Trump's second Cabinet: Who's already been confirmed, nominations still pending

President Donald Trump’s second-term Cabinet will look much different from the traditional slate of business executives and Bush-era officials who served in the last Republican administration.

Trump’s picks to head executive branch agencies reflect his populist approach to power, as nominees like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have raised eyebrows around the political world.

With the Senate still voting on some of his nominees, here’s a look at where everything stands.

Who has already been confirmed?

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed Jan. 20 as secretary of state, with all 99 of his colleagues voting in favor of the nomination — a sign of the respect Rubio garnered within the chamber. So far in the role, he has embarked on a diplomatic trip to Latin America as Trump floats an American takeover of the Panama Canal.

Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth was confirmed Jan. 24 as Defense secretary, but not before a contentious hearing in which Democrats targeted his history of infidelity and excessive alcohol consumption. Hegseth failed to convince three moderate GOP senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — but was saved by Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote in his favor.

Other nominees confirmed in late January include:

•Former Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe as Central Intelligence Agency director (confirmed Jan. 23, 74-25 vote). Ratcliffe led some government spy agency operations during the final months of the first Trump administration.

•South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary (Jan. 25, 59-34). Noem received considerable attention for wearing a police vest as she joined U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an illegal immigration crackdown in New York.

•Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary (Jan. 27, 68-29). The first openly gay man to hold the position, Bessent was a former money manager for Democratic Party megadonor George Soros. He is an advocate of deficit reduction measures.

•Former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as Transportation secretary (Jan. 28, 77-22)

•Former New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin as Environmental Protection Agency administrator (Jan. 29, 56-42)

•North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum Interior secretary (Jan. 30, 80-17). A billionaire, Burgum ran for president in 2024 as an advocate of strong state and local governments.

Five nominees have been confirmed so far this week:

•Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright as Energy secretary (Feb. 3, 59-38). Wright is an advocate of oil and gas development and critical of efforts to fight climate change in the industry.

•Former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins as Veterans Affairs secretary (Feb. 4, 77-23)

•Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as attorney general (Feb. 4, 54-46). Bondi is the second Floridian Trump considered to lead his Department of Justice, as he initially nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz for the position before Gaetz took himself out of consideration amidst a sex trafficking investigation by the House Committee on Ethics, culminating in a report published in December. All Republicans voted to confirm Bondi, while Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to join them.

•Texas state Rep. Scott Turner as Housing and Urban Development secretary (Feb. 5, 55-44)

•Russell Vought’s as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director (Feb. 6, 53-47), Senate Democrats were united in their opposition to Vought, who was confirmed Thursday evening by a party-line vote. Vought served as OMB’s deputy director and acting director during Trump’s first term, but rose to prominence as an author of conservative policy blueprint Project 2025. Democrats held an all-night session in the Senate chamber Wednesday to protest his nomination. Project 2025 (Feb. 6, 53-47).

Nominations in the works

The nominations of Kennedy and Gabbard — neither of whom are lifelong Republicans — for Health and Human Services secretary and National Intelligence director, respectively, have made it out of their respective committees and are awaiting a vote by the full Senate.

Kennedy, the son of slain presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Sr. and a nephew of President John F. Kennedy, has long made controversial statements about the correlation between vaccines and rising autism rates. Initially a Democratic — and later independent — candidate for president in 2024, he has since aligned with Trump and vowed to “make America healthy again.”

During his initial consideration by the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy and Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who is also a physician, discussed the issue of vaccines at length. Cassidy was considered a swing vote but has publicly vowed to support Kennedy’s nomination.

Gabbard, then a progressive Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard rose to prominence during her 2020 presidential campaign by slamming future Vice President Kamala Harris for jailing Californians convicted of minor drug offenses.

Gabbard has since become critical of America’s intelligence apparatus and did not denounce whistleblower Edward Snowden, who in 2013 leaked classified documents exposing the widespread warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Such statements prompted skepticism from Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, on the Senate Intelligence Committee, but Young voted to advance Gabbard’s nomination to the full chamber and has vowed to confirm her.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote on Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, was delayed Thursday after Democrats requested a second hearing. Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, says he intends to hold the vote to advance Patel’s nomination as early as next week.

America First Policy Institute President Brooke Rollins, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, had a hearing on Jan. 23, but her nomination has not yet been voted on, according to the official Senate website.

Nominees waiting their turn

Nominees who have not yet received a confirmation hearing include:

•Former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor secretary. Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid in November but received strong union support for a GOP candidate.International trade attorney Jamieson Greer for U.S. Trade Representative

•Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler for Small Business Administration administrator

•Billionaire cryptocurrency enthusiast Howard Lutnick for Commerce secretary

•Former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon for Education secretary. The wife of WWE mogul Vince McMahon and a longtime friend of Trump, McMahon is a strong supporter of charter schools and school choice measures and served for a short period of time on the Connecticut Board of Education, a state where she twice ran for senator. Trump has said he hopes McMahon does a “great job and puts [herself] out of a job,” referring to his public calls to eliminate the Department of Education.

•New York Rep. Elise Stefanik for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. A loyal Trump ally, Stefanik served as House Republican Conference Chair after Liz Cheney was ousted for criticizing the president’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.

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