The Senate has confirmed all 22 of President Trump’s Cabinet-level nominees. One has failed.
The first 15 positions above are executive department-head Cabinet posts, while the last seven are considered Cabinet-rank positions. Vice president and chief of staff are also Cabinet-level positions, though they do not require Senate confirmation.
This page tracked rumors and nominations related to President Trump’s initial Cabinet picks. Since the entire Cabinet has been installed, this page is no longer updating. Explore the status of more than 500 other key appointed positions here.
President Trump’s entire Cabinet is now in place. This powerful group of advisers include heads of the 15 executive departments. Each leader was confirmed by the Senate.
[How long Cabinet confirmations take — and why past nominees failed]
Other top Trump administration officials and advisers did not require Senate confirmation.
Trump has also selected other White House advisers who do not need Senate confirmation.
(Trump’s first choice for national security advisor, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, resigned after misleading senior Trump administration officials about his potentially illegal contacts with Russian officials.)
Who Trump chooses to surround himself with greatly affects what his administration will accomplish. These top aides are just a slice of the thousands of positions Trump’s transition team may need to find appointees for — people who will oversee day-to-day operations at the agencies that make up the executive branch of government.
[Complete list: See how many key positions Trump has filled so far]
The following list includes descriptions of each of Trump’s Cabinet picks and their nomination timelines.
Secretary of Agriculture
Previous head: Tom Vilsack
Trump’s agriculture pick will be tasked with overseeing the nation’s farming policy, including farming subsidies, food safety, nutrition assistance to low-income individuals, and international agriculture trade.
Nominee

ConfirmedSonny Perdue
Former Georgia governor
Perdue, a former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party before governing Georgia for two terms from 2003 to 2011, has a strong agricultural background, having grown up on a farm and earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Jan. 18 | |
March 9 | Referred to Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry committee |
March 30 | Reported out favorably |
April 24 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Commerce
Previous head: Penny Pritzker
Nominee

ConfirmedWilbur Ross
Founder of investment firm WL Ross & Co.
Ross is a venture capitalist who has focused on buying businesses in distress.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 30 | |
Jan. 18 | Referred to Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee |
Jan. 24 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 27 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Defense
Previous head: Ashton B. Carter
The defense secretary oversees the U.S. Armed Forces and its estimated 2 million members, along with tens of thousands of civilian employees in the Pentagon and across the world. The Pentagon’s budget next year will be $580 billion, about 15 percent of all U.S. spending.
Nominee

ConfirmedGen. Jim Mattis
Retired 4-star General
Mattis, a retired Marine general and former senior military officer, led operations across the Middle East. To take the job, Mattis needed Congress to pass new legislation to bypass a federal law that states secretaries of defense must not have been on active duty in the previous seven years.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 1 | |
Jan. 12 | Referred to Armed Services committee |
Jan. 18 | Reported out favorably |
Jan. 20 |
Secretary of Education
Previous head: John B. King Jr.
The bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, passed last year, shifted authority over public education from the federal government to the states. Trump's education head is likely to further reduce the federal role in public schools, and to push for an expansion of charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools. Trump called the Common Core State Standards "a total disaster" during the campaign, and repeatedly pledged to get rid of them. But he won't be able to do that; it's up to states to decide which standards they use.
Nominee

ConfirmedBetsy DeVos
Chairman of American Federation for Children, a pro-school-voucher group
DeVos, a conservative activist and billionaire philanthropist, has pushed forcefully for private school voucher programs nationwide.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 23 | |
Jan. 17 | Referred to Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee |
Jan. 31 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 7 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Energy
Previous head: Ernest Moniz
The Energy Secretary oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and the environmental cleanup of old nuclear weapons development sites. The secretary also sets appliance standards and promotes energy research and innovation through the national laboratories, loans and grants. Obama’s energy secretary Ernest Moniz, a physicist, also played a key role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal.
Nominee

ConfirmedRick Perry
Former Texas governor
Perry, who ran for president for the past two election cycles, is likely to shift the department away from renewable energy and toward fossil fuels, whose production he championed as governor while serving for 14 years.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 13 | |
Jan. 16 | Referred to Energy and Natural Resources committee |
Jan. 31 | Reported out favorably |
March 2 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Previous head: Sylvia Mathews Burwell
During his campaign, Trump railed against the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law that is providing insurance coverage to about 20 million Americans and is changing many other aspects of the U.S. health-care system, and the president-elect and congressional Republicans are sounding eager to repeal it as one of their first acts. HHS also runs two vast insurance programs: Medicaid for low-income people and Medicare for older Americans. Altogether, the $80 billion department budget funds 11 operating divisions, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the agency that runs the nation’s welfare program, TANF.
Nominee

