President Donald Trump prioritized loyalty as he built out a team for his second term, surrounding himself with people who served faithfully in his first administration or who worked on one or more of his three campaigns.
Those are not the only ties that connect the people in the highest ranks of his administration. Several are billionaires or campaign donors, or both. There also are media personalities, former lawmakers and people who worked on Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for slashing government that Trump insisted he had no affiliation with as he campaigned for the White House.
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President Donald Trump speaks during an event with auto racing champions at the South Portico of the White House Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington, (Pool via AP)
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies during a House Committee on Ways and Means hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaks during a news conference to announce the re-launch of the VOICE office, Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, with families of victims behind her, at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event with auto racing champions at the South Portico of the White House Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington, (Pool via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Pool via AP)
Some people in key roles have personal relationships with Trump that go back years, from a onetime caddy at one of Trump’s golf courses to his son’s former fiancée. Others came around after opposing Trump in the past; examples include his vice president and a handful of Republicans and Democrats who once ran against him.
These are some of the people Trump picked for top roles in his second administration — and a look at what they have in common, according to a review by The Associated Press.
Tom Barrack, ambassador to Turkey
Scott Bessent, treasury secretary
Pam Bondi, attorney general
Doug Burgum, interior secretary
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, labor secretary
Doug Collins, veterans affairs secretary
Sean Duffy, transportation secretary
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence
Jamieson Greer, trade representative
Kimberly Guilfoyle, ambassador to Greece
Kevin Hassett, National Economic Council director
Pete Hegseth, defense secretary
Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to Canada
Tom Homan, border czar
Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel
Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator
Ronald Johnson, ambassador to Mexico
Keith Kellogg, special envoy for Ukraine and Russia
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., health and human services secretary
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary
Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration
Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary
Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration commissioner
Linda McMahon, education secretary
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff
Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency
Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor on trade and manufacturing
Janette Nesheiwat, surgeon general
Kristi Noem, homeland security secretary
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Kash Patel, FBI director
David Perdue, ambassador to China
John Ratcliffe, CIA director
Brooke Rollins, agriculture secretary
Marco Rubio, secretary of state
Dan Scavino, White House deputy chief of staff
Rodney Scott, Customs and Border Protection commissioner
Scott Turner, housing secretary
JD Vance, vice president
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget
Mike Waltz, national security adviser
Matthew Whitaker, ambassador to NATO
Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
Steven Witkoff, special envoy
Chris Wright, energy secretary
Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Worked in the Trump administration during his first term: Rollins, Scavino, Greer, Ratcliffe, Leavitt, Patel, Kellogg, Hassett, McMahon, Whitaker, Hoekstra, Navarro, Scott, Johnson, Vought, Turner, Miller, Homan.
Is from Florida, Trump's home when he's not in the White House and site of his estate, Mar-a-Lago: Guilfoyle, Rubio, Waltz, Bondi, Johnson, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.
Gave money to Trump’s campaign or a pro-Trump PAC, according to campaign finance data: Wright, Musk, Lutnick, Loeffler, Zeldin, McMahon, Hoekstra, Bessent, Witkoff, Wiles, Barrack.
Employed by Trump's 2016, 2020 or 2024 campaign (or for more than one): Scavino, Leavitt, Guilfoyle, Miller, Wiles.
Previously served in state or federal public office: Perdue, Burgum, Collins, Vance, Ratcliffe, Loeffler, Noem, Zeldin, Chavez-DeRemer, Rubio, Huckabee, Waltz, Bondi, Hoekstra, Turner, Duffy, Gabbard.
Formerly opposed Trump, by being openly critical of him or running against him for president: Burgum, Musk, Vance, Rubio, Kennedy, Gabbard.
Hosted a TV show, was employed by a TV network as a paid contributor or owns a social media company: Nesheiwat, Oz, Musk, Guilfoyle, Huckabee, Hegseth, Duffy.
Has a personal wealth of $1 billion or more, according to AP reporting: Musk, Lutnick, Isaacman, Loeffler, McMahon, Bessent, Witkoff, Barrack.
Was an author or contributor to the conservative policy playbook known as Project 2025: Ratcliffe, Hoekstra, Navarro, Vought, Homan.
Has a personal relationship with Trump, such as a longtime friend, business colleague or person with other close ties to Trump family members: Scavino, Guilfoyle, McMahon, Witkoff, Barrack.
