The end of an Eras tour approaches, marking a bittersweet moment for Taylor Swift fans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After more than 150 shows across five continents over nearly two years, the global phenomenon that is Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to an end.

There is no simple way to encapsulate the effects of Swift’s decision to put on a 3 ½-hour concert, showcasing 44 songs representing 10 different “eras” of her career — a feat she kicked off in March 2023 and will end Sunday in Vancouver, Canada. The tour shattered sales and attendance records and created such an economic boom that even the Federal Reserve took note.

But for many who attended the concerts, and the millions more who eagerly watched fan-broadcasted livestreams on their screens, the tour also became a beacon of joy — a chance not only to appreciate Swift's expansive music career, but also celebrate the yearslong journey fans have taken with her.

“Right now we have this special designated time to be together, talk about the show and hang out,” said Tess Bohne, a stay-at-home mom of three turned content creator dedicated to livestreaming Swift’s concerts — by attending herself or coordinating with others to highlight their streams. “For some, it’s their therapy.”

Bohne, who has earned the title among the Swiftie community as the “livestream queen,” says she often interacts with fans hosting parties to watch an Eras concert live at home with their closest friends. People have also made lasting friendships as they geek out together watching the show from afar.

Swift has long been known for leaving Easter eggs for her fans to pinpoint and decipher, a quirk that quickly took on a life of its own during the tour as eagle-eyed devotees began analyzing the possible meaning of her outfits, surprise songs and subtle lyric swaps. The buzz has been so large that multiple mobile apps were launched so fans could guess and track all the various changes. There’s even a game that gives out prizes for correctly predicting various particulars of a show, including what color guitar Swift uses while playing “Lover.”

“Imagine your favorite sports team,” Bohne said. “They’re still a team, but they’re not going to play any games for the foreseeable future. That’s going to leave a hole for some folks.”

Swift herself appeared to struggle that the end was near while performing at her 100th Eras show in June at Liverpool.

“This is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is gonna end in December,” she said, stressing that “this tour has really become my entire life.” Late last month, in Toronto, she briefly broke down at the thought of the tour's impending end.

Swift kicked off the Eras tour in Glendale, Arizona, the first of many sold-out stadiums as the tour progressed first in the U.S. and later into South America, Asia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

By the end of 2023, it had become the first tour to ever gross over $1 billion and saw hundreds of millions of dollars spent on merchandise. She is likely to bring in over $2 billion by the time the tour wraps on Dec. 8, according to concert trade publication Pollstar.

Throughout the tour, Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Apple Music named her its artist of the year and Spotify revealed she was 2023’s most streamed artist globally. She dropped a box office-topping concert film and helped send NFL viewership skyrocketing when she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Toward the end of the tour, she released a coffee table book.

And if that wasn’t enough, she released re-recordings of her Nashville-era 2010 record, “Speak Now ” and 2014's record “1989,” as well as released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

“I think it’s perfect in these times to have somebody like Taylor to kind of give us distraction, give us inspiration, give us hope,” said Ralph Jaccodine, an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and a former concert promoter who has worked with Bruce Springsteen and others. “And this is a woman that owning it, she’s come a long way. And now she can talk about artist rights and women’s rights and equality. And really, just her work ethic is relentless."

Even the word “era” has become ubiquitous, with fans and casual observers using the term to explain both frivolous and transformative phases — are you in your “villain era” or a “healing era”?

“I think this tour really solidified her position as a legend,” said Kayla Wong, an influencer who runs the popular Swift-focused Instagram account @headfirstfearless. “Whether or not you like her music, whether or not you think she’s talented, the numbers really speak for themselves. The tour broke so many records and was such a global phenomenon for so long that I think she’s achieved a level where it’s undeniable as to how everlasting her impact is.”

Yet the tour did experience its own dark moments. In Brazil last year, one concertgoer — 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides — passed out and later died of heat exhaustion. In July, British police charged a 17-year-old with murder over a stabbing attack during a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class that left three little girls dead. News outlets reported that Swift met with some of the survivors backstage in London.

And in August, all three of Swift's concerts in Vienna were called off after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the city. Tens of thousands of Swifties from around the world had traveled to Vienna for the shows.

“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” Swift later wrote in a statement. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”

Through the hardships and celebrations, Swift's connections to her fans has only ballooned and deepened throughout the tour. After the Vienna cancellations, many fans flocked to the streets to sing Swift's songs and placed friendship bracelets — which also became an iconic feature of the shows — on a nearby tree.

Over the past two years, the fandom has welcomed new audiences — both old and new.

“I feel like years ago, we were kind of all the same age and fans for the same reason,” Wong said of Swifties. “Now the fandom has people from all kinds of backgrounds, all ages, all different reasons for following her in the first place.”

