Trump is building his cabinet top-down, and crypto is toward the bottom

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe .

It’s been nearly a week since Donald Trump became the president-elect (again), and he’s been busy teasing his picks for top cabinet positions. 

While the administration’s so-called “border czar” position is dominating the headlines, sources say Trump is still planning on hiring a “ crypto czar .” But establishing a digital assets-related task force is on the back burner, at least for now. Trump is, as expected, starting with the highest-level positions first, and he has some help. 

Co-chairing Trump’s transition team — to help fill the roughly 4,000 positions that will make up the administration — is Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick. One of Cantor’s notable clients is stablecoin issuer Tether, which is rumored to be the subject of a federal investigation . 

Trump, Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have been a cozy trio throughout the campaign, raising questions about how the billionaires could be serving their own business interests. 

Trump in September said Musk had agreed to head a new task force should he reclaim the White House. The “government efficiency commission” will conduct “a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and make recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said during a campaign stop at the Economic Club of New York. 

Susie Wiles, who co-ran Trump’s campaign since 2022, is set to be the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. 

Wiles reportedly tipped off big Republican donors that Trump plans to immediately reinstate executive orders from his first term, according to the New York Times . While specifics weren’t given, some of Trump’s 2016-era orders include withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization (both of which former President Joe Biden promptly reversed). 

If all goes according to plan, Trump’s national security adviser will be Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, who has mirrored Trump’s views on withdrawing support to Ukraine. The title of border czar will be given to Tom Homan, former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Homan’s RNC speech this year focused on mass deportation, a key pillar of Trump’s campaign. 

Crypto-friendly former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is out for Secretary of State and Marco Rubio is in (pending Senate approval, of course), according to people familiar with the matter. But Ramaswamy is a front runner to replace Vice President-elect JD Vance’s newly vacant Senate seat, I’ve heard. 

Positions still up for grabs include Secretary of the Treasury (investor John Paulson backed out this morning) and Defense Secretary (Fox is reporting that old Trump allies Robert Wilkie and Robert O’Brien may be on the short list). 

And, of course, there’s the SEC. As we’ve covered before, Trump’s promise to “fire Gary Gensler on day one” may not be legally sound , but he is likely to tap current Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair should Gensler not step down on his own. 

Plus, it’s worth remembering that Trump isn’t one to shy away from a court battle, so who knows how this one might turn out.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter .

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter .

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.