Since winning the election, President-elect Donald Trump has announced dozens of picks to key cabinet positions and other high-profile posts in his administration and several have been picked from right here in the Sunshine State.
Of course, Trump can't formally nominate anyone until he is inaugurated on Jan. 20, but the Senate can begin hearings on proposed cabinet appointments after it is sworn in on Jan. 3.
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WATCH HEREHere are his Florida picks:
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
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Trump's first appointment came on Nov. 7, when he announced that Susan Wiles, a 67-year-old Florida native, will serve as his White House chief of staff.
Wiles is one of the most respected operatives in Republican politics.
U.S. & World
Along with helping helm Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, she worked as his state director in Florida during the previous two contests.
Matt Gaetz, Attorney General*
Trump said he was nominating Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general, putting a loyalist in the role of the nation's top prosecutor. In selecting the congressman, Trump passed over some of the more established attorneys whose names had been mentioned as being contenders for the job.
However, on Nov. 21, Gaetz announced that he was withdrawing as Trump's pick for attorney general, ending the controversial bid that put prior allegations of sexual misconduct in the spotlight.
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Just six hours after Gaetz withdrew his name, Trump announced he had picked former two-term Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi’s elevation came just hours after Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration following increased scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct.
Bondi has long ties to Trump.
During the 2016 Republican National Convention, she joined in “lock her up” chants aimed at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and she was then part of Trump’s defense team during his first impeachment trial.
After Trump lost the 2020 election, Bondi was involved in efforts to overturn the results, falsely claiming that Trump had “won Pennsylvania” at a news conference in Philadelphia.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
In another appointment, Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday, setting up a onetime critic who evolved into one of the president-elect’s fiercest defenders to become the nation’s top diplomat. The conservative lawmaker is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump’s running mate this summer. On Capitol Hill, Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser
On Monday, four sources familiar with the decision said Trump has picked Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., to be his national security adviser. Waltz is a Green Beret veteran who served in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. Since 2019, he has represented a congressional district in the House, where he's a member of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees.
former Florida Rep. Dave Weldon to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Dave Weldon, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dr. Dave Weldon came to Brevard County in Florida 1987 after serving six years as a physician in the U.S. Army.
The longtime internal medicine doctor has been in and out of elected office for three decades, most recently losing a primary bid for House District 32.
He has now been picked by Trump for the position of Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
James Blair, deputy chief of staff
Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president.
Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago.
