Transfer of presidential power from Joe Biden to Donald Trump
Second presidential transition of Donald Trump
President Joe Biden (right) and President-elect Donald Trump (left) meet in the Oval Office of the White House as part of the presidential transition on November 13, 2024.
On August 27, attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard were also selected as honorary co-chairs, both of whom were former Democrats that had recently endorsed Trump.[5] Kennedy had originally mounted an independent presidential bid before withdrawing from the race to endorse Trump, reportedly in exchange for a Cabinet position in his administration.[6]
In October, The New York Times noted how Trump had refused to sign standard agreements around ethics and disclosure in order to begin key aspects of the transition process. The internal ethics pledges signed by Trump staff so far have been more lenient than standard pledges signed by Harris's transition team and the Trump team does not have to disclose its donors to the transition effort until Trump signs the agreements.[7] Furthermore, the General Services Administration cannot supply any assistance such as office space or IT equipment until the agreements are signed, leading the Partnership for Public Service to call the delay a "tremendous and unnecessary" national security risk.[8] In October, Politico reported on how potential conflicts of interest surrounding co-chair Howard Lutnick had created tension within the transition team and criticism of the transition effort.[9] On November 24, Politico described Trump's refusal to accept federal transition assistance as a potential national security concern and "unprecedented in the modern presidential system". It highlighted their refusal as having "freed the Trump transition from having to abide by a $5,000 cap on donations and a requirement to disclose their donors".[10]
On November 26, Trump signed a transition agreement that allows his staff to work with federal agencies and access information. Trump's transition team ruled out signing a memorandum of understanding with the General Services Administration, instead opting to use an independently drafted ethics plan; an agreement with the Department of Justice, which allows background checks and security clearances with the Federal Bureau of Investigation required for Senate confirmation of certain positions, was belatedly signed on December 3.[11][12][13]
In the early morning of November 6, major news outlets projected that Trump would win the 2024 presidential election. During her concession speech that evening, Vice President Kamala Harris committed to a peaceful transition of power.[14] The following day, President Joe Biden appeared at a press event at the Rose Garden where he named "the steps he was taking" in coordinating a White House transition.[15]
On November 9, in a statement from White House Press SecretaryKarine Jean-Pierre, it was announced President-elect Donald Trump would meet with Biden the following Wednesday, on Biden's own invitation.[16] Trump and Biden met in the Oval Office on November 13 for slightly less than two hours, with both calling for a "smooth transition" and Trump expressing his appreciation for Biden's efforts.[17] Trump's Mar-a-Lago became the center of the transition process, with job-seekers, media, and Trump friends and advisors filling the resort and nearby West Palm Beach hotels.[18]
On three separate occasions during the 2024 campaign, Trump had promised that, should he win the election, he would bring the Russian invasion of Ukraine to an end during the transition period, assuring voters that this would happen "before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we win the presidency" (said in June), "before I even become president" (September), and "while I'm president-elect" (October), and that he would need only 24 hours to accomplish this task. On January 19, 2025, The New York Times reported that not only had Trump failed to bring the war to an end, but he had "also made no known serious effort to resolve the war since his election in November".[20]
On November 7, Susie Wiles was announced as the White House Chief of Staff. She will begin her duties following Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025. She will be the first woman to hold this position.[24] Wiles had previously worked as a campaign manager for Trump's presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020, and 2024.[25]
On November 9, it was reported that Robert Lighthizer would be re-appointed to the role of US Trade Representative.[26] Four days later, it was reported that Lighthizer would instead likely take the White House position of "trade czar".[27]
On November 10, Trump announced that Tom Homan, who previously served as the acting director of ICE in the last Trump administration, would be appointed "border czar" with full oversight of border controls north and south of the US.[28][29] Aside from the positions listed below, Trump has also nominated as key White House staffers former Cabinet Secretary Bill McGinley as his next White House Counsel[30] and real estate investor Steve Witkoff as his special envoy to the Middle East.[31]
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet President-elect Donald Trump, Wednesday, November 13, 2024, on the South Portico of the White House.
