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    • Will Kari Lake join Trump in DC? Arizonans could join the new administration
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    Will Kari Lake join Trump in DC? Arizonans could join the new administration

    Sakege Posted on

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    Donald Trump has only been president-elect for three days, but the maneuvers for his second administration are already underway.

    Arizona Republicans could play a notable role when the former president returns to the White House in January, as they did during Trump’s first term. Arizonans advised the former president and future president on immigration and played a prominent role at NASA when he was president.

    And as Trump begins to form his new administration, some speculate that Arizonans are again considering key roles that align with some of the state’s most prominent issues, such as immigration.

    “President-elect Trump will soon begin making decisions about who will serve in his second administration. Those decisions will be announced when they are made,” Trump-Vance Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a written statement. She did not comment on any of the names listed in this story.

    Here’s a list of who could be heading to Washington and which prominent Trumpworld figures could remain in the Grand Canyon State.

    Jeff De Wit

    Trump has previously leaned on former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit, naming him chief operating officer of his 2016 and 2020 campaigns and naming him chief financial officer of NASA.

    DeWit began the 2024 campaign cycle leading the state Republican Party with a Trump mandate. However, she resigned in January after Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake released a secret recording of DeWit telling her that “powerful people” didn’t want her to run for the upper chamber.

    DeWit previously served as Arizona’s treasurer.

    Body Art

    Art Del Cuerto, a member of the executive board of the National Border Patrol Council, said Friday that he has already received calls from politicians in Trump’s orbit about a possible role in the administration.

    “At the end of the day, I’ve been asked about it,” Del Cuerto said in a phone interview. “If someone called me and said, hey, are you interested in this or that position? I would have to see what position he is in.”

    One possible position could be an advisory position tied to the Department of Homeland Security, which plays a central role in the country’s immigration policy, he said. But for now, Del Cuerto has not heard directly from Trump.

    “Unless the boss himself steps up,” Del Cuerto said. “Nothing has actually been said.”

    Del Cuerto said his main goal is to be happy that Trump is returning to the White House. The president-elect swept swing states and is on track to win the popular vote after his 2020 loss.

    “My interest, as ridiculous and cheesy as it may seem,” Del Cuerto added. “My only interest was, and remains, first and foremost, the future of our country and the future of our state.”

    Brandon Judd

    When Trump wanted to deliver his campaign message on immigration over the summer, he recruited former National Border Patrol Council Chairman Brandon Judd.

    The head of the border union and former Trump ally knows Arizona well. He spent the early part of his career as a Border Patrol agent in the border city of Naco and served as president of the larger Border Patrol Local in Tucson.

    Judd was a vocal advocate for stricter border measures during Trump’s first term in the White House, appearing with Trump at roundtables and briefings. He reprized that role during Trump’s 2024 campaign, appearing on a press call with Trump to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Judd has also crossed party lines, accompaniment Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., at President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union address earlier this year.

    lamb brand

    Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb became nationally known when he refused to enforce a stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, believing it was unconstitutional. Lamb has expressed support for the idea that sheriffs should protect citizens from government overreach and that they have supreme legal authority in the US.

    Lamb has worked to raise his profile within the Republican Party, appearing regularly on right-wing television outlets and has a presence in MAGA circles. He has spoken at Trump rallies and the president-elect has praised him as “popular.”

    Mark Dannels

    When Trump and Vance visited the Arizona-Mexico border in August, Mark Dannels was right by their side. Dannels is the Republican sheriff in Cochise County, home to one of the busiest sections of the southern border. Dannels is also the border security chair of the National Sheriffs Association.

    Trump has already tapped Dannels for an advisory role. He was a member of the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council during the Trump administration. Dannels was dismissed of the council, along with more than two dozen other members, by the Biden administration in 2021.

    charlie kirk

    Charlie Kirk, head of the conservative activist group Turning Point USA, has strong ties to Trump’s world, but it is unclear whether he would work for the new administration.

    Kirk served on the 1776 Commission, a Trump-era advisory committee focused on restoring “patriotic education,” though he is better known as a media personality and commentator.

    Leading turning point It has been lucrative for Kirk, 31. His salary is in the six figures and he owns five properties, three of which are worth more than $1 million, the Associated Press reported. reported last year. Taking a government job would almost certainly mean a big pay cut.

    Blake Masters

    Trump’s victory could be a political windfall for Blake Masters, a venture capitalist who ran unsuccessfully to represent Arizona in Congress earlier this year.

    Masters is a close personal friend of Vice President-elect JD Vance: both are protégés of tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

    Thiel tapped Masters to serve on Trump’s transition team after his victory in 2016. Masters has maintained relationships with Trump’s inner circle in the years since.

    Trump allies in Congress

    Trump’s allies in Congress will receive new powers during a second term.

    Of the Arizona delegation, that includes Reps. Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Eli Crane and newly elected Abe Hamadeh.

    All have defended Trump’s efforts to undermine the 2020 election and have been outspoken defenders of immigration policy favored by Trump. In 2023, Biggs co-sponsored HR 2, a hardline immigration bill that will likely resurface in a GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

    Don Tapia

    Trump appointed major Republican donor Don Tapia to serve as US ambassador to Jamaica during his first term. He could tap Tapia for a role in his second administration.

    The Paradise Valley resident previously owned Essco Wholesale Electric Inc., which grew to become the largest Latino-owned business in the state.

    Tapia has donated more than $1 million to Republican causes, including $100,000 to Trump’s presidential inaugural committee in 2016 and $300,000 to the Trump Victory PAC during the 2020 election cycle, FEC records show. More recently, however, the Arizona millionaire gave thousands of dollars to Trump rival Nikki Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina.

    kari lake

    Lake has tied her political brand so closely to the president-elect that she is known as “Trump in heels,” but it is unclear if there is a place for her in the incoming Trump administration.

    Lake lost her statewide bid for governor in 2022 and began a contentious legal battle challenging the results. That mission ended Wednesday when the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear her appeal claiming she is the rightful governor of Arizona.

    Results from Lake’s Senate race against Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., were still filtering in Friday and no winner had been declared. Regardless of the outcome, Lake was on track to significantly underperform Trump among voters across the state.

    Lake had been a frequent fixture on the primary campaign trail earlier in the year, promoting Trump at his victory parties in Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump promoted her Senate bid but sometimes mocked her, calling her “Border Kari” at a rally in Tucson.

    Sakege
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