Project 2025, Mar-a-Lago and Fox News: What connects Trump's new staff picks

A number of patterns have emerged among the people President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he wants to fill his Cabinet and other senior-level positions in his administration.

Some points of commonality are historically typical among senior White House and Cabinet officials -- Harvard, Yale and Princeton universities are well represented among his selections' alma maters, for instance. Other uniting factors are unprecedented: Many on the list have denied or questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election, often a prerequisite for gaining Trump's favor. And some lack the traditional qualifications shared by their predecessors.

Indeed, it appears that the most important qualifier in Trump's mind has been fealty to him, which many of his picks have demonstrated in various ways over the past few years.

See some of the links between more than 60 potential members (in some cases pending confirmation) of the incoming administration, below.

At least 5 are billionaires

Trump has picked two billionaires to lead key economic departments, raising questions about whether his administration will follow through on promises to boost the working class.

Scott Bessent, his choice for treasury secretary, is a hedge fund manager who invested money for George Soros, a liberal philanthropist, for more than a decade. Howard Lutnick, his pick for commerce secretary, is a Wall Street executive. Both Bessent and Lutnick have been vocal in their support for Trump's plan to impose tariffs on imports, although they may prefer a more targeted approach.

Billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead what Trump is calling the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump has said the new initiative would operate outside of the government and offer input to federal officials.

At least 8 have been major Trump donors

The president-elect has also selected major campaign donors for key positions, including four to lead Cabinet agencies: Lutnick and Bessent, as well as Chris Wright to lead the Energy Department and Linda McMahon to lead the Education Department. (McMahon and Lutnick are also co-chairs of the Trump transition.) As of the last federal filing, their contributions to support Trump during the 2024 election cycle ranged from $350,000 to $20 million.

John Phelan, Trump's pick for Navy secretary, and his wife, Amy, donated more than $1 million to Trump's joint fundraising campaign committee.

Steven Witkoff, a billionaire real estate mogul who has given nearly $2 million to Trump's political causes over the past decade, was named special envoy to the Middle East. He was on the golf course with Trump in September during a second assassination attempt.

Musk poured at least $75 million into a new pro-Trump super political action committee and promised Oct. 19 to award one voter $1 million every day through Election Day. The Justice Department warned Musk that the giveaway might be illegal, but a judge in Philadelphia refused to halt the sweepstakes.

Charles Kushner, Trump's pick for ambassador to France, is a real estate executive who gave at least $2 million to support Trump.

At least 12 hosted or co-hosted events at Mar-a-Lago

After Trump left the White House, Mar-a-Lago became the headquarters of the MAGA movement. Events hosted by right-wing organizations and politicians there largely replaced traditional Palm Beach society galas on the resort's calendar, as a visit became an essential rite for many Republican candidates.

Many of Trump's recent picks were regular fixtures at Mar-a-Lago during this time. Some did more than visit, choosing to host expensive receptions on the property. As Mar-a-Lago's owner, Trump is the beneficiary of its profits.

Several of the proposed officials have held campaign fundraisers or served on the host committee to support another candidate's event. Others hosted or co-hosted larger events for organizations they lead or champion.

At least 13 made appearances at Trump's criminal trial in New York

Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan was a staging ground for allies to prove their loyalty. Several of his recent picks traveled to New York in the spring to show support. Some were there in a professional context. Todd Blanche, Trump's choice for deputy attorney general, was one of his trial lawyers, and Susie Wiles, Trump's incoming chief of staff, was co-chair of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Others, including Vice President-elect JD Vance and Doug Burgum, Trump's pick for interior secretary, attended the trial as spectators and attacked members of the presiding judge's family on behalf of Trump, who was under a rule of silence. Both were considered potential running mates at the time.

At least 17 are associated with the America First Policy Institute or Project 2025

Trump spent much of the campaign distancing himself from Project 2025, a sprawling initiative spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation that included a "blueprint" document for a new conservative administration that was authored in part by former Trump staffers. But since winning the election, Trump has picked at least seven people with ties to the controversial conservative policy initiative to serve in his administration.

