Trump taps oldest sons and major donors to lead presidential transition team

Former President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled his presidential transition team, comprising major party donors and his two oldest sons to lead policy and personnel efforts in preparation for a possible return to the White House next year.

The team will be co-led by two of Trump’s top campaign donors: Linda McMahon, who previously served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The team also includes Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump’s running mate, and his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as honorary chairmen. 

“The 2024 GOP Platform to Make America Great Again is a forward-looking agenda that will deliver safety, prosperity and freedom for the American people,” the former president said in a statement. “My administration will deliver on these bold promises. We will restore strength, competence and common sense to the Oval Office. I have absolute confidence the Trump-Vance Administration will be ready to govern effectively on Day One.”

Establishing a transition team ahead of Election Day is standard practice for presidential campaigns as it allows candidates to organize and prepare should they win the election.

The decision to tap McMahon and Lutnick to lead the transition team likely stems from the fundraising work the two have done over the last several months to boost Trump’s reelection bid. Just this month, Lutnick hosted a fundraiser for the former president in the Hamptons.

Trump Jr.’s placement on the team comes as the former president’s eldest son has openly expressed his desire to choose appointees in a future Trump administration. He told supporters at the Republican National Convention last month that he wants “veto power” to overrule candidates he did not trust.

“I want to block the liars,” Trump Jr. told the crowd. “I want to block the guys that are, you know, pretending they’re with you. I just want to block the bad actors. I just want to be a block. That’s it.”