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CV NEWS FEED // Over the past few days, President-elect Donald Trump selected almost all of his nominees for the remaining high-profile positions in his incoming cabinet – including heads of the Departments of Labor, the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture.
Here is a recap of Trump’s latest nominees. All of the following positions require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Secretary of Labor
Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-OR
On Friday, Trump announced that outgoing Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-OR, is his pick to lead the Department of Labor. If confirmed by the Senate, she will become just the second Latina cabinet secretary in American history, and the first in over a decade.
Chavez-DeRemer, a Catholic, was elected to Congress in 2022, flipping a Democratic-leaning seat red for the first time in 26 years. She narrowly lost reelection on November 5, meaning that she does not need to resign her seat to join Trump’s cabinet.
“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump wrote in a statement:
I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs. Together, we will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families.
“Thank you for this opportunity, President Trump!” Chavez-DeRemer wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Working-class Americans finally have a lifeline with you in the White House. It’s time to bring our economy to new heights and secure a prosperous future for all hardworking Americans.”
Chavez-DeRemer was notably the preferred Labor Secretary prospect of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien.
In September, O’Brien’s union – which has nearly a million and a half members – made headlines when it refused to endorse the Democratic nominee for president for the first time since 1996.
Analysts widely credit the massive rightward shift among unionized workers and working-class voters for Trump’s sweeping victory earlier this month.
During her sole term in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer received pushback from many pro-life organizations, including CatholicVote, after she announced her opposition to the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Chavez-DeRemer previously identified as “pro-life.”
Secretary of the Treasury
Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent
Also on Friday, Trump nominated hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
“Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump indicated in a statement.
“Scott’s story is that of the American Dream,” the president-elect continued:
Scott has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda. On the eve of our Great Country’s 250th Anniversary, he will help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States, as we fortify our position as the World’s leading Economy, Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurialism, Destination for Capital, while always, and without question, maintaining the U.S. Dollar as the Reserve Currency of the World.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Former state Rep. Scott Turner, R-TX
The incoming president selected Scott Turner, a former two-term state lawmaker from Texas and NFL player, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
A native of the Dallas area, Turner played professional football in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a cornerback for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Denver Broncos.
He later worked for a U.S. Congressman and in 2012 was elected to the Texas state House, where he served until his retirement in 2017.
While in the state House, Turner was widely associated with the Tea Party movement and was in 2015 the Tea Party-endorsed candidate for Texas Speaker of the House, ultimately losing to the moderate Republican incumbent.
After his electoral career ended, Turner served as the executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council from 2019 to 2021 during Trump’s first administration. The council was abolished under the Biden-Harris administration.
Trump indicated in a statement that Turner helped “to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.”
“Those efforts,” the president-elect added,
working together with former HUD Secretary, Ben Carson, were maximized by Scott’s guidance in overseeing 16 Federal Agencies which implemented more than 200 policy actions furthering Economic Development. Under Scott’s leadership, Opportunity Zones received over $50 Billion Dollars in Private Investment!
Secretary of Agriculture
Attorney Brooke Rollins
After initial reports that former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-GA, was the frontrunner to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Trump instead decided to nominate Rollins, a native Texan who was raised on a farm, to the post.
“Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Suficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none,” Trump wrote in a statement announcing Rollins’ nomination.
“Brooke was on my 2016 Economic Advisory Council,” he added,
and did an incredible job during my first term as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Director of the Office of American Innovation, and Assistant to the President for Strategic initiatives.
…
Brooke has spent the past four years as the Founder and CEO of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and America First Works (AFW), building a team of loyal Patriots, and championing the Policies of our America First Agenda.
According to its website, USDA provides “leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management.”
According to various reports, Rollins is expected to work closely with fellow attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), particularly on matters related to food nutrition standards.
Observers widely consider the cooperation between HHS and USDA essential to support the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) policy agenda championed by Kennedy.
Surgeon General
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat
The president-elect has nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a physician and FOX News contributor for medical issues, to be the nation’s next Surgeon General.