Project 2025 also includes a database of Heritage-vetted personnel intended to help a Republican president build rank-and-file staff. It remains to be seen to what extent those candidates will be hired in the new administration.

The America First Policy Institute, which like the Heritage Foundation is a pro-Trump think tank, is also heavily represented in his picks so far. At least 11 of the people among his picks have ties to the upstart policy group. Much like Project 2025, the think tank has prepared staffing plans and a policy agenda, and it reportedly has drafted nearly 300 executive orders ready for Trump's signature.

At least 11 are or have been Fox hosts or contributors

Some of Trump's appointees are closely linked to Fox as either hosts, former hosts or contributors. Pete Hegseth was a host on "Fox & Friends" until he became Trump's pick for defense secretary. Hegseth's co-host was Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is married to Sean Duffy, Trump's Cabinet pick for transportation secretary. Duffy also co-hosted a show on Fox Business.

Trump's choice for ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, hosted a show on Fox for seven years. More recently, Ramaswamy was tapped to host a five-part series on Fox Nation.

Many more figures in Trump's orbit are frequent guests on Fox News, and several not counted here have contributed digital columns to the Fox News website. Wright caught Trump's attention in part through his appearances on Fox News.

At least 9 are or have been registered lobbyists

The revolving door between lobbying and government is a tradition in Washington -- and one of the practices Trump pledged to eliminate when he said he would "drain the swamp." But some of the people Trump has tapped for his administration have deep ties to that very swamp.

Wiles was registered as a lobbyist until early this year. Pam Bondi, Trump's choice for attorney general, joined a lobbying firm run by a prominent Florida fundraiser after she finished her second term as Florida attorney general. Duffy lobbied for a coalition of airlines in 2020.

Some of Trump's selections not discussed here have acted as lobbyists without officially registering -- another long-standing custom in the nation's capital. Russell Vought, Trump's choice to lead the Office of Management and Budget, noted in paperwork for his 2017 Senate confirmation hearing that he had "engaged in grassroots lobbying."

At least 28 served in or advised the previous Trump administration

More than two dozen of Trump's Cabinet and other senior-level picks also served in some capacity in his first administration.

Some have been chosen for roles related to their previous jobs. Thomas Homan was acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump's first term and has been named border czar, a position that does not require Senate confirmation, for the coming term.

Others have been tapped for roles less related to their previous positions. McMahon was the administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017-19, and she is now Trump's choice for education secretary.

Several on this list did not have official, full-time jobs during Trump's last term, but they were chosen by him to sit on advisory boards. Those people include Witkoff, Huckabee and Musk.

Methodology

This list reflects 61 Cabinet and senior-level position picks that Trump had announced as of noon Eastern time Dec. 2.

To determine ties to Project 2025, the Times checked Trump's proposed staff members against the authors, editors and contributors to the Project 2025 playbook, as well as the instructor lists in Project 2025's training programs. Ties to the America First Policy Institute were determined by whether an individual had a listed role on the conservative group's website or has served as a fellow for the group.

To determine ties to Fox News, the Times searched for each staff pick on Fox's website, which lists individuals' affiliations with Fox News. In instances where a biographical page was not available for a nominee, the Times attempted a further search on the Internet Archive and consulted news articles that described other relationships between the potential nominees and appointees and Fox News. In many cases, nominees had a presence on the Fox News website in the form of submitted opinion articles, but were not described as Fox contributors, so the Times did not classify them as being tied to Fox directly.

Accounts by Times reporters and photographers who covered Trump's trial in New York were used to determine whether one of Trump's picks attended the trial.

Those labeled billionaires have been referred to as such in other Times coverage.

Major donors include people who gave at least $250,000 to support Trump during the 2024 election cycle.

The Times used congressional lobbying disclosure databases to determine whether an individual is or has ever been a registered lobbyist.

To determine whether one of Trump's picks hosted or co-hosted an event at Mar-a-Lago, the Times used permits from the town of Palm Beach; federal, state and county campaign finance records; tax records; social media posts; and promotional materials from organizations that held events.

The Times used the official White House archive from the first Trump administration to determine whether people selected for the second administration also served in the first. Some held multiple positions during the course of the administration.