Former President Donald Trump’s transition operation is compiling lists of names of people to keep out of a second Trump administration.
The lists of undesirable staffers include people linked to the Project 2025 policy blueprint; officials who resigned in protest of Trump’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol; and others perceived as disloyal to the former president, said two former Trump officials familiar with the discussions. The former officials were granted anonymity to discuss private transition operations.
The effort is the latest indication that a second Trump administration could have a starkly different personnel makeup than the first in positions ranging from the most senior aides to lower-level appointees. The former president and his allies have long stressed the value of loyalty among staffers, and they appear eager to avoid the leaks and staff churn that plagued Trump during his first term.
Donald Trump Jr. — Trump’s son and an honorary chair of the transition team — is leading the effort to assemble names of banned staffers, one former Trump official said.
