“President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House experienced low turnover. However, as the administration heads towards the mid-term elections and its halfway point, changes are increasing as the president focuses on executing his agenda and his legacy.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
The Cozen Lens
- Success in President Trump’s orbit hinges on loyalty, political savvy, and a willingness to stay out of the spotlight — traits long held by his inner circle but also seen in some notable newcomers.
- Border Czar Tom Homan and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent exemplify how both a long-standing loyalist and a newcomer can find enduring success within the administration.
- President Trump has made foreign policy a priority of his second term and has delegated to a mix of trusted informal advisors and senior administration officials.
How to Succeed Inside Trump 2.0
Trump’s Rules to Success. President Trump’s political orbit has grown over time, placing a premium on loyalty, while long-term standing depends on tactful operating skills.
- After more than a decade in the political arena, Trump’s coterie has expanded to reflect changes in his ideology and its growing popularity. These adjustments also underscore the extent to which Trump believes MAGA is what he says it is.
- Still, in this growing group he has attracted, the one trait the president holds paramount is loyalty. This dynamic has been especially true in Trump’s second term.
- Loyalty alone, though, is a necessary but not sufficient condition to attain longevity in Trump’s orbit. Job security often depends on avoiding political headaches for the president and on public deference to Trump.
The Old Guard. Most of Trump’s enduring advisors are those with long, personal ties to him, whose deep familiarity with his style gives them a lasting edge over newer members of his circle.
- Among Trump’s most stable group of advisors are those with whom he has had long relationships. The trust he places in these individuals is reflected in the policies they oversee, even if it is not apparent from their titles. Examples include White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Special Envoy for Peace Jared Kushner.
- Trump’s coalition has expanded in recent years, a fact reflected in other parts of his administration. Even so, those individuals are unlikely to join Trump’s inner circle, given the advantages that Trump campaign and administration veterans derive from their longer relationships with Trump. Having operated in his orbit for this relatively long period, they are all adept at working with Trump’s operating style. They are also unlikely to stumble into any of the pitfalls that can befall newer arrivals.
The New Stars. While Trump’s inner circle is difficult to penetrate, newcomers have proven it’s still possible to earn his trust by delivering results without creating challenges.
- Even if it is not possible to break into this inner circle, some newcomers to his orbit have appeared to quickly gain his trust by proving they can operate in that environment. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is likely near the top of this list, with Trump placing a significant emphasis on his ability to communicate to financial market participants, a group whose opinion Trump values highly.
- Others who fit this bill have somewhat lower profiles than Bessent but have proven to be equally capable of operating within Trump’s orbit. Examples include US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. In both cases, the individuals have been tasked with handling top policy priorities for the president and have proven relatively successful in delivering for him without creating political headaches or seeking public recognition.
Someone Old and Someone New for Domestic Policy
Homan’s Staying Power. Border Czar Tom Homan’s commitment to executing President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda has solidified his status as a trusted adviser within the White House, enabling him to navigate roles with increasing influence from the president’s first term to his second.
- Homan, a former police officer turned career immigration enforcement agent, was elevated from his role as a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official during the Obama years to serve as the acting director of ICE by Trump in 2017. Viewed as an apolitical official with a commitment to enforcing immigration policy, Trump liked Homan’s dedication to ICE’s mission, regardless of external politics. Trump also appreciates Homan’s embrace of the more performative, public-facing aspects of the job. The New York Times reported last year that Trump was “delighted” by Homan’s public salesmanship of his policies in 2017 and his enforcement of a “zero-tolerance” policy at the border.
- Although Homan retired in 2018 after his nomination to permanently lead ICE stalled in the Senate, he remained on Trump’s radar, working as a Fox News contributor, writing for the Heritage Foundation, and leading his own immigration-related project. Homan’s loyalty to Trump’s immigration agenda outside of office helped him retain the president’s confidence heading into a second term. The dynamic secured Homan the position of “border czar,” an advisory role overseeing all immigration enforcement matters, giving him a broader remit than before.
