Over the past few weeks, plenty of media attention has been focused on the confirmation processes of some of President Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominees.
His choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, faced questions about his drinking and allegations of sexual assault. His nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was grilled over his long history of anti-vaccine rhetoric and his skepticism of scientific consensus on a number of health-related issues. And his pick for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, raised concerns over her alleged sympathies for some of America's adversaries.
With one exception, all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees have been confirmed so far. And while Hegseth, Kennedy and Gabbard now hold highly important positions, they are just three of the two dozen people he has chosen to run critical agencies across the executive branch.
Here are few of the lesser-known officials who could have a major impact on how the country functions during Trump’s second term.
Chris Wright, secretary of energy
Who he is: Wright is a longtime fossil fuel industry executive and the founder of one of the country's biggest fracking companies. He is a strong critic of green energy and a vocal advocate for increasing the use of traditional carbon-intensive energy sources like coal, oil and natural gas. He has questioned the role that climate change plays in creating extreme weather, argued that "there is no climate crisis," and said "there is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy."
Why he matters:
Scientists argue that all nations must rapidly transition to green energy sources to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Like Trump, Wright disagrees with that view. His presence as secretary of energy could mean that the growth of solar, wind and other green energy sources — which received a massive influx of investment during former President Joe Biden's tenure — slows significantly. Wright's plan to ramp up domestic oil and gas production could also have an impact on the prices Americans pay at the pump.
Brooke Rollins, secretary of agriculture
Who she is: Rollins has spent decades promoting conservative policies at influential think tanks like the America First Policy Institute, an organization that was referred to as the "White House in waiting" in the years between Trump's two nonconsecutive terms. She served in multiple roles in his first administration, including head of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council. She was a key public voice in the Trump White House's response to racial justice protests across the country during the summer of 2020.
Why she matters:
Many of Trump's most important plans — including mass deportation, tariffs and the Make America Healthy Again agenda — will have a major impact on American agriculture. Rollins will be tasked with managing any fallout that these policies may have on the U.S. farming industry. She will also be in charge of food assistance benefits like SNAP, a program that helps feed 41 million Americans that has been targeted for deep budget cuts by congressional Republicans.
Russell Vought, director of the office of management and budget
Who he is: Vought is a self-described Christian nationalist who is one of the most important architects of Project 2025, the right-wing initiative to radically restructuring the federal government. He worked in several positions during Trump's first presidential term, including a stint as the head of OMB.
Why he matters: While the OMB isn't exactly a high-profile agency, it is vital for carrying out the logistics that make the government function. Vought himself described the agency as a president's air traffic control system that has the power to override the policies of other executive agencies. In the early weeks of Trump's second term, the OMB has been at the heart of some of his administration's most aggressive moves to reshape the powers of the presidency — including its attempts to freeze federal payments, plans to fire government workers en masse and steps to unilaterally shutter agencies like USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Scott Bessent, secretary of the treasury
Who he is: Bessent is a career investor and hedge fund manager who the Wall Street Journal described as "one of the finance world's most vocal supporters" of Trump during his 2024 campaign. He also served as a key fundraiser, donor and economic adviser to Trump's reelection bid.
Why he matters: The Treasury Department is the government's core economic policy agency. It does everything from implementing tax policy and managing the national debt to overseeing financial regulators. Having an ally like Bessent at the helm likely means that Trump will face little resistance as he attempts to carry out his radical vision for the American economy. He gave Musk's DOGE team access to the Treasury's payments system, which disburses trillions of dollars in federal payments every year. He also ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to suspend its work and has signaled that he will back Trump in any conflicts with the Federal Reserve over its decision to keep interest rates elevated.
Scott Turner, secretary of housing and urban development
Who he is: Turner played nine seasons in the NFL before turning to politics. After serving two terms in the Texas state Legislature, he was named as head of the program within the Trump White House aimed at bringing private investment to low-income neighborhoods by offering tax breaks to developers.
Why he matters: The vast majority of HUD's budget has historically gone to housing assistance for low-income, elderly and disabled Americans. But Turner appears to believe that's not what the agency should be doing. He argued against any additional funding for the agency, created a DOGE task force to look for opportunities to slash its existing budget and has called for major changes to programs like Section 8 housing support. The nation's approach to solving housing scarcity could look dramatically different under Turner than it has in the past.
Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation
Who he is: Duffy first gained fame as a cast member of "The Real World" before launching a career in politics that saw him serve as a district attorney in his native Wisconsin and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. After leaving Congress, he worked as a lobbyist and contributor to Fox News.
Why he matters: Duffy is at the center of the White House response to a series of air safety incidents in recent weeks, most importantly the crash in Washington, D.C. that left nearly 70 people dead late last month. He's faced intense scrutiny in the wake of that disaster, particularly over ongoing cuts to staff at the Federal Aviation Administration, which manages air traffic controllers. Air safety is just a small part of the transportation secretary's job. The agency also oversees the nation's highways and railroads while setting safety standards for trains, cars and trucks within the U.S. Duffy has moved to roll back car efficiency standards, called for nationwide regulations on self-driving cars and issued orders that could prevent blue states and big cities from receiving Department of Transportation funding.
