WASHINGTON – From far-right billionaire provocateur Elon Musk to young firebrand J.D. Vance and vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a new Trump administration is set to bring a contrarian cast of characters into the White House.

       They will be heavily contrasted with his administration during his first term – almost none of whom backed him in his second run, with his longest-serving chief of staff, Mr John Kelly, labelling him a “fascist”.

       Here’s a look at the potential make-up of the Republican’s future administration:

       The heir to the oldest president-elect in US history, Mr Vance – who once described Trump as America’s “Hitler” – will enter the White House as vice-president.

       The flame-throwing senator from Ohio has spent the campaign mired in controversies, including the resurgence of old comments in which he derided Democrats as “childless cat ladies” with no stakes in the country’s future.

       Before being welcomed into the Maga (Make America great again) fold, the 40-year-old author of best-selling memoir Hillbilly Elegy also repeatedly criticised Trump.

       But Mr Vance has been one of Trump’s most effective attack dogs in Congress, promoting the dominant populist ideology – opposing immigration; insistent on Christianity as a touchstone of public and private morality, including on reproductive rights; and opposing support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion.

       Now, he swears absolute loyalty to the Republican billionaire.

       Mr Vance will become the third-youngest vice-president in US history, a crucial role as 78-year-old Trump – who has never been fully transparent about his health – is sworn in as the oldest ever US president in January.

       Trump has said that he will ask Mr Musk to do a complete audit of the US government to drastically cut waste, a mission that the world’s richest man has enthusiastically accepted.

       The SpaceX, Tesla and X boss played an unprecedented role in Trump’s campaign, spending more than US$110 million (S$147 million) of his personal fortune to get the Republican elected.

       He organised a series of campaign rallies and gave millions of dollars away to voters in the hotly contested swing state of Pennsylvania.

       And experts have repeatedly pointed to the shift of X – formerly Twitter – to the extremist right as Mr Musk lifted guardrails on hate speech and disinformation on the social media platform while attacking traditional news outlets.

       The precise contours of his role in Trump’s new administration have not been revealed.

       “You are the media now,” Mr Musk wrote on X early on Nov 6 as Trump’s victory became clear.

       Trump also pledged during his campaign to give a “big role” in healthcare to Mr Robert Kennedy Jr, the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy.

       Mr Kennedy, a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement who is known for propagating conspiracy theories and has said he wants to remove fluoride from the US water supply, originally ran as an independent in the election, but withdrew from the race and endorsed Trump.

       He is widely rumoured to be a contender for a Cabinet position, with speculation centring on the role of secretary of health and human services.

       Trump has teased that he would allow Mr Kennedy to “go wild on health”, and suggested that his portfolio would include “women’s health”, further angering Democrats already incensed over Republican-led abortion rights rollbacks in more than 20 states.

       Mr Kennedy will “make America healthy again”, the President-elect said in his victory speech early on Nov 6.

       Trump has so far remained tight-lipped about who will make up the rest of his White House team.

       The name of Mr Richard Grenell, former US ambassador to Germany, is being bandied about for the post of national security adviser or secretary of state.

       Senior campaign aide Susie Wiles, who many see as the architect of his comeback, could serve as White House chief of staff.

       North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is being considered for the post of energy secretary, and Senator Tom Cotton for defence.

       Trump has not said what role his family, omnipresent as senior aides and advisers during his first term in office, would play in his future administration.

       His daughter-in-law, Ms Lara Trump, co-chairs the Republican Party. AFP