On November 15, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering Fox Business host and former director of the National Economic CouncilLarry Kudlow for a "senior economic role",[60] and Trump announced that Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor would serve as White House communications director and personnel director, respectively.[61] Also, Trump, in a statement, confirmed that alongside his nomination for Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum would serve as Energy Czar, "chairman of the newly formed, and very important, National Energy Council which will consist of all departments and agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation of all forms of American energy."[62] Former press secretary of Trump's third presidential campaignKaroline Leavitt was confirmed as White House Press Secretary, the youngest to ever be appointed to this position.[63]
Donald Trump at a UFC fight on November 16, 2024, with Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr, Mike Johnson, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
On November 16, Trump announced Chris Wright, the chief executive of oil and natural gas fracking services company Liberty Energy as his nominee for Secretary of Energy. He also announced that Wright will also serve as part of the new National Energy Council. Wright has acknowledged the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change but has expressed doubt that climate change is linked to worsening extreme weather. A staunch supporter of fossil fuels in public interviews, he considers them as necessary to lift the developing world out of poverty.[64][65][66]
On November 21, former Representative Matt Gaetz announced his withdrawal from consideration as Trump's Attorney General pick, reportedly due to lack of support for his nomination in the Senate.[75] Former Florida Attorney GeneralPam Bondi was announced as the new nominee for Attorney General.[76][77][78][79]
On December 1, Trump announced Lebanese-American businessman and Tiffany Trump's father-in-law Massad Boulos as the Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs.[115]
On January 2, Trump nominated Charles and Potomac Capital CEO Joe Popolo to be Ambassador to the Netherlands;[173] León Medical Centers founder Benjamin Leon to be Ambassador to Spain;[174] and Ken Kies for Assistant Treasury Secretary For Tax Policy;[175] Alexandra Preate for senior counsel to the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, David Katz for Treasury Chief of Staff, Cora Alvi and Samantha Schwab for Treasury Deputy Chief of Staff, granddaughter of founder, chairman, and former CEO of Charles Schwab CorporationCharles R. Schwab, and Hunter McMaster for Director of Policy Planning, nephew of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.[176][177]
On January 10, Trump said he had picked Ed Russo to lead the Environmental Advisory Task Force. Trump also announced that Bill Briggs will be the Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Despite the nature of the 2024 House elections that left Republicans with a narrow majority, Trump has picked several incumbent House members for his cabinet. Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker, raised concern about too many special elections throwing the majority back into chaos. Trump has so far picked three House members, but is not expected to nominate more.[195]
Withdrew from consideration
On November 21, Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for Attorney General. He is replaced as Donald Trump's nominee by Pam Bondi, the former Attorney General of Florida.[196]
On December 3, Chad Chronister withdrew his name from consideration for Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Trump has not yet announced a replacement.[197]
Jacob Joseph Lew is an American attorney and diplomat who had served as the United States ambassador to Israel. He was the seventy-sixth United States secretary of the treasury from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the twenty-fifth White House chief of staff from 2012 to 2013 and as director of the Office of Management and Budget in both the Clinton administration and Obama administration.
Barack Obama assumed office as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
John Joseph Sullivan is an American attorney and government official who served as the United States Ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022, and who previously served as the 19th United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Sullivan served as Acting United States Secretary of State from April 1, 2018, to April 26, 2018, following President Donald Trump's dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13, 2018, until Tillerson's official successor, Mike Pompeo, was sworn in. Tillerson did not officially leave office until March 31, 2018. Sullivan, however, was delegated all responsibilities of the Secretary of State beginning March 13.
Peter Brian Hegseth is an American politician, author, television host, and Army veteran who is currently serving as the 29th United States secretary of defense since January 25, 2025, in the second administration of President Donald Trump.
John Lee Ratcliffe is an American politician and attorney who has served as the ninth director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2025. He previously served as the sixth director of national intelligence from 2020 to 2021 and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2020.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is an American diplomat who served as the 31st United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025. She served as the U.S. 18th assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2013 to 2017. Thomas-Greenfield then worked in the private sector as a senior vice president at business strategy firm Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, D.C.
Donald Trump assumed office as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017, and his first term ended on January 20, 2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
This is a list of political appointments of current officeholders made by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Members of the Cabinet of the United States are nominated by the president and are then confirmed or rejected by the Senate. Listed below are unsuccessful cabinet nominees—that is, individuals who were nominated and who either declined their own nomination, failed the confirmation vote in the Senate, or whose nomination was withdrawn by the president. The latter category includes near nominations, meaning presumptive choices made by a president or president-elect that never progressed to formal nomination stage. Nominations to cabinet-rank positions are also included in this page.
Jeffrey Adam Rosen is an American lawyer who served as acting United States attorney general from December 2020 to January 2021 and as United States deputy attorney general from 2019 to 2020. Before joining the Department of Justice, he was a senior partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and was the United States deputy secretary of transportation.
Christopher Asher Wray is an American attorney who served as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2017 to 2025. He was nominated by President Donald Trump to replace James Comey. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 30. Wray took office on August 2, 2017 to serve a 10-year term.
Jessie Kong Liu is an American lawyer who was the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. She previously worked as deputy general counsel at the U.S. Treasury and served at the Justice Department. In 2020, she joined the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a partner.
Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies, including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency, he nominated approximately 50 judges, a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. By June 24, 2020, 200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. According to multiple media outlets, Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure.
Paul Brian Matey is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to Matey's judicial service, he was a partner in the White Collar Criminal Defense and Litigation practice groups at the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. He was previously Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.
Lisa S. Dougherty Kenna is an American diplomat who has served as Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State since January 2025. She had served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research from September 11, 2023, to January 20, 2025. She had served as the United States Ambassador to Peru from March 2021 to September 2023. She served as Acting Secretary of State for only a day, as Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed by the Senate on the day of her appointment, and was later sworn in on January 21, 2025.
Robert Stuart Gilchrist is an American diplomat who had served as the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor from September 2023 to August 2024. He served as the United States ambassador to Lithuania from February 2020 to August 2023. He is a career Foreign Service Officer with the rank of minister counselor. He was appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 2019. Gilchrist was the fifth US ambassador from the LGBT community nominated to serve by the Trump administration.
Joe Biden assumed office as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021, and his term ended on January 20, 2025. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
President Joe Biden began his presidency with fewer vacancies to fill than his predecessor. He pledged to nominate people with diverse backgrounds and professional experience; further he pledged to nominate the first black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th president of the United States on January20, 2025. The president has the authority to members of his cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
This is a list of political appointments of officeholders made by the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
↑ "Nomination Hearing". United States Senate Committee On Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Senate Website. January 15, 2025. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
