The name that has caught many off guard is 44-year-old Army veteran Pete Hegseth, best known currently for his work as an anchor and reporter with Fox News, as Defense Secretary.
A conservative military watchdog believes Hegseth is more qualified than the responses of some Republicans might suggest.
Trump has also announced South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his choice for Secretary of Homeland Security.
Trump has also appointed former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Trump has tabbed Tom Homan, a former New York City police officer and the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Hegseth, Noem and Huckabee must be confirmed by the Senate.
Republican senators Tommy Tuberville, Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy all expressed surprise at the announcement of Hegseth, according to Forbes.com.
Bob Maginnis, a national security analyst often interviewed by AFN, also has concerns. He tells AFN the Secretary of Defense role usually goes to a person familiar with Washington and its bureaucracy.
"He's never worked inside the Pentagon, nor in Congress, nor for that matter in Washington, D.C," Maginnis says.
Maginnis shares that he knows Hegseth personally - he interned under Maginnis years ago at the Family Research Council. So the defense analyst hopes the former intern, if confirmed, surrounds himself with people who can "assist and guide him" in the political wars he will be facing.
Decorated in combat, Hegseth has made it clear that he opposes the "woke" programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. During a podcast before the election, he outlined what has to be done to fix the Pentagon.
"First of all, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the DEI woke, has got to go. You’re in for war fighting and that's it, and that's the only litmus test we care about. You got to get DEI and CRT out of military academies so you're not training young officers to be baptized in this type of thinking,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth's choice should bring a sea-change to the military.
Elaine Donnelly is president of the Center for Military Readiness. She says in his book "The War on Warriors" he names names.
"He pinpoints exactly the individuals, the leaders in the Pentagon who are responsible for what has happened, and that's half the battle. You have to find the problem; you have to identify who is causing the problem before you can fix the problem."
Insight into Hegseth
So Donnelly believes Trump showed great insight in picking Hegseth.
"His own life experiences in uniform and since then really qualify him more than I think anybody even thought of. His name was not being bandied around as a candidate to be Secretary of Defense, but Donald Trump looks at people in a different way. I think he saw some qualities there that are going to be important in what he wants to do, and what Trump wants to do, of course, is as he promised many times. And wokeism in the military."
Art Arthur is a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies. He says Holman is going to change the dynamic for immigration enforcement in the United States back to what it traditionally was.
"Tom Homan brings that historical perspective to immigration enforcement, understands what is possible, understands what the law requires, and understands what the American people need from their immigration system. I think that the most important thing is that he's going to restore faith in the American people in our immigration system, and he's going to rebuild an immigration system that has largely been undermined over the past four years."
Arthur says Noem will bring competent management to the office of Secretary of Homeland Security.
"Kristi Noem is going to be a person who brings her experience as a governor to the running of an agency that encompasses key roles and has about 200,000 employees. So it's time that DHS given all of its crucial roles has competent management, and I think that Christy Nome is going to provide that."
Huckabee is a former Southern Baptist pastor and a staunch supporter of Israel.
The former Arkansas governor is also a former Southern Baptist pastor and is a staunch supporter of the Jewish State.
Trump: People of Israel love Huckabee
His nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump said in a statement, "He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!"
Jan Markell is the founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries and host of Understanding the Times on American Family Radio.
"Mike Huckabee understands the biblical implications. Mike Huckabee understands Israel is the center of biblical prophecy. So I think this is a historic appointment, and I think Christians particularly need to rejoice at this. It's breath of fresh air compared to this Israel cursing administration."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comments from Bob Maginnis.