“I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General,” Trump wrote:
Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives.
Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health. She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.
Nesheiwat wrote on X that she is “deeply honored and humbled by this nomination.”
“Thank you, Mr. President, for your trust,” she wrote. “I pledge to work tirelessly to promote health, inspire hope, and serve our nation with dedication and compassion.” At the end of her post, she included the hashtag #MAHA.
Per the office’s government website, “The U.S. Surgeon General is the Nation’s Doctor, providing Americans with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury.”
Nesheiwat is the sister-in-law of Rep. Michael Waltz, R-FL, whom Trump picked to be his second-term National Security Advisor earlier this month. Waltz is married to Nesheiwat’s sister Julia, who served as the Homeland Security Advisor during Trump’s first administration.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner
Dr. Marty Makary
Trump picked Dr. Marty Makary, a practicing surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, to head up the FDA. In recent years, Makary has emerged as an outspoken opponent of COVID shot mandates and other COVID restrictions.
“FDA has lost the trust of Americans, and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator,” Trump wrote in his statement on Makary’s nomination:
The Agency needs Dr. Marty Makary, a Highly Respected Johns Hopkins Surgical Oncologist and Health Policy Expert, to course-correct and refocus the Agency.
He 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.
As the FDA is an agency of HHS, Makary will serve under Kennedy if both men are confirmed by the Senate.
The FDA’s website states:
More than 18,000 FDA employees work in all 50 states and internationally to ensure the safety and effectiveness of human and veterinary medicines, biologics, and medical devices. We also regulate the safety of food, cosmetics, devices that emit radiation, and tobacco products.
Along with the USDA, cooperation with the FDA will be essential for Kennedy, assuming he is confirmed as HHS Secretary, to implement his agenda of eliminating harmful chemicals and substances from many foods and pharmaceutical products.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director
Former Rep. Dave Weldon, R-FL
To fill the all-important CDC Director role, Trump nominated pro-life Christian former lawmaker Dave Weldon.
“In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues,” Trump wrote in a statement.
The president-elect pointed out that Weldon “has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos.”
Trump continued:
Americans have lost trust in the CBC and in our Federal Health Authorities, who have engaged in censorship, data manipulation, and misinformation. Given he current Chronic Health Crisis in our Country, the CDC must step up and correct past errors to focus on the Prevention of Disease.
While previously relatively obscure, the CDC was suddenly thrust into the forefront of public scrutiny following the COVID outbreak of 2020. Appointing the agency’s director did not used to require Senate confirmation, and Weldon will be the first nominee for the role subjected to the process.
Weldon was elected in the “Republican Revolution” of the 1994 midterms, flipping a seat on Florida’s east coast that had been held by Democrats for the previous decade and a half. He continued his Congressional tenure for seven terms, retiring in 2009 to return to medicine.
While serving in Congress, Weldon cemented himself as a well-known advocate for the life of Terri Schiavo.
Schiavo was a Florida woman whose survival was dependent on a feeding tube, which a court controversially ordered removed in 2005. Its removal resulted in her death at age 41 two weeks later. Her case had made national headlines in the mid-2000s and was a rallying cause for the pro-life movement.
Born in Amityville, New York, Weldon moved to Florida, where he has practiced medicine for decades. He is the third native of Long Island – after EPA nominee Lee Zeldin and Treasury nominee Howard Lutnick – named to a senior position in Trump’s second administration.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director
Former OMB Director Russell Vought
Finally, Trump tapped Russell Vought to return to the role of OMB Director – a post Vought held from 2019 to 2021 during Trump’s first administration.
Trump indicated that Vought did an “excellent job” during his first stint as the president’s budget chief.
“We cut four Regulations for every new Regulation, and it was a Great Success!” Trump wrote.
“Russ has spent many years working in Public Policy in Washington, D.C., and is an aggressive cost cutter and deregulator who will help us implement our America First Agenda across all Agencies,” Trump continued.
“Russ knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State and end Weaponized Government, and he will help us return Self Governance to the People,” he added.
