President-elect Donald Trump has already announced his picks for chief of staff and “border czar,” but there are dozens of roles he has to fill. Some of his most prominent supporters in Georgia are part of the conversation.
On Thursday, he said he will nominate former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a longtime political ally who represented a northwest Georgia seat in Congress, to join his Cabinet as secretary of the sprawling Department of Veterans Affairs.
Here is a running list of some of the people in Georgia who have said they want to work in Trump’s White House or are in the mix.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, first elected to Congress in 2020, is one of Trump’s most visible and loyal allies in the U.S. House. That may give the Rome Republican a leg up on an appointment to his Cabinet, although her controversial persona may make it difficult for her to get confirmed in the Senate.
Greene has said in the past that she hoped to serve as Trump’s secretary of homeland security, which would give her oversight of immigration. But after Trump tapped South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as the agency’s secretary and Tom Homan as his “border czar,” Greene seems less interested in joining the administration.
That’s partly because the GOP edge in the U.S. House is narrowing as Trump taps ambitious lawmakers to the administration. She said in an interview that she’s more intent on “passing President Trump’s agenda” in 2025.
“And I very much want to play a big part in that. I’m one of his most loyal supporters here in the House, and he’s definitely going to need it.”
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Credit: Mike Stewart/AP
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is married to billionaire Jeff Sprecher, has lots of money. And they didn’t hesitate to spend it helping get Trump elected.
In addition to donating nearly $5 million to Trump’s campaign and affiliated groups, Loeffler also poured millions into her Greater Georgia organization that worked on turning out voters through targeted advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts. Trump has already announced that Loeffler will serve as one of the co-chairs of his inaugural committee.
She could be a contender for Commerce Secretary or leader of the Small Business Administration. Deep-pocketed donors are also usually among the first in line for coveted ambassadorships. The United Nations ambassadorship appears to be filled already, but the Vatican, anyone?
State Sen. Brandon Beach
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
State Sen. Brandon Beach, an Alpharetta Republican, was a fixture at just about every major Trump rally in the closing weeks of the race. A longtime economic development official, Beach recently stepped back from the Develop Fulton economic development authority to focus full time on helping Trump’s presidential bid.
He’s not seen as a pick for the Cabinet or another high-level position, but he is talked about possibly filling a position in the Department of Transportation or another federal agency.
Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon
Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC
Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC
A former state senator from Columbus, Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon built a reputation at the state Capitol as a proponent of more stringent ethics rules and a champion of contentious “religious liberty” legislation. Unafraid to pick fights within his own party, he finished third in a bruising 2018 primary for secretary of state.
He won the Georgia GOP chairmanship in 2023 with a pledge to unite mainstream and hard-line conservatives. He’s credited with shifting Republican strategy toward an embrace of early voting and working to smooth over strained party ties with Gov. Brian Kemp.
With changes expected at the top tier of the Republican National Committee after Trump’s win, McKoon could be in line for a high-level position within the Republican National Committee.
Nick Ayers
Credit: Jabin Botsford via Getty Images
Credit: Jabin Botsford via Getty Images
A former political wunderkind who is now a middle-aged Republican mover-and-shaker, Nick Ayers could return to Trump’s inner sanctum as a White House adviser or another staff position.
As a college student in the early 2000s, Ayers got swept up into politics and became Republican Sonny Perdue’s right-hand man during his run for governor. He served as Perdue’s 2006 campaign manager, then the youngest-ever head of the Republican Governors Association and later as a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence.
After declining to take the job as Trump’s chief of staff in 2018, he returned to Atlanta and co-founded Everylife Diapers, a conservative alternative to name-brand diapers.
Bruce LeVell
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Bruce LeVell, the former Gwinnett County GOP chair, was an early Trump enthusiast during the 2016 campaign who served as the head of the Republican’s diversity coalition. After a failed run for the U.S. House in 2017, LeVell joined the Small Business Administration in 2018 in a regional role.
He said in an interview that he’s already in talks about joining Trump’s new administration, but he wouldn’t say what role.
“It’s going to be very significant,” LeVell said. “I can’t really say right now, but it’s going to be, it’s going to be very significant.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Tyler Harper
Less than two years into his term as Georgia’s agriculture commissioner, Tyler Harper would be a darkhorse candidate for any federal post. Plus, the former state senator has a full plate fighting for disaster relief after Hurricane Helene.
But Trump allies say Harper has many fans in the president-elect’s inner circle and could be considered for a senior-level Agriculture Department job.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Doug Collins
Trump said he will nominate former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, a longtime political ally who represented a northwest Georgia seat in Congress, to join his Cabinet as secretary of the sprawling Department of Veterans Affairs.
Collins, a Gainesville lawyer, was one of Trump’s biggest defenders in the U.S. House during Democratic-led impeachment hearings, and tried to parlay that platform into an ultimately unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2020.
Collins is a military veteran who serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Trump’s campaign tapped him to serve as its go-to Georgia attorney after Joe Biden captured the state in 2020, and Collins has remained a staunch Trump advocate even as he decided against running as a MAGA candidate in the 2022 midterms.
The decision means Collins is unlikely to run for U.S. Senate or governor in 2026, when both jobs will be on the ballot.
Bill Pulte
The grandson of the founder of Atlanta-based homebuilder PulteGroup is rumored to be interested in serving as Housing and Urban Development secretary. Bill Pulte is a venture capitalist and philanthropist who has a huge following on the social media site X.
“We need to fix the housing crisis,” he wrote on the site Tuesday. Many of his posts in recent days have focused on housing and related issues.
The New York Post reports that Pulte has been in contact with Trump’s transition team, where he enjoys a level of support for the job.
Staff writer Mirtha Donastorg contributed to this report.
