Here's who could be in Trump's Cabinet as a transition team and the president-elect could strategize on appointments

President-elect Donald Trump – fresh from his comfortable victory over Vice President Kamala Harris – is spending Wednesday with his team in Palm Beach considering how to fill his second term.

The Trump transition team has been at work for months, preparing for an internal “unveiling,” campaign adviser Brian Hughes told The Post – although discussion among aides this week is expected to focus on the process rather than specific candidate names.

Sources close to the Trump campaign said they expect a series of Republican victories in the Senate would ease Trump's return to power – giving him more flexibility to rely on his gut and pick Cabinet secretaries agree with his populist politics.

The bulk of the transition work is expected to take place at Trump's Mar-a-Lago compound, Hughes said – where allies and advisers have long gathered to bend the ear of the president-elect.

In addition to Cabinet secretaries, there are approximately 4,000 presidential nominees in the executive branch who do not require Senate confirmation—these nominees flesh out the federal bureaucracy and shape its direction.

What we know about the second Trump transition

Those overseeing the process include co-chairs Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, and Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term.

The transition team also includes former and future first sons Eric and Donald Jr., Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Trump is expected to make even the most high-profile decisions – and he has spoken ruefully in his first term about following the recommendations of others, which has led to his aides defying or defying his orders.

Two of the most important decisions will be Trump's selection as attorney general and White House chief of staff.

In recent weeks, three leading candidates have emerged for the latter position, which does not require Senate confirmation although it plays an important role in directing federal policy, carrying out a president's orders and controlling access to him.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is in the race alongside Trump campaign manager Susie Wiles and former White House domestic policy adviser Brooke Rollins.

Wiles is considered the most likely choice, and Trump said in the final stretch of the campaign that he believed McCarthy made a mistake by deciding not to nominate GOP lawmakers loyal to the 45th president to the House special committee investigating the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

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Still, McCarthy would bring extensive experience from Washington that could be useful in making the most of Trump's electoral mandate.

Republicans regret that they focused on unsuccessful efforts to repeal Obamacare after Trump's surprise victory in 2016, which led to delays on other key items on the 45th president's agenda, such as tax cuts – introduced later in Trump's first year in office – and the construction of a border wall between the USA and Mexico, which Congress then rejected funding for.

Trump has vowed to enact sweeping tax reforms that require legislative savvy – including eliminating federal taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits, as well as tax write-offs on auto loan interest for domestic vehicles and a mandate making in vitro fertilization free for expectant parents.

Wiles, despite her relative lack of D.C. experience, was praised for running an effective campaign in 2024 that delivered an overwhelming victory while avoiding the infighting that plagued previous Trump teams.

The attorney general post, meanwhile, is likely to be the most consequential Cabinet post, as it will pave the way for the dismissal of two federal criminal cases against him and potentially defend him against criminal cases in New York and Georgia.

In November 2022, Trump launched his latest campaign amid fears of criminal charges – with the then-ex-president's circle of outside allies reduced to a handful of people due to the backlash to his challenges to the 2020 election results.

Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, one of the few top Trump administration officials to attend his boss' campaign launch, is one of the potential candidates for the post.

Whitaker would be a relatively conservative choice and would bring experience from his time in the first Trump administration.

Other suspected potential attorneys general include senators and even governors with law degrees — like Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry or Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, both of whom have launched legal challenges to the Biden-Harris administration's push for censorship on social media companies.

Trump has publicly hinted at some of the people he wants at his side by praising North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is likely in the race for energy secretary.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy is also believed to be in the running for Secretary of Energy or Secretary of the Interior.

National security positions such as defense secretary, FBI director and top intelligence posts could go to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and former national security adviser Robert O'Brien.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) is also considered a possible high-profile candidate for a defense position.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is being heavily considered as a potential recruit for secretary of state, The Post previously reported. But the job could go to a number of others, including Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), a former U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf could also return to the White House, possibly in the same role he previously held.

Other Republicans have told the Post they would be willing to serve in the Trump administration, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin.

Many influential people will not technically work for the government.

Trump has promised to appoint billionaire SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk to head a powerful commission focused on reducing government waste – and Musk is also expected to be a highly influential adviser on space and business policy.

The 45th and future 47th president also pledged to give RFK Jr. an influential position in improving Americans' health after Kennedy ended his independent presidential campaign in August and endorsed him.

Kennedy's controversial skepticism about vaccine safety likely disqualifies him from a Senate-confirmed position — although that doesn't necessarily diminish his influence, as informal advisers often had outsized influence in Trump's first term.

Republicans are currently on track to gain at least 53 Senate seats, giving Trump a cushion for at least three nominee departures while Vance waits in the wings to resolve the chamber's 50-50 balance as president.