President-elect Donald Trump named a number of key nominations to his administration on Friday night.
Notable nominations include hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to serve as the secretary of the Treasury Department, outgoing Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to be the secretary of the Department of Labor, and former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner for secretary of Housing and Human Development. In addition to those picks, Trump made other nominations in key health and national security roles as he continues to fill in his Cabinet.
Here are Trump’s Friday night nominations.
Scott Bessent for secretary of the treasury
After a long search for someone to fill the role, Trump nominated hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department.
If he is confirmed, Bessent would be one of the most powerful Cabinet members in the White House, set to oversee the country’s fiscal and economic policy. He will also be tasked with overseeing Trump’s economic agenda, in which Trump has promised to increase tariffs and cut more taxes.
Trump said that “Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda” and that Bessent would “help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy, Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the U.S. Dollar as the Reserve Currency of the World.”
Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for secretary of labor
Trump named Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to serve as his labor secretary. She has been described by the New York Times as “a mainstream Republican” who pitches herself as an independent thinker.
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“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” a statement from Trump said. “I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs.”
Chavez-DeRemer, a one-term congresswoman, recently lost reelection to Rep.-elect Janelle Bynum (D-OR).
Scott Turner for secretary of housing and urban development
Trump nominated Scott Turner, a former NFL player and Texas state lawmaker, as his secretary of housing and urban development. During Trump’s first administration, Turner was the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council’s first executive director.
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The president-elect said in his previous administration that Turner had helped “lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities” while working with Trump’s former HUD secretary, Dr. Ben Carson.
In his nomination statement on Turner, Trump did not elaborate much on his reasoning for the pick.
Trump tapped Russ Vought to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget, which is a role he previously held during the first Trump administration. He was budget director from 2019 to 2021 and the end of Trump’s first presidency.
“Russ has spent many years working in Public Policy in Washington, D.C., and is an aggressive cost cutter and deregulator who will help us implement our America First Agenda across all Agencies,” Trump said in a statement. “Russ knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government, and he will help us return Self Governance to the People. We will restore fiscal sanity to our Nation, and unleash the American People to new levels of Prosperity and Ingenuity.”
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general
Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be surgeon general. According to the office of the Surgeon General’s website, she will be responsible for the operations of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which is “an elite group of over 6,000 uniformed officers working throughout the federal government whose mission is to protect, promote, and advance the health of our nation.”
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“Her expertise and leadership have been pivotal during some of the most challenging Healthcare crises of our time. Dr. Janette provided on-the-ground medical treatment to Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes,” a statement from Trump on the nomination said.
Nesheiwat is currently a Fox News medical contributor and serves as a medical director at CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in the New York area. While she is a believer in the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, she was critical of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her nomination marks Trump’s third Cabinet pick from the Fox News world.
Marty Makary for FDA commissioner
Marty Makary is Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration. Makary is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
Trump said Makary will hypothetically work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been nominated to serve as Trump’s secretary of health and human services, should Kennedy be confirmed in the Senate.
According to the president-elect, Makary will “properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning our Nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our Nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic.”
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“I am confident that Dr. Makary, having dedicated his career to High-Quality, Lower-Cost Care, will restore FDA to the Gold Standard of Scientific Research, and cut the bureaucratic red tape at the Agency to make sure Americans get the Medical Cures and Treatments they deserve,” Trump said in a statement.
Former Rep. Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Former Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) is Trump’s pick to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump said that in addition to Weldon’s experience in the medical field, he has “been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues.”
“The current Health of Americans is critical, and CDC will play a big role in helping to ensure Americans have the tools and resources they need to understand the underlying causes of disease, and the solutions to cure these diseases,” a statement from Trump said.
Weldon, a board-certified doctor and Army veteran, served seven terms in Congress until 2008. In the House, Weldon served on several committees, including Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, and Science.
Alex Wong to be deputy national security adviser
Alex Wong, a State Department official, was tapped by Trump to serve as his deputy national security adviser.
Wong served as deputy special representative for North Korea during the first Trump administration. Trump said Wong “helped negotiate my Summit with North Korean Leader, Kim Jong Un.”
Sebastian Gorka to be senior director for counterterrorism
Trump appointed Sebastian Gorka, who previously served as a strategist to the president under Trump’s previous administration, to be his senior director for counterterrorism.
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Trump called him a “tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement.”
“Dr. Gorka is a legal immigrant to the United States, with more than 30 years of National Security experience,” Trump said in a statement.
