency commission.
Robert F Kennedy Jnr (RFK) initially stood as a third-party presidential candidate but dropped out in August and endorsed Trump.
There were rumours at the time of a deal with the Trump campaign over a job in any future administration in return for RFK’s support. Now, the Covid vaccine sceptic has been promised a “big role” in healthcare.
In his victory speech, Trump said, “RFK Jnr came in and he’s going to help make America healthy again. He’s a great guy and he really wants to do some things and we’re gonna let him go do it.”
In October, Trump said he would let the environmental lawyer “go wild” on health, food and drug regulation.
Mr Kennedy believes drug companies, government regulators and health agencies are making Americans less healthy and has suggested that some vaccines should be taken off the market.
Medical professionals say his views are “not grounded in scientific truth” and that his policies could result in the “chaos” of lower vaccination rates and rises in preventable disease.
Mr Musk and Mr Kennedy are among a slew of close Trump allies in line for major jobs in the new government. But it is Mr Musk’s involvement that has given rise to the most intrigue.
The billionaire, who also owns social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, campaigned vociferously for Trump in recent weeks and reportedly spent more than $130 million on helping him and fellow Republicans win their elections.
Federal employees will now be anxiously awaiting his next move after Trump publicly touted Mr Musk for a government waste-slashing role in his administration.
Mr Musk wrote on X in September: “I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises.” He added that he had spoken to Trump about the role. “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”
More recently, he called on the president to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, part of a repeated theme on the size of the state.
The proposal was met with alarm from trade unions, who said that it amounts to nothing more than a plan to oust non-partisan civil servants and replace them with Trump cronies.
Mr Musk could also be open to accusations of a conflict of interest given that SpaceX benefits from government contracts.
He has long accused US government agencies of holding back his SpaceX and Tesla ventures, delaying his ambition of reaching Mars.
Despite speculation, Trump is notoriously superstitious and declined to discuss preparations for a transition in depth ahead of the election.
But his team has vetted a huge number of potential candidates – largely MAGA supporters – for top administration roles.
Here are all the other names which have repeatedly cropped up.
Brooke Rollins, a former Trump administration adviser and a key figure at the America First Policy institute, a think tank regarded as Trump’s White House-in-waiting.
Ms Rollins, an experienced operative who helped pass Trump’s first criminal justice bill, is widely seen as a leading contender to be his next White House chief of staff.
She ran the Domestic Policy Council in the Trump White House.
Former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s relationships on Capitol Hill have put him in the running as a potential chief of staff for Trump.
Mr McCarthy and Trump have had a rocky relationship, but the pair have stayed in regular contact since the former Speaker was ousted from his leadership post by GOP hardliners.
Few can match his insider knowledge of the workings of Capitol Hill, a key asset for Trump’s legislative agenda.
Trump’s respected campaign manager Susie Wiles has also been touted as a potential chief of staff.
She has White House experience and is a skilled operator. Most important of all: she has experience at handling Trump.
But sources close to Ms Wiles suggest she is not interested in taking on the role.
Trump’s former ambassador to Germany won plaudits in the Trump administration for taking a tough line on European allies’ defence spending commitments.
He was later appointed Trump’s acting director of national intelligence.
He remains a close confidante of the Mar-a-Lago set and is seen as one of the most influential foreign policy advisers in Trump’s orbit.
Crucially, he is said to have the backing of Melania Trump.
A GOP senator for Tennessee and a former ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty is a prominent foreign policy expert who is a favourite of the America-First movement.
From his perch on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has garnered a profile as a China hawk – red meat for the MAGA base.
Robert O’Brien has remained in Trump’s fold since serving as a national security adviser for him.
But his support for Nato and Ukraine could see him excluded from holding a major foreign policy portfolio.
Florida senator Marco Rubio has repeatedly been tipped to be a potential secretary of state in a second Trump term.
Since challenging him in 2016, he has been a prominent supporter of the Republican president and is one of the party’s most experienced foreign policy thinkers.
As vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he received regular intelligence briefings.
However, his support for Ukraine and Nato have not made him universally popular in Trump world.
Mike Pompeo, the only person to have served as head of the CIA and Secretary of State, makes much of being the longest survivor in Trump’s first cabinet.
He shares his America-first foreign policy outlook, and could return as Secretary of State or head up the Pentagon.
Arkansas senator Tom Cotton is one of Trump’s most prominent defenders in the US Senate.
He was touted as a potential Defence Secretary in Trump’s first term, and is an attractive prospect to lead the Pentagon given his experience as an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran.
Whoever heads up the Justice Department will be critical to Trump’s second term agenda.
Utah senator Mike Lee is considered a top contender to be the next US attorney general, as an experienced lawyer with experience clerking for a Supreme Court Justice and a top Trump ally.
Trump is on the record saying that Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, could be considered for the national post.
“He’s very, very talented,” he said earlier this year, although he noted “we have a lot of people that want that one and will be very good at it.”
Robert Lighthizer served as Trump’s top trade official in his first administration and is likely to play a key role in pursuing Trump’s tariff policies in his second, either in the Treasury or in a White House role.
Prominent economist and former Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow remains a close ally of the Republican.
He has held a prominent role in the America First Policy Institute, a Washington-based group which was formed in part to prepare for a second administration.
John Paulson, a billionaire financier close to Trump, has been privately floated as a potential Treasury Secretary by the Republican candidate.
Billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick is overseeing the Trump transition along with Linda McMahon, chair of the America First Policy Institute and a former Small Business Administration chief.
The CEO of investment firm Cantor is close friends with Trump, and even appeared on The Apprentice.
Trump may seek to reward his generous contributions to the Trump campaign with a senior cabinet position.