Ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, President-elect Trump must fill around 4,000 government positions to work in his new administration, including the Cabinet secretaries who will help enact his economic proposals for tax cuts, tariffs, and deregulation.

Here’s what we know so far about the potential Cabinet picks for economic positions.

Out with the mainstream, in with the MAGA: Ahead of his first term as president, Trump surrounded himself with business moguls aligned with the traditional GOP establishment, including ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state (who was fired) and Goldman Sachs vet Gary Cohn as economic advisor (who resigned over a tariff dispute). This time around, his transition team says, Trump will focus on hiring MAGA loyalists to carry out his campaign promises with brio.

Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick is the “headhunter in chief.” Expect most big (and small) hires to run through Lutnick, who led and rebuilt the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald after hundreds of its employees were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. Lutnick is co-chairing the transition team with Linda McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, who is reportedly the front-runner for commerce secretary.

Contenders jockey for Treasury secretary. The role, currently held by Janet Yellen, is considered among the more influential and glamorous positions in the Cabinet. So, it’s not surprising that a number of Wall Street bigwigs are vying for it, including billionaire investor John Paulson and hedge fund founder Scott Bessent. Other names that have been floated: former SEC Chair Jay Clayton and Trump’s former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

An “energy czar” could replace the “climate czar.” In a sign of Trump’s embrace of fossil fuels, he’s weighing hiring Doug Burgum, the billionaire businessman and current governor of North Dakota, to be his “energy czar” and cut environmental regulations, according to the Financial Times. This role would replace the “climate czar” the Biden administration had established.

Elon Musk figures to have a prominent role. Though Musk is not expected to take a Cabinet position, Trump said he would appoint the Tesla CEO to oversee a committee that would review government spending. Musk has promised to slash at least $2 trillion from the federal budget.—NF

Election updates: President-elect Donald Trump won Arizona, the final state to be called in the presidential race, meaning he made a clean sweep of all seven swing states this election. In 2020, Joe Biden won six of the seven (all but North Carolina). While all of the House races have not yet been called, it looks increasingly likely that Republicans will take the upper hand. This would give President-elect Trump majorities in both branches of Congress, which would help him advance his agenda. Beginning next year, 13 states will have female governors, a new record.—HVL

Qatar suspends its role in cease-fire talks. The Gulf country that had tried to broker a cease-fire in Gaza for months said on Saturday that it stopped those efforts, citing a lack of will among Israel and Hamas to make progress in ending the war. The pause was communicated to the parties 10 days ago in consultation with the US, the Qatari foreign ministry said, adding it could resume its role as mediator if Israel and Hamas “show their willingness” to negotiate. Qatar, which has become ultrawealthy from natural gas and petroleum, has emerged as an influential diplomatic broker: It’s a key US ally in the region (Americans have an air base there), is home to Hamas’s communications office, and has hosted Taliban leaders since 2012 as part of a deal with the US.—NF

Elon Musk shows support for “End the Fed” movement. While Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said he would not resign even if President-elect Trump asked him to and emphasized that Trump was not permitted to remove him, JPow might not have the last word on the matter. In response to the Fed chair, Sen. Mike Lee posted on X that “we should #EndTheFed” because “the Executive Branch should be under the direction of the president.” X CEO Musk Quote-posted Lee’s message and added the “100” emoji as a show of support. There is some legal gray area regarding what the president can do to remove or replace a Fed chair. With many of his allies in favor, experts said Trump may pursue Powell’s removal in a lawsuit that could reach the Supreme Court.—HVL

Nobody in all of Oz could have predicted an Elphaba-wrapped Lexus. This weekend, part one of the highly anticipated stage-to-screen adaptation of Wicked premiered in LA. But the group photo of the OG Wicked leads from Broadway sandwiched between the film’s megastars probably didn’t even faze you: You’ve already been desensitized from the months of green and pink promos.

It’s a big Shizzing deal. Rumors about a potential film adaption of the highest-grossing musical of all time have been swirling since 2009. The movie, which cost around $160 million to make, will officially open in theaters on Nov. 22. And like the execs behind the big-budget Barbie movie in 2023, the Wicked marketers have left no eyeshadow pallet or graphic tee unbranded.

• Shelves are stocked with Elphaba Squishmallows, green gradient Stanley cups, and pimple patches with witch hats on them.
• Collabs have come in a wide range of price points, from $200 designer headpieces to pink and green Great Value brand mac-and-cheese cups.

Big picture: Despite its piles of merch, the Wicked movie will hit screens following several major Broadway-to-big-screen flops (like Dear Evan Hansen and the Mean Girls musical) and will have to impress a huge fanbase of former theater kids. Analysts expect Wicked to bring in anywhere from $85 million to $150 million during its opening weekend.—MM

The crypto industry shelled out $135 million on races up and down the ballot this election cycle, and it appears to have been money well spent. Of the 58 candidates supported by crypto super PACs, 54 won, and three were too close to call as of Friday evening. As bitcoin’s skyrocketing price showed this weekend, crypto advocates expect to benefit from a Trump White House and Republican Congress, which have pledged to craft friendlier crypto regulations than the Biden administration.

Crypto figures to be a major force in elections going forward: The crypto super PAC Fairshake, already the largest single-issue super PAC in history, has a war chest of more than $78 million to spend on the 2026 elections.—NF

How high can stocks go? Investors hope they have enough momentum to hurdle this week’s earnings and inflation reports with the ease of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Those earnings are highlighted by Home Depot, Disney, Shopify, and Spotify (they clearly didn’t coordinate). Wednesday’s consumer price index inflation report for October could bring more cheer if it shows inflation continuing to moderate. But longer term, investors in the bond market are already signaling that inflation could rise again under the next Trump administration.

Donald Trump will meet with President Biden at the White House: Biden will host the incoming president-elect on Wednesday morning, restarting a tradition that symbolically begins the transfer of power between administrations. When Trump lost to Biden in the 2020 election, the former did not extend an invitation to Biden and never conceded defeat; it was only after the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol that Trump committed to an “orderly transition” of power.

Everything else…

• The UN’s COP29 climate summit begins today in Baku, Azerbaijan.
• People’s Sexiest Man Alive will be revealed tomorrow. The odds-on favorite is Glen Powell.
• The NBA’s in-season tournament, the NBA Cup, begins tomorrow with games that will be played on the busiest and most colorful courts imaginable.
• Jake Paul, aged 27, and Mike Tyson, aged 58, will square off in a boxing match at Dallas’s AT&T Stadium on Friday that will be livestreamed on Netflix.