:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(728x292:730x294)/pete-hegseth-meets-senators-nov-21-120324-7229b5981a9943ff9729ad005959df5b.jpg "Senate Votes on Trump’s 2025 Nominees")
President Donald Trump’s government is beginning to take form following his inauguration on Jan. 20, but he is still waiting for a few key players to join the team.
A large number of government positions require the U.S. Senate’s approval, including every Cabinet secretary and other Cabinet-level officials.
In order to be formally hired, Trump’s nominees must first undergo confirmation hearings, where senators can grill them on their qualifications and confront them with any concerns. The Senate will then deliberate and, ultimately, schedule votes on whether to approve or deny each of Trump’s nominees.
Most of Trump’s nominees are all but guaranteed to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate, but a few controversial picks face less certain futures.
Among the nominees in question are Pete Hegseth, the embattled choice for defense secretary who’s battling a slew of allegations; Tulsi Gabbard, the proposed director of national intelligence who has been accused of aligning with foreign adversaries; Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine Democrat turned MAGA-supporting HHS secretary nominee; and Kash Patel, the far-right FBI director nominee whose temperament and experience have been called into question.
The confirmation process can take several weeks, as nominees are put to a vote one by one. Follow along as PEOPLE tracks all of the major nominees’ progress below.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
Status: Confirmed
Date of Vote: Jan. 20, 2025
Vote Tally: 99-0
Marco Rubio’s nomination for secretary of state was well-received by Senate Republicans and some Democrats, setting him up for an easy confirmation process that wrapped up on the first day of Trump’s presidency.
The former Florida senator, 53, notably served on the Senate Intelligence Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his tenure on Capitol Hill.
Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, a 62-year-old gay man who once supported Al Gore’s presidential campaign and worked as an investor for liberal philanthropist George Soros, has become an unlikely ally of Trump’s who served as an economic adviser for the Trump 2024 presidential campaign.
The secretary of the treasury is effectively the chief financial officer of the United States government, in charge of shaping an administration’s economic policy.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Pete Hegseth, the 44-year-old former Fox News host tapped to lead the Department of Defense, was seen as one of Trump’s riskiest Cabinet nominations, given his lack of relevant experience and wealth of controversies related to sexual assault allegations, alleged alcohol abuse at his prior jobs and his comments about women in the military.
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearings, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was Trump’s second pick to lead the Department of Justice, after the first attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz, quickly withdrew his nomination amid scandal. Bondi underwent two days of confirmation hearings.
After leaving state office in 2019, Bondi, now 59, served as a lobbyist for the government of Qatar, a Fox News contributor, and the top lawyer on the Trump-aligned think tank America First Policy Institute. Previously backed by Scientologists, Bondi has been a staunch ally of Trump’s, defending him in his first impeachment trial and promoting his false claims of election fraud.
Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Doug Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota who challenged Trump in the 2024 presidential primaries, was nominated to serve as a pro-fossil fuel interior secretary.
Burgum, 68, previously founded venture capitalist and real-estate development firms. He is reportedly among the richest politicians in the U.S., with an estimated net worth of at least $1.1 billion.
Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture
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Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Brooke Rollins, founder of the Trump-aligned think tank America First Policy Institute, beat out a couple of Department of Agriculture veterans to earn the nomination for agriculture secretary. If confirmed by Senate, Rollins, 52, will play an important role in determining whether rural and low-income Americans feel supported by the administration, as the overseer of a wide range of agencies that deal with forests, food safety, food stamps and rural development.
Rollins has an agricultural development degree from Texas A&M University and she formerly served as Trump’s director of domestic policy during his first term.
Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Billionaire Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick, who helped Trump make staffing decisions for the new administration, was chosen to serve as the secretary of commerce.
Lutnick, 63, is the CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and acted as a co-chair on Trump’s presidential transition team.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labor
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Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 56, was unexpectedly named Trump’s pick for secretary of labor just days after losing her reelection bid. Representing a swing district for one term in the House, she was seen as a generally pro-union Republican, making her addition to a less labor-friendly administration a surprising choice.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
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Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who abandoned his independent 2024 presidential campaign to throw his support behind Trump, was nominated to overhaul the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump previously said that he would let the anti-vaccine activist, 71, “do whatever he wants” with government health agencies if he’s sworn in.
As a former Democrat with some fringe beliefs about health, Kennedy has been met with skepticism from members of both parties, making his confirmation process one of the key ones to watch.
Scott Turner, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Former NFL defensive back Scott Turner, 52, previously worked with Trump’s first-term HUD Secretary Ben Carson as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
Turner — who played for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos — served as a Texas state representative from 2013 to 2017. He also founded the Community Engagement & Opportunity Council, which aims to support children from low-income families through “sports, mentorship and economic opportunity.”
Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Sean Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman and Fox Business host, was nominated with orders from Trump to stop airlines from considering diversity and inclusion when hiring pilots. Duffy, 53, immediately resigned from Fox when the announcement was made.
Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Chris Wright, whose confirmation hearing fell on his 60th birthday, managed to survive some tense exchanges with Democratic senators about past comments he has made about climate change.
The chief executive of a hydrofracking company, Wright has previously downplayed wildfires as just “hype” and said things like, “There is no climate crisis and we’re not in the midst of an energy transition.” Still, at his confirmation hearing, he vowed to support all “reliable” energy, which would include solar, wind, nuclear and geothermal.
Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty
Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
WWE co-founder Linda McMahon was chosen to oversee a federal department that Trump has expressed interest in abolishing. McMahon, 76, played a pivotal role on Trump’s transition team and served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.
CNN’s Kristen Holmes reported that McMahon was nominated for education secretary after Trump passed her over for commerce secretary, which she wanted.
Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Former Congressman Doug Collins, who served as a member of the House of Representatives for Georgia’s 9th district from 2013 to 2021, was tasked with overseeing veteran affairs — including benefits, health care, and memorials and cemeteries for veterans.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Trump unexpectedly nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the department of homeland security, which oversees immigration and border security, in addition to anti-terrorism efforts, cyber-security, disaster prevention and the Secret Service. Many believed he would select someone with more border state experience, or someone who has worked in one of the immigration and border-related government agencies.
Though Noem would be the official DHS secretary, Trump appointed former ICE leader Tom Homan to serve as his “border czar” and oversee the administration’s mass deportation program. By creating the position of border czar, which is not an official Cabinet role, Trump was able to get Homan into a position of power without needing the Senate’s approval.
Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, was chosen to helm the Environmental Protection Agency and take “swift deregulatory actions” to help American businesses.
Before entering politics, Zeldin, 44, briefly ran a law firm and worked as an attorney for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearings, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Russ Vought, a co-author of Project 2025, was asked to return to his former role under Trump as director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position that helps compile the president’s annual budget and ensure that federal agencies are acting in accordance with the White House.
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
One of Trump’s riskiest nominations came when he chose former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, 43, to oversee all of the United States intelligence agencies as the director of national intelligence.
Gabbard, a Democratic presidential candidate turned MAGA spokesperson, is not a shoo-in to get approved by the Senate, given her history of undermining the U.S. intelligence community and, as The Hill reports, that she has been accused of mimicking Russian talking points and appearing unusually close to foreign adversaries.
John Ratcliffe, CIA Director
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Trump landed on John Ratcliffe as the person he wants to be responsible for overhauling the Central Intelligence Agency. The president said that Ratcliffe, 59, earned his trust by undermining “51 national intelligence officials” who concluded that the Hunter Biden laptop scandal was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Jamieson Greer, U.S. Trade Representative
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Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Jamieson Greer was selected to serve as the United States’ trade representative after Trump doubled down on his threat to impose steep tariffs on a number of foreign nations.
Greer, who served as chief of staff to Trump’s former trade representative, would be in charge of negotiating trade deals and settling the many anticipated trade disputes.
Elise Stefanik, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
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Status: Finished Confirmation Hearing, Not Yet Voted On
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who earned prominence as the fourth-ranking House Republican, agreed to vacate her role in order to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik replaced Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as chair of the House GOP in 2021, after Cheney was stripped of her leadership position for speaking out against Trump. Stefanik, now 40, was the youngest congresswoman in history at the time of her swearing-in in 2015. Once considered a moderate, she rose the ranks after moving further right to become a fierce defender of the MAGA movement.
In Trump’s first administration, the U.N. ambassadorship was notably held by friend-turned-foe Nikki Haley and, later, conservative business consultant Kelly Craft.
Kelly Loeffler, SBA Administrator
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Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Kelly Loeffler, 54, was nominated to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration. The wealthy businesswoman — who once co-owned the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream — previously served 12 months in the U.S. Senate after getting appointed to complete a retired senator’s term. She also co-chaired Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Kash Patel, FBI Director
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Status: Awaiting Confirmation Hearing
Date of Vote: TBD
Vote Tally: TBD
Christopher Wray, who was appointed to a 10-year term as FBI director in 2017, resigned on the final day of Joe Biden’s administration after Trump threatened to push him out.
Trump nominated Kash Patel to take Wray’s place, despite that Patel does not meet the minimum criteria for the role that the law demands. Patel, 44, has peddled a number of false conspiracy theories — including about the FBI’s actions — since serving as an adviser in Trump’s first administration. He is known for being fiercely loyal to Trump.
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