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Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his presidential election victory.
Here are the early picks and top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defence, diplomacy, immigration and the environment.
Trump on Tuesday said he had picked for national security adviser Republican US Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Army Green Beret who has been a leading critic of China.
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Waltz, a 50-year-old Trump loyalist who also served in the National Guard as a colonel, has criticised Chinese activity in the Asia-Pacific and has voiced the need for the US to be ready for a potential conflict in the region.
The national security adviser is a powerful role, which does not require Senate confirmation. Waltz will be responsible for briefing Trump on key national security issues and coordinating with different agencies.
While slamming the Biden administration for a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Waltz has publicly praised Trump’s foreign policy views.
Trump said on Tuesday he is going to nominate former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be the US ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, is a staunch supporter of Israel and defender of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, considered illegal by most of the international community.
“He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!” Trump said in a statement.
Huckabee, 69, has criticised President Joe Biden for pressuring Israel to moderate its conduct of the Gaza war.
“If a person is pro-Israel, how can you be pro-Biden because the Biden administration has made it very clear they will make concessions to Hamas,” Huckabee said in an interview in March on News Nation.
Huckabee’s daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the current governor of Arkansas. She served as Trump’s White House press secretary from 2017 to 2019.