Reporting and research from Sara Burnett, Lolita C. Baldor, Bill Barrow, Thomas Beaumont, Collin Binkley, Matt Brown, Cathy Bussewitz, Jill Colvin, Bernard Condon, Tara Copp, Matthew Daly, Jack Dura, Alanna Durkin Richer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Fatima Hussein, David Klepper, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Scott McFetridge, Matthew Perrone, Michelle L. Price, Amanda Seitz, Brian Slodysko, Mike Stobbe, Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event with auto racing champions at the South Portico of the White House Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington, (Pool via AP)
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies during a House Committee on Ways and Means hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaks during a news conference to announce the re-launch of the VOICE office, Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, with families of victims behind her, at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event with auto racing champions at the South Portico of the White House Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington, (Pool via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Pool via AP)
Wall Street extended its gains to a ninth straight day Friday, marking the stock market’s longest winning streak since 2004 and reclaiming the ground it lost since President Donald Trump escalated his trade war in early April.
The rally was spurred by a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market and resurgent hope for a ratcheting down in the U.S. trade showdown with China.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.4%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.5%.
The gains were broad. Roughly 90% of stocks and every sector in the S&P 500 advanced. Technology stocks were among the companies doing the heaviest lifting. Microsoft rose 2.3% and Nvidia rose 2.5%. Apple, however, fell 3.7% after the iPhone maker estimated that tariffs will cost it $900 million.
Banks and other financial companies also made solid gains. JPMorgan Chase rose 2.3% and Visa closed 1.5% higher.
Employers added 177,000 jobs in April. That marks a slowdown in hiring from March, but it was solidly better than economists anticipated. However, the latest job figures don’t yet reflect the effects on the economy of President Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs against America’s trading partners. Many of the more severe tariffs that were supposed to go into effect in April were delayed by three months, with the notable exception of tariffs against China.
“We’ve already seen how financial markets will react if the administration moves forward with their initial tariff plan, so unless they take a different tack in July when the 90-day pause expires, we will see market action similar to the first week of April,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management.
The S&P 500 slumped 9.1% during the first week of April as Trump announced a major escalation of his trade war with more tariffs. The market has now clawed back its losses since then, helped by a string of resilient earnings reports from U.S. companies, hopes for de-escalation of trade tensions with China and expectations that the Federal Reserve will still be able to cut rates a few times this year.
The benchmark index is still down 3.3% so far this year, and 7.4% below the record it reached in February.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 82.53 points to 5,686.67. The Dow gained 564.47 points to 41,317.43, and the Nasdaq added 266.99 points to 17,977.73.
The job market is being closely watched for signs of stress amid trade war tensions. Strong employment has helped fuel solid consumer spending and economic growth over the last few years. Economists are now worried about the impact that taxes on imports will have on consumers and businesses, especially about how higher costs will hurt hiring and spending.
The economy is already showing signs of strain. The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace during the first quarter of the year. It was slowed by a surge in imports as businesses tried to get ahead of Trump’s tariffs.
The current round of tariffs and the on-again-off-again nature of Trump’s policy has overshadowed planning for businesses and households. Companies have been cutting and withdrawing financial forecasts because of the uncertainty over how much tariffs will cost them and how much they will squeeze consumers and sap spending.
Hopes remain that Trump will roll back some of his tariffs after negotiating trade deals with other countries. China has been a key target, with tariffs of 145%. Its Commerce Ministry said Beijing is evaluating overtures from the U.S. regarding the tariffs.
Investors had a relatively quiet day of earnings reports following a busy week. Exxon Mobil rose 0.4%, recovering from an early slide, after reporting its lowest first-quarter profit in years. Rival Chevron rose 1.6% after it also reported its smallest first-quarter profit in years.
Falling crude oil prices have weighed on the sector. Crude oil prices in the U.S. are down about 17% for the year. They fell below $60 per barrel this week, which is a level at which many producers can no longer turn a profit.
Block slumped 20.4% after reporting a sharp drop in first-quarter profit that fell short of analysts' forecasts. The financial technology company behind Cash App cited a pullback in consumer spending on travel and other discretionary items as a key reason for the results.
Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.22% late Thursday.
Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Rob Taylor works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Patrick King works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader James Matthews, left, and specialist James Denaro work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Glenn Carell, left, and trader Mathias Roberts, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Alex Weitzman works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Philip Finale, left, and trader Robert Charmak work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Niall Pawa works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Michael Pistillo, left, and trader Fred Demarco work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialists Meric Greenbaum, left, and Philip Finale confer on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist James Denaro works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Gregg Maloney works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)