FILE - Taylor Swift performs during "The Eras Tour," Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - A police officer is decorated with Taylor Swift bracelets while guarding the city center in Vienna on Aug.8, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader, File)

FILE - Fans of singer Taylor Swift arrive for her concert at Wembley Stadium in London on Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Fans of singer Taylor Swift, called Swifties, pose in front of a mural of Swift at Wembley Stadium in London on Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Taylor Swift fans pose in front of a mural before attending Swift's concert on June 21, 2024 in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Karen Boncan, left, and Petrushka Seville arrive at the world premiere of the concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" on Oct. 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Taylor Swift performs during the opening show of the Toronto dates of The Eras Tour on Nov. 14, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Fans of Taylor Swift, known as Swifties, pose for a photo as they gather outside Toronto's Rogers Centre to see Swift perform on Nov. 14, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Taylor Swift fans display bracelets outside Toronto's Rogers Centre before going to see Taylor Swift perform on Nov. 14, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE.- A sign replicating the popular Taylor Swift bracelet is displayed in front of Rogers Centre promoting Swift's The Eras Tour in Toronto, on Nov. 13, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour in London on June 21, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at the Monumental stadium during her Eras Tour concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

President-elect Donald Trump has filled the key posts for his second term in office, prioritizing loyalty to him after he felt bruised and hampered by internal squabbling during his first term.

Some of his choices could face difficult confirmation fights in the Senate, even with Republicans in control, and two candidates have already withdrawn from consideration.

Here's a look at Trump's choices:

Trump would turn a former critic into an ally as the nation's top diplomat.

Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate before the slot went to JD Vance. Rubio is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

His selection punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator once called a “con man" during his own unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House.

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

Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011 and earning two Bronze Stars. He lacks senior military and national security experience and would oversee global crises ranging from Europe to the Middle East.

A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and has denied any wrongdoing.

Bessent, 62, is a former money manager for George Soros, a big Democratic donor, and an advocate for deficit reduction. He founded the hedge fund Key Square Capital Management after having worked on and off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary.

He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending.

Gabbard, 43, is a former Democratic House member from Hawaii who has been accused of echoing Russian propaganda. She unsuccessfully sought the party’s 2020 presidential nomination and left the party in 2022. Gabbard endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him.

Gabbard has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. If confirmed she would come to the role as an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, spent several years in top national security and intelligence positions.

Bondi, 59, was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.

Considered a loyalist, Bondi also has served with the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-allied group that has helped lay the groundwork for his future administration.

Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush-money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appeared on Fox News and has been critical of the criminal cases against him.

The Republican U.S. House member narrowly lost her reelection bid on Nov. 5 but had received strong backing from union members in her district.

As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the department's workforce and budget and put forth priorities that affect workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employees, among other responsibilities.

Chavez-DeRemer is one of a few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act that would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and penalize companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws in more than half the states.

Lutnick heads the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is co-chair of Trump's transition operation, charged along with Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, with helping the president-elect fill key jobs in his second administration.

As secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. He would oversee a sprawling Cabinet department whose oversight ranges from funding new computer chip factories and imposing trade restrictions to releasing economic data and monitoring the weather.

Noem is a well-known conservative who used her two terms as South Dakota's governor to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions like other states, instead declaring South Dakota “open for business.” More recently, Noem faced sharp criticism for writing in her memoir about shooting and killing her dog.

She is set to lead a department crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda as well as other missions. Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports.

Ratcliffe, a former U.S. House member from Texas, was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump’s first term. He led U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. If confirmed, Ratcliffe will have held the highest intelligence positions in the U.S.

Kennedy, 70, ran for president as a Democrat, then as an independent before he dropped out and then endorsed Trump. He's the son of Democratic icon Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential campaign.

Kennedy's nomination alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines. For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism.

Rollins, 52, is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for Trump's second administration.

She is a Texas attorney who was Trump's domestic policy adviser and director of his office of American innovation during his first term. Rollins previously was an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who also served in Trump's first term. Rollins also ran the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business.

Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children.

Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential campaign, but was acquitted by the Senate.

Collins also served in the armed forces himself. He is a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.

The North Dakota governor, 68, is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump after he dropped out of the running. Burgum then became a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice in part because of his executive experience and business savvy. He also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs.

Trump said Burgum would chair a new National Energy Council and have a seat on the National Security Council, which would be a first for the Interior secretary.

A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.

He also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. Wright said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The department is responsible for advancing the energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States.

McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling mogul, would make a return appearance in a second Trump administration. She led the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019 in Trump’s first term and twice ran unsuccessfully in Connecticut as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University. She has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

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" and "we will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”

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 said his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.

Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.”

Greer is a partner at King & Spalding, a Washington law firm. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization. He previously was chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, who was the trade representative in Trump's first term.

Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager.

She has a background in Florida politics, helping 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 him. Wiles is said to have earned Trump’s trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump’s three presidential campaigns.

Waltz is a three-term Republican congressman from east-central Florida. A former Army Green Beret, he served multiple tours in Afghanistan and 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.

Hassett, 62, is a major advocate of tax cuts who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the first Trump term. In the new role as chairman of the National Economic Council, Trump said Hassett will play an important role in helping American families recover from inflation as well as in renewing and improving tax cuts Trump enacted in 2017, many of which are set to expire after 2025.

Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history.

He led the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Trump's first administration. Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings in the first term, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border.

Vought, 48, held the position during Trump’s first presidency. He founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank whose mission is to “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought also was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that Trump tried to distance himself from during the campaign.