ConfirmedTom Price
Georgia congressman
Trump’s seriousness in carrying through on his “repeal” pledge is evident from his choice of health secretary: House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.), a champion of the House GOP’s efforts to abolish the law and replace it with free-market health policy ideas. Price also has wanted to convert Medicaid from an entitlement program to state block grants and to redefine Medicare by giving older Americans money to help buy private health plans.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 29 | |
Jan. 18 | Referred to Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee |
Jan. 18 | Hearing held (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) |
Jan. 20 | Referred to Finance committee |
Feb. 1 | Reported out favorably (Finance) |
Feb. 10 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Homeland Security
Previous head: Jeh Johnson
Few jobs are likely to be as high-profile in the Trump administration than chief of the Department of Homeland Security, the third-largest Cabinet department, with more than 240,000 employees whose jobs include fighting terrorism, protecting the president and enforcing immigration laws.
Nominee

ConfirmedGen. John F. Kelly
Retired Marine general, former U.S. Southern Command chief
Kelly retired in February as chief of U.S. Southern Command (which oversees military operations in Central and South America). He has clashed with the Obama administration over women in combat and plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 7 | |
Jan. 10 | Referred to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee |
Jan. 20 | Reported out favorably |
Jan. 20 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Previous head: Julián Castro
The housing secretary is charged with carrying out the nation’s fair housing laws, overseeing thousands of public housing apartments and distributing grants to support community development and home ownership.
Nominee

ConfirmedBen Carson
Retired neurosurgeon
Carson — who ran against Trump in the wide field of Republican presidential primary candidates and has never held political office — is the president-elect’s highest profile African American supporter and confidant.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 5 | |
Jan. 12 | Referred to Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee |
Jan. 24 | Reported out favorably |
March 2 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Interior
Previous head: Sally Jewell
Nominee

ConfirmedRyan Zinke
Montana congressman
Zinke campaigned for his House seat on a platform of achieving North American energy independence. He sits on the House Natural Resources Committee as well as the Armed Services Committee.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 13 | |
Jan. 17 | Referred to Energy and Natural Resources committee |
Jan. 31 | Reported out favorably |
March 1 | Confirmed |
Attorney General, Department of Justice
Previous head: Loretta E. Lynch
The attorney general is the top law enforcement official in the nation. The Justice Department head oversees the FBI, drug enforcement and civil rights enforcement, and is also responsible for civil litigation involving other government agencies.
Nominee

ConfirmedJeff Sessions
Senator from Alabama
Sessions, 69, was Trump’s first endorser in the Senate and quickly became the then-candidate’s chief resource on policy. Known for his hard-line views on immigration, the fourth-term senator has been dogged by accusations of racism throughout his career. In 1986, he was denied a federal judgeship after former colleagues testified before a Senate that he joked about the Ku Klux Klan.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 18 | |
Jan. 10 | Referred to Judiciary committee |
Feb. 1 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 8 |
Secretary of Labor
Previous head: Thomas E. Perez
The Labor Department leader oversees job training programs, worker protections and benefits and mine safety. The agency also collects employment data. Labor will be charged with carrying out Trump’s objectives on the minimum wage and collective bargaining.
Nominee

ConfirmedAlexander Acosta
Dean, Florida International University law school
Acosta was a member of the National Labor Relations Board, an assistant attorney general for civil rights and U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida under George W. Bush. He has won Senate confirmation in the past. If confirmed for Labor, he will be the first Latino in Trump’s Cabinet.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Feb. 16 | Appointment announced |
March 7 | Referred to Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee |
March 30 | Reported out favorably |
April 27 |
Failed nominee

FailedAndrew Puzder
CEO, CKE Restaurants
Puzder withdrew from his nomination after coming under fire for hiring an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper and was also opposed strenuously by Democrats and labor unions for his past positions on overtime pay and minimum wage.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 8 | |
Jan. 18 | Referred to Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee |
Feb. 28 | Withdrawn by president |
Secretary of State
Previous head: John F. Kerry
The secretary of state is the star of most every Cabinet and the president’s principal foreign policy adviser. Trump has signaled he intends to change direction in the U.S. foreign policy toward some of the most sensitive and complex regions of the world, and his choice will be charged with implementing the new vision. He will oversee more than 70,000 State Department employees, including diplomats in more than 300 embassies, consulates and missions around the world.
Nominee

