Trump transition updates: Trump taps longtime ally as agriculture secretary

Brooke Rollins previously served in Trump's first administration.

ByTal Axelrod, Alexandra Hutzler, Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, and Julia Reinstein
Last Updated: November 24, 2024, 6:02 PM EST

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, said Thursday he is withdrawing his name for the role -- just a day after Gaetz spoke with Republican senators on Capitol Hill about the nomination process.

Trump has named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, as his new pick for the role.

Another controversial Cabinet pick, Pete Hegseth, is on the Hill on Thursday with Vice President-elect JD Vance to make his case for the secretary of the Department of Defense job.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Nov 12, 3:45 pm

Tracking those Trump has named to serve in his Cabinet, administration

Ahead of his return to power in January, Trump is announcing who he wants to fill Cabinet positions and other key roles inside his administration.

They include some of his staunchest allies on Capitol Hill and key advisers to his 2024 campaign.

Here is a running list of the people Trump has selected, or is expected to select, to serve in his administration.

Nov 22, 2024, 8:26 PM EST

Trump picks Scott Turner to lead Department of Housing and Urban Development

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Turner, a former NFL player and Texas lawmaker, served in the White House during Trump's first term as the first executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, "helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities," Trump said in a statement Friday.

Scott Turner, former executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, during the America First Policy Institute's America First Agenda summit in Washington, D.C., July 25, 2022.
Bloomberg via Getty Images

In that role, Turner worked with former HUD Secretary Ben Carson on boosting economic development in "Opportunity Zones" across the country, created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which allowed people to invest in low-income areas and temporarily defer tax on eligible gains.

Nov 22, 2024, 8:10 PM EST

Marty Makary picked to head the FDA

Trump said he has nominated Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Makary's job would be to oversee the FDA's $7 billion budget and report to the health secretary. The agency oversees $3.6 trillion in food, tobacco and medical products, including some 20,000 prescription drugs on the market.

In this Dec. 12, 2018, file photo, Dr. Marty Makary speaks during a screening of the HBO documentary film 'Bleed Out,' in New York.
Noam Galai/Getty Images for HBO, FILE

The president-elect said Makary "will work under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to, among other things, 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."

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty and Will McDuffie

Nov 22, 2024, 8:02 PM EST

Former Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon tapped as CDC director

Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, will serve as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rep. Dave Weldon speaks, Nov. 28, 2001.
AP

Trump described Weldon as a "respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues."

The post will require Senate confirmation starting in January 2025.

Nov 22, 2024, 7:54 PM EST

Trump names Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general

Trump has named Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as his pick for surgeon general.

Dr Janette Nesheiwat attends the 10th Annual NAMIWalks NYC at South Street Seaport on May 7, 2016 in New York City.
Ryan Liu/Getty Images

The president-elect said the doctor, a Fox News medical contributor, is "a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health."

The surgeon general is confirmed by the Senate.

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