When Donald Trump stood trial in his historic criminal hush-money case earlier this year, a bevy of GOP elites flocked to a Manhattan courthouse in support of the former and now future president.
Trump was eventually found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Now, the president-elect is tapping some of those same supporters for roles in his administration. Several of the loyalists who rallied behind Trump during the trial have already been tapped for roles in his incoming administration.
In addition to those, Trump gave several members of his legal defense team top roles on Thursday: He named Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general and Emil Bove as principal associate deputy attorney general. Dean John Sauer, who represented Trump in the presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court, received a nomination to serve as the US solicitor general.
When asked about the recent appointments, a spokeswoman for Trump's transition team told Business Insider, "President-Elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration. Those decisions will be announced when they are made."
The Trump allies who supported him in the Manhattan courtroom and have now been named to his administration are:
JD Vance
Ohio Sen. JD Vance will become vice president in Trump's second administration.
In May, toward the end of Trump's first criminal trial, Vance was among a slew of Republican politicians to mobilize around Trump as he routinely defended himself to reporters in the hallway outside the 15th-floor downtown Manhattan courtroom where the trial was held.
Vance was also the first vice presidential contender to show up at court for Trump.
"Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says? I don't think that they should," Vance told reporters on May 13 outside the courthouse after Cohen, Trump's ex-personal attorney-turned-nemesis, first took the witness stand.
Matt Gaetz
Trump sent shockwaves through Washington after he named Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general.
Gaetz was among an entourage of rank-and-file House Republicans who showed up at Trump's hush-money trial in support of the then-presidential hopeful.
"We're here of our own volition because there are things we can say that President Trump is unjustly not allowed to say," Gaetz said during a May 16 press conference outside the courthouse.
The right-wing firebrand continued, "This is a corrupt judge. These are corrupted witnesses. This is a corrupt prosecution that belies any sense of the facts or the law. And so, we're going to keep speaking out against this."
Vivek Ramaswamy
Ex-GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is set to co-lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" alongside fellow billionaire Elon Musk.
When Ramaswamy, the tech entrepreneur, showed up to Trump's hush-money trial on May 14, he was considered as a vice presidential contender.
"This is a politicized persecution that is nakedly apparent," Ramaswamy told reporters at the time outside the courthouse.
Mike Waltz
Trump has tapped Florida Rep. Mike Waltz to serve as his next national security advisor.
The congressman supported Trump in court during the hush-money trial on May 16.
"It's a shame our country has fallen to a place where NY Democrats have weaponized the courts to interfere with our election," Waltz said in a post on X at the time. "President Trump will beat this and we will send him back to the White House this November!"
Doug Burgum
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has been selected by Trump to head the Department of the Interior in his incoming administration.
Burgum attended Trump's hush-money trial on May 14 and was the second vice presidential contender to show up at the courthouse.
Outside of the courthouse while speaking to reporters, Burgum condemned the trial as a "scam" and a "sham."
"President Trump is leading by huge double digits versus Joe Biden and the sooner that this scam trial can be concluded, the sooner that the president can get back to getting out campaigning and talking to the American people about the issues that matter to them," Burgum said at the time.
November 15, 2024: This story was updated to include additional appointments.
