Trump heads back to the White House and he’s taking these Texans with him

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WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office Monday, elevating a handful of Texans to some of the top positions in his administration.

Trump will be sworn in around 11 a.m. Central Time, officially starting his second presidential term and allowing him to formally nominate his cabinet. He has already named whom he plans to select, allowing the Senate to hold nomination hearings in advance and vote on confirmation immediately.

Trump tapped former Texas state Rep. Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, former Gov. Rick Perry policy director Brooke Rollins to lead the Agriculture Department and former U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe of Heath to lead the CIA. Trump named Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who has recently moved to Texas, as his pick for Director of National Intelligence and Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta to be ambassador to Italy.

Several other Texans were circulated as potential administration picks. Trump said last May that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton would be “great” as U.S. Attorney General. Paxton is a close ally of the president-elect, filing a lawsuit to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston was interviewed early in the transition as a potential contender for Defense Secretary. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi got tapped for the attorney general post, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth became Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon.

The Texans are among the less controversial picks for his administration, meaning they are likely to be confirmed by the Senate swiftly. None of them have faced the personal criticisms of other Trump picks, though Rollins’ nomination hearing is not slated to take place until later this week. Ratcliffe and Turner both went before Senate committees last week in largely cordial hearings.

“On Nov. 5, Texans voted resoundingly for a new direction for our country, delivering a decisive victory to President-elect Donald Trump and helping to secure Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress. Given this mandate, it is imperative the Senate swiftly confirm the team the president-elect has selected to implement his agenda,” Sen. John Cornyn wrote in an op-ed in The Dallas Morning News. “I’m thrilled to see that three outstanding Texans have made the list thus far.”

The Trump White House will also be looking to Texas for some of its staffing. Paige Willey, communications director for Paxton, will join the White House as deputy assistant for economic policy and Ryan Baasch, associated deputy Attorney General, will be a special assistant for economic policy, according to Bloomberg.

Perhaps the most famous Texan in Trump’s orbit is a recent transplant to the state: Elon Musk. The tech mogul who bankrolled much of Trump’s election efforts will head the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency, which is essentially an unofficial advisory role. The entity has never existed before and remains undefined. Musk has become a close confidant of the president-elect, influencing his fiscal and social policy priorities.

Trump has also promised to hit the ground running “on day one” issuing executive orders on policies directly impacting Texas. He vows to harden the border, loosen energy production and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The logistics of his proposals remain unclear. A mass deportation would require extensive resources that Congress would have to grant. Over 1.6 million undocumented immigrants live in Texas alone.

Trump has also vowed to pardon hundreds of participants of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Over 60 Texans were charged for their role in the attack. Trump has washed his hands of responsibility for the riot and said he was looking to make “major pardons” of his supporters who were involved.

Hundreds of Texans plan to travel to Washington for the Inauguration. In addition to numerous members of Congress and both Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright will be in Washington.