Trump names several picks for State Department roles

President-elect Trump named several high-level picks for the State Department on Sunday.

In several posts on Truth Social, Trump shared the new positions to work under his nominated Secretary of State Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

Michael Anton will be Trump’s Director of Policy Planning in the department, Trump shared.

“Michael has served me loyally and effectively at the National Security Council in my First Term,” Trump posted. “He has an extensive background in Government, the private sector, and academia.”

Trump noted that Anton served the last eight years “explaining what an America First foreign policy truly means.”

Anton served as a senior national security official in Trump’s first administration and was later appointed to the National Board for Education Sciences.

Trump also nominated Christopher Landau to serve as his Deputy Secretary of State. He said he will work closely with Rubio, if he is confirmed by the Senate.

“Chris served as my Ambassador to Mexico, where he worked tirelessly with our team to reduce illegal migration to the lowest levels in History,” he said. “He is also one of our Country’s great lawyers, and clerked for both Justice Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court.”

Landau served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021.

In a post on X, he said he was deeply honored and grateful for the nomination.

“I only wish my parents were still alive to hear the news, as my father was a career Foreign Service officer and my mother a consummate diplomatic spouse,” Landau said. “The nomination is a tribute to them, the best possible teachers of what it means to be a diplomat and an American.”

Michael Needham was chosen to serve as Trump’s counselor of the State Department.

“Mike as capably served Senator Marco Rubio for many years, and is a key leader in the America First Movement,” Trump wrote. “He has been on the front lines of the fight for the Forgotten Men and Women of America for nearly two decades, and will do a great job at State.”