Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far

President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign.

Here's a look at whom he has selected so far.

Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show.

Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea.

Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year.

Trump picked a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda.

Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.

South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic.

She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.

Trump says William McGinley, a lawyer who has served in Trump's White House and in a key political role this year, will be his White House counsel.

McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign.

In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.”

Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next.

Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic.

“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, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East.

The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination.

Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud."

Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee.

Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, the president-elect announced Tuesday.

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 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.

Trump asked Waltz, 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.

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.

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 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.

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 that began 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.

Miller, an immigration hardliner, was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration.

Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families.

Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security.

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 referred to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign that 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.”

Farnoush Amiri, Lolita C. Baldor, Jill Colvin, Matthew Daly, Edith M. Lederer, Lisa Mascaro, Zeke Miller and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

FILE - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign town hall, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, testifies before a hearing April 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., speaks outside the hush money criminal case of former president Donald Trump in New York, May 16, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary is still up in the air, but it’s a sure bet he will look to pick a loyalist following his tumultuous first term. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

FILE - Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., speaks at a rally in Concord, N.H., Jan. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., waves to supporters at CPAC in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 23, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Elise Stefanik to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

FILE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Thomas Homan speaks during an interview in East Point, Ga., April 26, 2018. President-elect Donald Trump says that Tom Homan, his former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as “border czar” in his incoming administration. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Susie Wiles watches as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Lititz, Pa., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic governors and state attorneys general are dusting off the playbooks from their offices' pushback against President-elect Donald Trump's policies, but they know it could be a harder battle in his second time in office.

Trump's campaign promises included mass deportations of people in the country illegally, and his history includes rolling back environmental regulations and setting the stage for state abortion bans by nominating three new Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.

All of that is putting liberals on edge — and believing that an organized resistance is necessary.

Democratic state officials are positioning themselves to carry it out.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called last week for a special legislative session to get a jump on the work of making laws “Trump-proof” in the nation's most populous state.

The Democratic governors of Colorado and Illinois announced a nationwide effort Wednesday that they're calling Governors Safeguarding Democracy.

Here's a look at how states worked against Trump policies last time and how it might go in his second term.

Over the past two decades, challenging policies of the opposing party's president has become a major part of the job of state attorneys general.

It peaked the first time Trump was in office, with 160 multistate filings against the administration in four years, according to a tally kept by Marquette University political scientist Paul Nolette.

That was twice as many filings as President Barack Obama's administration faced in twice the time, almost all from GOP attorneys general. Republicans have filed 142 against President Joe Biden's administration.

Multistate legal actions against Trump's policies were successful 94 times.

Some of the victories were fleeting. For instance, Democrats initially persuaded courts to block the president's ban on travelers from several mostly Muslim countries, but the U.S. Supreme Court eventually upheld it.

Other wins were on relatively mundane topics. In one case, a filing to push regulators to stop delaying rules for ceiling fan efficiency prompted the U.S. Department of Energy to do so.

There are also roles for governors and legislators. During the first Trump presidency, for instance, California and some other states adopted laws limiting how much local authorities could help federal immigration officials.

On the flip side, Trump could need help from GOP officials to carry out his policies. For instance, he might ask governors to activate National Guards to carry out deportations he has said would begin the day he is sworn in.

Bob Ferguson, Washington's Democratic governor-elect and current attorney general, said at a news conference last week that offices of Democratic attorneys general have been in touch for months to talk about how to push back against Trump's policies.

He said it was relatively easy to defeat Trump's administration in court early in the Republican's first term.

“They were often sloppy in the way they rolled out their executive actions. And that provided openings for us to prevail in court,” Ferguson said. “This time around, I anticipate that we will see less of that.”

James Tierney, a former Maine attorney general who teaches a Harvard Law School class on the office, said, “What's different is a much higher level of sophistication on all sides."

Ferguson will be one of a handful of people who served as attorney general at the start of Trump's first term to be governor in his second. None of the Democratic attorneys general or governors from 2017 will be in the same job by the time Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

The courts have also become more conservative since Trump took office — largely because of his efforts. Trump appointed 245 judges to federal courts, including three to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Marquette's Nolette said Democratic attorneys general will be involved in the “entire life cycle” of policies.

They'll have staffers submit comments opposing proposed regulations that government agencies develop to enforce and interpret laws — and then sue if and when those regulations take effect.

The offices are likely to be aggressive in challenging new federal laws as unconstitutional. Nolette said the most fruitful action might be when they go to court over executive actions — something he said could especially come into play with immigration actions.

“By their nature, they tend to be legally vulnerable,” he said.

Nolette said there are other ways for attorneys general to exert power over federal policy besides challenging federal actions.

One of those is through suing and reaching settlements with companies. States have used that approach to force the drug industry to change practices around opioids, for instance, without any kind of federal law or executive action.

And while states cannot enter into treaties, they can do things like sign on to international climate agreements.

If the federal government rolls back enforcement in areas such as environmental laws, states could also ramp up enforcement of their similar laws.

The Democratic officials leading the charge against Trump could get time in the spotlight that might help them land future political jobs.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is likely to be at the center of action this time.

Several other Democratic officials, including Attorneys General Letitia James, of New York, and Josh Kaul, of Wisconsin — whose voters favored Trump in 2016 and 2024 — have held news conferences or put out news releases on their commitment to fighting Trump policies.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced a new effort Wednesday called Governors Safeguarding Democracy, funded by donations at aimed at helping states protect the rule of law — something some Democrats have said will be at risk with Trump as president.

“We founded GSD because we know that simple hope alone won’t save our democracy,” Polis said in a conference call with reporters.

Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed to this report.

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters in the spin room before a presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis holds up a copy of Project 2025 as he speaks during the Democratic National Convention Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks at a news conference in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)

FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks Feb. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

FILE - Democratic Washington gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks to supporters at the Washington State Democrats election night party on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)