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 term.

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 living illegally in the U.S.

Scavino was an adviser in all three of the president-elect's campaigns and was described by the transition team as one of “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides." He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino previously ran Trump’s social media profile in the White House.

Blair was political director for Trump’s 2024 campaign and the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and an assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump’s economic messaging during the campaign.

Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump’s 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president.

Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.

Warrington has served Trump as his personal attorney and lawyer for the campaign. Trump initially had tapped William McGinley to be White House counsel, but three weeks later said he instead was dispatching McGinley to work with his new Department of Government Efficiency. That panel will be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with the goal of cutting federal spending.

Former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia was named to serve as ambassador to China, with Trump leaning on a former business executive to serve as administration’s envoy in what is expected to continue to be America’s most complicated diplomatic relationship in the years to come. Trump said in a social media post that Perdue, a former CEO, “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue pushed Trump’s debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor.

Trump said he’s nominating former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott, a career official, was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020 and enthusiastically embraced then-President Trump’s policies, particularly on building a U.S.-Mexico border wall. He was forced out by the Biden administration.

The head of the Border Patrol Union, Judd has been a longtime supporter of Trump’s, appearing with him during his visits to the U.S.-Mexico border, though he notably supported a Senate immigration bill championed by Biden that Trump sank in part because he didn’t want to give Democrats an election-year win on the issue.

Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe.

Patel has called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who have sought additional resources for the bureau. And though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel has said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters.

The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and they were golfing at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee.

Kellogg, 80, is a highly decorated retired three-star general and one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America First” national security agenda for Trump's second term. He has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues and served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence. Kellogg also was chief of staff of the National Security Council under Trump and stepped in as an acting national security adviser for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned from the post.

Boehler is the founder and CEO of Rubicon Founders, a healthcare investment firm. He also served as the first CEO of the International Development Finance Corp. He would serve as Trump's lead hostage negotiator at a time when the U.S. is trying to secure the release of prisoners in Gaza and other regions around the world. The role has been held since 2020 by Roger Carstens, who was appointed by Trump and remained in the job throughout the Biden administration.

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.

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.

Huckabee has rejected a Palestinian homeland in territory occupied by Israel. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served as White House press secretary in Trump's first term.

Stefanik, 40, is a U.S. representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders dating to his first impeachment trial. She was elected chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021, the third-highest position in House leadership, after then-Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after she publicly criticized Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election.

Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile.

A former acting attorney general during Trump's first administration and tight end on the University of Iowa football team, Whitaker, 55, has a background in law enforcement but not in foreign policy.

A fierce Trump localist, Whitaker, is also a former U.S. attorney in Iowa and served as acting attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019 without Senate confirmation, until William Barr was confirmed for the role. That was when special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference was drawing to a close.

Whitaker also faced questions about his past business dealings, including his ties to an invention-promotion company that was accused of misleading consumers.

A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term.

Navarro, 75, was a trade adviser during Trump's first term. He is a longtime critic of trade arrangements with China. Navarro was held in contempt of Congress and served four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime TV talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz’s bid for elected office.

Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine.

Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor on Fox News.

Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent.

In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed.

Bhattacharya, 56, is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. As head of the NIH, the leading medical research agency in the United States, Trump said Bhattacharya would work with Kennedy Jr. to direct U.S. medical research and make important discoveries that will improve health and save lives. Bhattacharya is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 open letter maintaining that lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic were causing irreparable harm.

Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk. He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits.

Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, is the CEO of Patomak Partners and a cryptocurrency advocate. Atkins has argued against too much market regulation and Trump said Atkins is a “proven leader for commonsense regulations.” The agency oversees U.S. securities markets and investments. The current chairman, Gary Gensler, has been leading the government's crackdown on the crypto industry.

Chronister removed himself from consideration to lead the nation's top controlled substances enforcement agency, just days after being tapped for the post.

Trump's announcement that he would nominate Chronister, who has worked for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office since 1992, was met with backlash from some conservative figures over his enforcement of lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his past comments he made that his sheriff’s office was not focused on enforcing federal immigration laws.

Gaetz, 42, withdrew from consideration to become the top law enforcement officer of the United States amid fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed by the Senate. In choosing Gaetz, Trump had passed over more established lawyers whose names had been floated as possible contenders for the job.

Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump announced him on Nov. 13. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.

Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Zeke Miller, Farnoush Amiri, Lolita C. Baldor, Jill Colvin, Matthew Daly, Edith M. Lederer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Lisa Mascaro, Chris Megerian, Michelle L. Price, Will Weissert and Meg Kinnard contributed to this report.

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

FILE - Brooke Rollins speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Kash Patel, former chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, speaks at a rally in Minden, Nev., Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas, File)

FILE - Mehmet Oz visits the AW Driving School & License Testing Center in Allentown, Pa., Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., speaks during a hearing July 18, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Duffy to be Transportation Secretary. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - Howard Lutnick speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, in New York, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General, speaks to reporters outside an election integrity volunteer training, June 18, 2024, in Newtown, Pa. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File)

FILE - Tulsi Gabbard speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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)

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)

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 - 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)