Donald Trump is likely to look to Georgia as he builds out his White House team

ATLANTA — President-elect Donald Trump has already announced his picks for chief of staff and “border czar,” but there are dozens of roles he has to fill. Some of his most prominent supporters in Georgia are part of the conversation.

Here is a running list of some of the Georgians who have said they want to work in Trump’s White House or are in the mix.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Greene, first elected to Congress in 2020, is one of Trump’s most visible and loyal allies in the U.S. House. That may give the Rome Republican a leg up on an appointment to his Cabinet, although her controversial persona may make it difficult for her to get confirmed in the Senate.

Greene has said in the past that she would like to serve as Trump’s secretary of homeland security, which would give her oversight of immigration. However, now that Trump has announced that Tom Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will serve as his “border czar,” it remains to be seen whether Greene is still interested in the secretary role.

More recently, Greene has said only that she wants to help Trump move fast on implementing his agenda, which could mean she best serves the president by remaining in the House, where Republicans are expected to retain a thin majority.

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler

Loeffler, who is married to billionaire Jeff Sprecher, has lots of money. And they didn’t hesitate to spend it helping get Trump elected.

In addition to donating nearly $5 million to Trump’s campaign and affiliated groups, Loeffler also poured millions into her Greater Georgia organization that worked on turning out voters through targeted advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts. Trump has already announced that Loeffler will serve as one of the co-chairs of his inaugural committee.

Deep-pocketed donors are usually among the first in line for coveted ambassadorships. The United Nations ambassadorship appears to be filled already, but the Vatican, anyone?

State Sen. Brandon Beach

The Alpharetta Republican was a fixture at just about every major Trump rally in the closing weeks of the race. A longtime economic development official, Beach recently stepped back from the Develop Fulton booster group to focus full time on helping Trump’s presidential bid.

He’s not seen as a pick for the Cabinet or another high-level position, but he is talked about possibly filling a position in the Department of Transportation or another federal agency.

Georgia Republican Party Chair Josh McKoon

A former state senator from Columbus, McKoon built a reputation at the state Capitol as a proponent of more stringent ethics rules and a champion of contentious “religious liberty” legislation. Unafraid to pick fights within his own party, he finished third in a bruising 2018 primary for secretary of state.

He won the Georgia GOP chairmanship in 2023 with a pledge to unite mainstream and hard-line conservatives. He’s credited with shifting Republican strategy toward an embrace of early voting and working to smooth over strained party ties with Gov. Brian Kemp.

With changes expected at the top tier of the Republican National Committee after Trump’s win, McKoon could be in line for a high-level position within the Republican National Committee.

Nick Ayers

A former political wunderkind who is now a middle-aged Republican mover-and-shaker, Ayers could return to Trump’s inner sanctum as a White House adviser or another staff position.

As a college student in the early 2000s, Ayers got swept up into politics and became Republican Sonny Perdue’s right-hand man during his run for governor. He served as Perdue’s 2006 campaign manager, then the youngest-ever head of the Republican Governors Association and later as a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence.

After declining to take the job as Trump’s chief of staff in 2018, he returned to Atlanta and co-founded Everylife Diapers, a conservative alternative to name-brand diapers.