Trump Expected to Narrow Treasury Chief Options by Week’s End

Lutnick spent months meeting with members of Congress, donors, business executives, conservative leaders and former Trump administration officials to create a database to quickly name and fill Trump loyalists into key administration posts.

The jockeying for jobs has already spilled into public through leaks and counterleaks.

Robert Lighthizer, who served as Trump’s U.S. trade representative in the first term and is the architect of his sweeping tariff proposals, is also among the candidates for Treasury.

But a recent report in the Financial Times, which said Lighthizer had been offered the same job he previously held, was read by some involved in the process as an attempt to sideline him from the Treasury role. Trump did not offer him the USTR post, according to people familiar.

Robert Lighthizer It’s possible Lighthizer — who has already begun creating plans for tariffs involving China and the European Union — will end up with a broad portfolio within the White House overseeing trade policy across the administration, people familiar with the process said.

Should Trump tap a finance industry veteran for his Treasury chief and give Lighthizer power over trade issues, policy battles are likely to play out the same way they did during his first term.

Back then, clashes of ideas often resulted in bitter fights that played out in the Oval Office in front of Trump — who likes those discussions to be part of his decision-making process — and sometimes with the press or foreign delegations present.

Linda McMahon, who is serving alongside Lutnick as a transition co-chair, is working with her staff to draft a series of executive orders Trump could issue on immigration, trade, energy and other areas in the early days of his administration, according to people briefed on the efforts.

The group is strategizing on how to pass another sweeping tax bill next year, the people said. McMahon, the former head of the Small Business Administration, is also in the running for the top job at the Commerce Department.

Trump will meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday — accepting an offer the former president didn’t extend following Biden’s 2020 win, when Trump contested the results.

Transition officials have suggested they’re prepared for large-scale turnover in the administration in 2026, which could coincide with Republicans losing some seats in Congress, making it more difficult to pass legislation. The goal is to complete the bulk of Trump’s agenda before the midterm elections, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A smaller Senate majority — or a Democratic-led chamber — in the latter half of Trump’s term could also make it more difficult to confirm new political appointees to administration jobs. The team is recommending to prioritize harder-to-confirm candidates in the first tranche of appointments and considering names for future rounds that may be more palatable to some Democrats.

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