Contenders for key jobs in Trump administration
By Ginger Gibson and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump held talks on Saturday with 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a meeting between famous foes fueling speculation that Romney could be in line to be the new U.S. secretary of state. Working to fill administration positions ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump also met for an hour with retired Marine General James Mattis, who is considered a strong contender for defense secretary or another high-ranking job. On Friday it was announced that Trump had chosen Republican Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn to be national security adviser and Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo to head the CIA. Trump announced on Sunday he would make Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus his White House chief of staff and named Stephen Bannon, former head of the conservative website Breitbart News, as his chief strategist and senior counselor. Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles. TREASURY SECRETARY * Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive and Trump's campaign finance chairman * Jeb Hensarling, U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee * Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer * Tom Barrack, founder and chairman of Colony Capital Inc SECRETARY OF STATE * Mitt Romney, 2012 presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor * Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City * Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina * Jeff Sessions, U.S. senator from Alabama and early Trump supporter, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee * John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush * Bob Corker, U.S. senator from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee * Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq DEFENSE SECRETARY * James Mattis, retired Marine general * David Petraeus, ex-CIA director and retired general * Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas * Jon Kyl, former U.S. senator from Arizona * Duncan Hunter, U.S. representative from California and early Trump supporter, member of the House Armed Services Committee * Jim Talent, former U.S. senator from Missouri who was on the Senate Armed Services Committee * Kelly Ayotte, outgoing U.S. senator from New Hampshire and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee ATTORNEY GENERAL * Jeff Sessions, senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who takes a hard line on immigration, was announced as the choice on Nov. 18. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY * Tom Price, U.S. representative from Georgia who is an orthopedic surgeon * Rick Scott, Florida governor * Rich Bagger, former pharmaceutical executive and former top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie * Bobby Jindal, former Louisiana governor HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY * Michael McCaul, U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee * David Clarke, Milwaukee county sheriff and vocal Trump supporter * Joe Arpaio, outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who campaigned for Trump ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR * Jeff Holmstead, energy lawyer, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Mike Catanzaro, energy lobbyist, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general * Carol Comer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management ENERGY SECRETARY * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Kevin Cramer, U.S. Representative from North Dakota * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Larry Nichols, co-founder of Devon Energy Corp * James Connaughton, chief executive of Nautilus Data Technologies and a former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush INTERIOR SECRETARY * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee * Jan Brewer, former Arizona governor * Forrest Lucas, founder of oil products company Lucas Oil * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors COMMERCE SECRETARY * Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor, chairman of Invesco Ltd subsidiary WL Ross & Co * Linda McMahon, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and two-time Senate candidate DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE * Ronald Burgess, retired lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, former U.S. representative from Michigan CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY DIRECTOR * Republican U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo was announced as the choice on Nov. 18. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER * Michael Flynn, retired lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was announced as the choice on Nov. 18. UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR * Kelly Ayotte, outgoing U.S. senator from New Hampshire and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee * Richard Grenell, former spokesman for the United States at the United Nations * Peter King, U.S. representative from New York U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE * Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp SUPREME COURT VACANCY The Trump transition team confirmed he would choose from the list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. LABOR SECRETARY * Victoria Lipnic, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission commissioner and former Labor Department official during the George W. Bush administration. * Andrew Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants. (Additional reporting by Caren Bohan and Steve Holland; Editing by Mary Milliken)
