WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House adviser Peter Navarro, who served prison time related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, will return to serve in Donald Trump’s second administration, the president-elect announced Wednesday.
Navarro, a trade adviser during Trump’s first term, will be a senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, Trump said on Truth Social. The position, Trump wrote, “leverages Peter’s broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills.”
The appointment was only the first in a flurry of announcements that Trump made on Wednesday as his presidential transition faced controversy over Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for Pentagon chief. Hegseth faces allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement, and Trump has considered replacing him with another potential nominee.
As he works to fill out his team, Trump said he wanted Paul Atkins, a financial industry veteran and an advocate for cryptocurrency, to serve as the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He wrote on Truth Social that Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”
Trump also said he was changing course on his choice for White House counsel. He said his original pick, William McGinley, will work with the Department of Government Efficiency, which will be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with the goal of cutting federal spending. Now David Warrington, who has worked as Trump’s personal lawyer and a lawyer for his campaign, will serve as White House counsel.
In addition, Trump announced the selections of former Rep. Billy Long of Missouri as IRS commissioner; the CEO of financial technology company Fiserv, Frank Bisignano, as Social Security Administration commissioner; former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia to lead the Small Business Administration; Daniel Driscoll, an Army veteran who was a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance, as Army secretary; Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire who conducted the first private spacewalk on Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket, as NASA administrator; and Adam Boehler, a lead negotiator on the Abraham Accords team, as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.