- For Homan, competence has further enhanced his standing in Trump 2.0, more than loyalty alone has. Having learned from frequent staffing changes during his first term, the president now places a premium on advisers who can execute his agenda with quiet competence. The dynamic has benefited Homan. This is evident in Trump’s decision to entrust the border czar with right-sizing his immigration agenda following the uproar in Minnesota and the firing of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
A New Generation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has quickly built trust within the president’s orbit despite few connections to the first administration.
- Formerly a Democratic donor and business partner of George Soros, a controversial figure within the GOP, Bessent’s ascent into President Trump’s inner circle has been rapid. A known commodity on Wall Street, Bessent ingratiated himself with key Trump 2024 campaign members, including Vice President JD Vance, and publicly sold Trump’s economic agenda. These efforts earned him the top economic role over individuals with longer-standing ties to the president, like Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
- Although Bessent lacked the governmental experience and Trump ties of advisers like Homan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, he has similar political acumen. Unlike his predecessor, Stephen Mnuchin, Bessent objectively presents policy options to the president but doesn’t try to persuade him on key issues. As he told Bloomberg last summer, “I do my job, give him options and outcomes, present and then manage the narrative from there.” The strategy was evident in the multi-month search for a new Fed chair. While Bessent created a structure around the search and narrowed the field through interviews, he did not directly influence Trump’s ultimate choice.
- Beyond his ability to manage policy matters, Bessent’s measured salesmanship of the administration’s economic agenda has delighted a president who places a premium on television-ready appearances. Bessent has been a reliable voice in calming markets during times of economic turbulence. This ability has helped expand his role beyond that of a typical Treasury secretary, making him more integral to the administration. In addition to typical matters of economic stewardship, Bessent helped pass the president’s signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He now serves as lead negotiator on matters relating to China, is helping transition the management of the government’s student loan portfolio to Treasury, and is leading the response to cybersecurity matters relating to increasingly powerful AI models.
Outsourcing Foreign Policy
Informal Roles. President Trump has repeatedly tapped Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner as special envoys for tough diplomatic assignments.
- Trump has given Witkoff and Kushner a full plate of complex geopolitical conflicts to resolve, including Israel’s war in Gaza, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the conflict with Iran. Witkoff and Kushner aren’t diplomats by training but each has a long personal history with the president. While they may not hold official positions in the Cabinet, they enjoy direct relationships with the president, a valuable asset in international talks.
- Trump sees the world in terms of zero-sum negotiations. Witkoff had a long career as a real estate businessman and Kushner grew up in a real estate family business and gained first-hand experience in the Middle East during Trump’s first term. These backgrounds and perspectives align with the president’s style.
- In his second term, Trump unexpectedly has made foreign policy a priority. Witkoff and Kushner have an important role to play in securing Trump’s legacy in this respect.
Administration Insiders. Trump has also relied heavily on Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance to achieve his foreign-policy goals.
- As Trump’s erstwhile rival for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Rubio has since become a new arrival in the Trump orbit and a loyal member of the administration. In a sign of his faith in his secretary of State, Trump has given Rubio a number of assignments beyond the State Department, including serving as the acting archivist of the United States and as acting administrator of the US Agency for International Development during the shuttering of that agency. Most notably, Trump picked Rubio to replace Mike Waltz as his national security advisor, the first person to serve in that role concurrently as secretary of State since Henry Kissinger under President Nixon. Rubio’s wearing of many hats has become so well-known that it has fueled a popular internet meme of him looking glum wearing outfits associated with different jobs.
- Rubio’s influence in the White House is apparent from his key role in the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy (Trump put him in charge of overseeing the country post-Maduro). A longtime Cuba hawk, Rubio has also presided over the White House’s pressure campaign against Havana.
- Trump has not given Vance a dedicated portfolio but the vice president offers a key connection to the isolationist base. Privately, Vance reportedly opposed a full-scale war with Iran, but he has publicly backed the president. His credentials make him an ideal messenger to make the case to Trump’s base that the conflict is consistent with Trump’s “America First” beliefs. By adding Vance to his negotiating team with Iran, Trump brings in the isolationist perspective and can assign the blame to someone else if it doesn’t go as planned.