ConfirmedRex Tillerson
CEO, Exxon Mobil
Tillerson will likely face a tough fight in the Senate, where some Republicans have said they are worried about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tillerson has worked extensively around the globe as chief executive of Exxon Mobil.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 13 | |
Jan. 11 | Referred to Foreign Relations committee |
Jan. 23 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 1 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Transportation
Previous head: Anthony Foxx
Trump has promised to pour $1 trillion into roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Nominee

ConfirmedElaine Chao
Former labor secretary
Chao became the first Asian American female Cabinet member in U.S. history when she became President George W. Bush’s labor secretary. She is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 29 | |
Jan. 12 | Referred to Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee |
Jan. 24 | Reported out favorably |
Jan. 31 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Treasury
Previous head: Jack Lew
Nominee

ConfirmedSteve Mnuchin
Banker, former Trump campaign finance chairman
Trump is planning to name investor and former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary, opting for an industry insider with no government experience to helm the agency that serves as the backbone of the nation’s financial system, according to people familiar with the matter.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 30 | |
Jan. 12 | Referred to Finance committee |
Feb. 1 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 13 | Confirmed |
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Previous head: Robert McDonald
As the department recovers from a delayed-care scandal uncovered during the Obama years, the new VA head will need to deliver on Trump’s promise to revamp the agency, which may include privatizing parts of the veterans health care system.
Nominee

ConfirmedDavid Shulkin
Current under secretary for health, Department of Veterans Affairs
Shulkin, 57, who would be the first Obama administration holdover for Trump, was confirmed unanimously for his post as undersecretary in charge of the Veterans Health Administration in June 2015, a sign he could breeze through the Senate confirmation process.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Jan. 11 | |
Jan. 20 | Referred to Veterans' Affairs committee |
Feb. 7 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 13 | Confirmed |
Central Intelligence Agency director
Previous head: John Brennan
Nominee

ConfirmedMichael Pompeo
Kansas congressman
Pompeo is widely respected for his intelligence but also seen as a fierce partisan on polarizing issues including the deaths of U.S. personnel in Benghazi and the leaks of Edward Snowden.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 18 | |
Jan. 12 | Referred to Select Committee on Intelligence committee |
Jan. 20 | Reported out favorably |
Jan. 23 |
Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Previous head: Gina McCarthy
Trump has vowed to “refocus” the EPA on its core mission of ensuring clean air and water, rather than its broader efforts under President Obama to combat climate change and accelerate the nation’s move toward cleaner sources of energy.
Nominee

ConfirmedScott Pruitt
Oklahoma attorney general
Pruitt, who has written that the debate on climate change is “far from settled,” is part of a coalition of state attorneys general suing the agency over the administration’s Clean Power Plan.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 7 | |
Jan. 18 | Referred to Environment and Public Works committee |
Feb. 2 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 17 |
Office of Management and Budget director
Previous head: Shaun Donovan
Nominee

ConfirmedMick Mulvaney
South Carolina congressman
Mulvaney has been an advocate of sharp government spending cuts. He is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative hard-liners who have pushed Republican leaders to the right.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 17 | |
Jan. 30 | Referred to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee |
Feb. 2 | Reported out favorably (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs) |
Feb. 2 | Referred to Budget committee |
Feb. 2 | Reported out favorably (Budget) |
Feb. 16 | Confirmed |
Director of National Intelligence
Nominee

ConfirmedDan Coats
Former Indiana senator
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Jan. 5 | |
Jan. 20 | Referred to Select Committee on Intelligence committee |
March 9 | Reported out favorably |
March 15 | Confirmed |
Small Business Association administrator
Previous head: Maria Contreras-Sweet
Nominee

ConfirmedLinda McMahon
Co-founder of the professional wrestling franchise WWE
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Dec. 7 | |
Jan. 18 | Referred to Small Business and Entrepreneurship committee |
Jan. 31 | Reported out favorably |
Feb. 14 | Confirmed |
U.S. Trade Representative
Previous head: Michael Froman
Nominee

ConfirmedRobert E. Lighthizer
Former deputy U.S. trade representative
Lighthizer has years of experience in Washington, having worked various jobs including deputy U.S. trade representative during the Reagan administration.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Jan. 3 | |
Jan. 20 | Referred to Finance committee |
April 25 | Reported out favorably |
May 11 | Confirmed |
United Nations ambassador
Previous head: Samantha Power
Nominee

ConfirmedNikki Haley
South Carolina governor
Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, has little foreign policy experience but holds Republican mainstream foreign policy views, including opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement.
Read more »Nomination timeline | |
Nov. 23 | |
Jan. 18 | Referred to Foreign Relations committee |
Jan. 24 | Reported out favorably |
Jan. 24 |