Though Donald Trump, who made history by staging an impressive comeback as the US President, will take many days or even weeks to select his cabinet and other high-ranking administration officials, the speculation has already started about who can land top jobs in the Trump administration.Top contenders for some of the key posts overseeing defense, intelligence, diplomacy, trade, immigration and economic policymaking will include some of his closest and loyal allies who have been by his side in the past few years.

Those with particular positions in mind have begun reaching out to members of Trump’s inner circle to try and talk themselves up. Trump, who is known to be superstitious, largely avoided these conversations in recent weeks, despite allies who believed they proved their loyalty trying to position themselves favorably, CNN reported. Ahead of the election, transition heads Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon met with some potential candidates for high-ranking positions within the administration to discuss what that would look like, sources familiar with the meetings told CNN.

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Kash Patel, a former Trump national security official who is helping organize the next administration’s transition, spent Wednesday taking meetings and calls at a Palm Beach County office from a flood of people interested in jobs in the incoming administration, a former Trump administration official involved in the process told CNN. Patel is helping to manage a somewhat chaotic process with multiple Trump campaign officials pushing lists of potential nominees for key jobs.

During private conversations in the last few days, Trump has made one thing clear: He wants to reward those who stood by him during the last two years of his presidential bid, CNN reported. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X, two of his top loyalists, are likely to get prominent roles.Many Indian-origin Trump aides too are likely to get top jobs in Trump administration.

Kashyap “Kash” Patel

Kash Patel is a former Republican House staffer who served in various high-ranking staff roles in the defense and intelligence communities during Trump’s first term. Patel has frequently appeared on the campaign trail to rally support for the candidate.

Also Read: Indian-American Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel may become one of world’s top defence spy agencies’ chief

Patel himself has told associates that he wants to be CIA director, people briefed on the matter have told CNN. In his final months in office, Trump pushed the idea of installing Patel as the deputy director at either the FBI or CIA, The New York Times has reported. Trump dropped those plans after CIA director Gina Haspel threatened to resign and attorney general William Barr argued against it. “Patel had virtually no experience (in the area),” Barr wrote in memoir.

Patel, a newcomer to the National Security Council staff from the House Intelligence Committee, had impressed the prez as the author of the secret “Nunes memo”, a key element in the effort of House Republicans to undermine the justice department’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, as per the NYT report. Trump was suggesting an additional role for Patel. “He wanted to make Kash a political executioner, to root out and fire individuals on the White House staff who weren’t being as loyal as he thought they should be,” Charles Kupperman, the former deputy national security adviser, said in an interview.

Patel is also a candidate to head the Department of Justice (DoJ). Trump has made clear that regaining control of the Justice Department is most vital to his agenda, both political and personal. A Politico report said in February that if Trump wins the election, he will take office as a defendant in two federal criminal cases: one active case and another that has been dismissed but that special counsel Jack Smith is seeking to reinstate. Trump’s first, deeply personal order of business will be ensuring those prosecutions come to a swift end, the Politico report said. Patel is former federal public defender and former federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s national security division who went on to become a top House staffer helping craft Republican responses to the investigations of Trump and Russian election interference. Patel has been a staunch and visible defender of Trump, showing up at his criminal trial in Manhattan and perpetuating conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. During the Trump administration, he worked as chief of staff to the secretary of defense, the Politico report said.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy has been one of the most visible supporters of Trump during the campaign and is quite popular with the party cadre, especially the youth. The charismatic entrepreneur embodies a new-age American patriotism that appealed to young conservatives and immigrant communities alike. He had run for the Republican Party nomination for the presidential election, but suspended his campaign in January and supported Trump.

Trump has appreciated Ramaswamy highly during his campaign. In October, he said that “smart as hell” Ramaswamy initially gave him tough competition. “He’s really smart, and I hope he’s going to be involved in our administration,” Trump said. Alluding to giving Ramaswamy an important department, he said, “We can put him in charge of one of these big monsters and he’ll do a better job than anybody you can think of.”

Earlier in June. Trump called Ramaswamy a “smart guy”. “If I gave it to Vivek to do, he’d pull it off,” he said while talking about his administration’s tariff deals with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ramaswamy could be considered for a Cabinet job leading the Department of Commerce, Homeland Security or Health and Human Services given his background as an entrepreneur and head of a pharmaceutical company, The Hill has reported.

Nikki Haley

A prominent Republican politician, Nikki Haley has been the governor of South Carolina and the US ambassador to the United Nations during the previous Trump government. She had run against Trump in the Republican presidential primary race but had eventually endorsed Trump.

Haley will be looking to make a comeback after a late endorsement of Trump following critical comments about his campaign, TOI has reported.

Not known as a Trump loyalist, she may still be a part of the Trump administration. “I think Haley will have a place in Trump’s Cabinet. She has supported Trump over Kamala Harris after she dropped out of the presidential race. She was invited to speak at the Republican National Convention in the presence of Trump, who has also mentioned in an interview that Haley will have a place in his administration,” Jiten Agarwal, a prominent Indian American business and community leader and CEO of QuantAi, a global data and AI company, has told TOI. Agarwal had hosted high-profile fund-raising receptions for Trump and Vice-President elect J.D. Vance in Houston, Texas, and also supported Haley’s campaigns.

Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar

Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar, though not among top Trump aides, has stood rock solid behind him through all his trials and tribulations, will be looking for the spoils of office, TOI has reported. Chicago-based Kumar is the head of the Republican Hindu Coalition and prominent donor to the Trump campaign. He ran a $1.2 million campaign in the last days of the campaign.

His campaign, which was focused on the Indian American community in the three important battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, was expected to help influence 200,000 voters and push the needle in favour of Trump.

Bobby Jindal

Bobby Jindal, a former Louisiana governor and representative with roots in Punjab, could become part of the Trump administration, Politico had reported in June. Jindal is now chair of the Center for a Healthy America, a wing of the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, where he has argued for changes to the Affordable Care Act and new price transparency measures.

Jindal’s new focus on health policy — as well as having held leadership roles — could boost a nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). And his record running a state government could help him argue that he is equipped to lead one of the federal government’s largest agencies, Politico reported.

Jindal, who was previously considered a top contender to lead HHS, has health sector and regulatory experience as well. He was assistant secretary of HHS under former President George W. Bush and he was executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.

However, Jindal has been known for opposing Trump bitterly in the past even though he endorsed him before the 2024 election.

(With inputs from TOI and agencies)