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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will nominate former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. He also said he chose former Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and his longtime friend Steven Witkoff to be a special envoy to the Middle East. In a flurry of announcements, Trump also named Bill McGinley, his Cabinet secretary in his first administration, as his White House counsel. Trump is rolling out a steady stream of appointees and nominees for his upcoming administration, working thus far at a faster pace and without as much drama as his first transition following his 2016 victory.
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe testifies at a hearing April 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press A former Republican congressman from Texas, Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence for the final months of Trump's first term, leading the U.S.
government's spy agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a more traditional pick for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, than some rumored loyalists pushed by some of Trump's supporters. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel, and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.
S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Witkoff is a Florida real estate investor who is serving as a chair of Trump's inaugural committee.
He also spent time in the world of New York real estate, where Trump first made his mark as a public figure. As intelligence director, Ratcliffe was criticized by Democrats for declassifying in the final days of the 2020 presidential election Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 race even though he acknowledged it might not be true. Ratcliffe's visibility rose as he emerged in 2019 as an ardent defender of Trump during the House's first impeachment proceedings against him.
He was a member of Trump's impeachment advisory team and strenuously questioned witnesses during the impeachment hearings. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts After the Democratic-controlled House voted to impeach Trump, Ratcliffe said, "This is the thinnest, fastest and weakest impeachment our country has ever seen." He also forcefully questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
"I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions," Trump said in a statement. "He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH." Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with former Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee during a roundtable Oct. 29 at the Drexelbrook Catering & Event Center in Drexel Hill, Pa. Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Associated Press Huckabee has led paid tour group visits to Israel for years, frequently advertising the trips on conservative-leaning news outlets.
"Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years," Trump said in a statement. "He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!" David Friedman, who served as Trump's ambassador to Israel in his first term, said he was "thrilled" by Trump's selection of Huckabee.
Witkoff is also the president-elect's golf partner and was with him when he was the target of a second assassination attempt at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September. Trump's transition team did not offer details about the Middle East envoy role, but Trump said in a statement, "Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." The selection of Witkoff follows a pattern for Trump in putting people close to him in pivotal roles on the Middle East portfolio.
Eight years ago he appointed his former corporate attorney Jason Greenblatt as his special representative for international negotiations and relied on his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as his personal envoy in talks in the region. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador, and Tom Homan and Stephen Miller for a pair of roles that will include immigration enforcement. Evan Vucci, Associated Press Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.
Wiles has a background in Florida politics. She helped Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump's defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary.
Wiles’ hire was Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with the president-elect. Wiles is said to have earned Trump's trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump's three presidential campaigns. Wiles was able to help keep Trump on track as few others have, not by criticizing his impulses, but by winning his respect by demonstrating his success after taking her advice.
Evan Vucci, Associated Press Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep.
Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.
If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022.
He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
“He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.
Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Oded Balilty, Associated Press Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday.
The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs.
He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population.
Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president.
The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.
” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.
In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Matt Rourke, Associated Press Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.
S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.
” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. John Bazemore, Associated Press.
