Trump fills key slots, tapping Congress, MAGA loyalists
The president-elect continues to fill his administration with new foreign policy, environment and immigration roles assigned


What happened
President-elect Donald Trump filled in more of his administration Monday, naming Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as his pick for United Nations ambassador, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) to head the Environmental Protection Agency and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy. Trump named former immigration enforcement chief Tom Homan as his "border czar" late Sunday, and he reportedly asked Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) to be his national security adviser and selected Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of state.
Who said what
The prevalence of "MAGA loyalists" in Trump's early picks highlights that for his second term, "one quality is absolutely paramount: unquestioning loyalty," Reuter said. Waltz, Stefanik and Zeldin are "loyalists with deep congressional experience who back his agenda on immigration and foreign policy," The Wall Street Journal said, while Rubio "has differed with Trump over the importance of alliances and favors confronting China and Iran but, like Trump, has called for ending the war in Ukraine."
The Stefanik pick "signals a more combative U.S. posture toward the U.N.," CNN said. The "expected installation of Homan and Miller," key architects of Trump's first-term family-separation policy, "signals Trump intends to deliver on his promise of mass deportations" of undocumented immigrants as soon as possible, Politico said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
It's unclear whether Trump will be able to continue to "raid the House for his loyalists who serve there," The New York Times said. Waltz and Stefanik both represent safe Republican districts, but the GOP's expected "razor-thin" majority will be "even thinner" without them until they are replaced in special elections. With every member Trump poaches, "each illness, family emergency, delayed flight or snowstorm will threaten to derail House leadership's plans," NOTUS said. "Elise [Stefanik] is awesome," Trump advocate Elon Musk said Monday on his X platform, "but it might be too dicey to lose her from the House, at least for now."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Climate: Trump's attempt to bring back coal
Feature Trump rolls back climate policies with executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry
By The Week US
-
Trump's budget: Gutting Medicaid to pass tax cuts?
Feature To extend Trump's tax cuts, the GOP is looking to cut Medicaid and other assistance programs
By The Week US
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eatery
Speed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalism
Feature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
By The Week US
-
How 'China shock 2.0' will roil global markets
Feature An overflow of Chinese goods is flooding the global market. Tariffs won’t stop it.
By The Week US
-
Retribution: Trump calls for prosecution of critics
Feature Trump targets former officials who spoke out against him, sending a warning to future whistleblowers
By The Week US