Donald Trump’s campaign team showed few signs of fracturing in the months ahead of Election Day.
With one, unifying aim—to beat Kamala Harris—leaks, public bust-ups, firings, and fallings out were kept to a minimum.
But in the weeks since, tensions have occasionally blown up in public as key Trump aides and officials jostle to get their favorite candidates into the Cabinet or a plum White House role.
Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed ‘first buddy,’ used his own social media platform X lobby for Howard Lutnick to picked as Treasury secretary over hedge fund manager and Trump favorite Scott Bessent, who eventually got the nod.
Boris Epshteyn, the adviser who built Trump’s legal teams, has been briefed against by people seeking to limit his influence over the president-elect.
And then there are the obvious fault lines in the form of potential liberals drafted into key position, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former Democratic environmental lawyer who has reinvented himself as a rabble rousing Trumper based on his opposition to vaccines.
And his decision to name a pro-union figure in the form of Lori Chavez-DeRemer has rattled the MAGA crowd.
Long-time observers see it as a classic example of how Trump likes to make decisions by setting up conflict.
Insiders say there are different spheres of influence jockeying for influence at Mar-a-Lago as President-elect Donald Trump builds out his new administration
Trump has been holed up at Mar-a-Lago since winning the Nov. 5 election
Tucker Carlson, Cheryl Hines, Robert F Kennedy Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr, Tulsi Gabbard at dinner last month during an America First Policy Institute gala
‘He likes to line people up against each other and let them scrap it out and see what happens,’ said one Washington-based expert. ‘That’s how he makes decisions.’
The result, for now, is a competing series of influence groups around him at Mar-a-Lago.
The Florida Mafia
This is the core team that led the Trump campaign to victory, centered on Susie Wiles, the veteran Florida consultant who will be the White House chief of staff.
She was campaign manager on Rick Scott’s successful run to become Florida governor in 2010 and was later an adviser to Ron DeSantis when he won in 2018.
That gives her a deep bench in the state and she has drawn on it to build her campaign team.
They include members of the communications team drafted from the state, such as spokesman Brian Hughes, who previously worked for Jacksonville’s Republican mayor, as well as political director James Blair (whose Facebook profile describes himself as ‘essential Florida man) and deputy Taylor Budowich.
‘They are super loyal to her and were recruited through her years consulting experience in the state of Florida,’ said a person familiar with the dynamics behind the scenes at Mar-a-Lago.
‘That’s a tight crew. They roll together.’
Susie Wiles with Trump at a football game in Pittsburgh in October. She is lined up to be Trump’s White House chief of staff and has built a tight-knit team of loyalists around her
Taylor Budowich (second from left) and James Blair (second from right) and seen with other key figures in the Trump campaign at a rally last year
The Trumps
Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner may have distanced themselves from the campaign this time around, but they still turned up on stage at the victory party in West Palm Beach in the early hours on November 6.
Just like in 2016, the president-elect is dependent on family members for advice, knowing that they will most likely by the most loyal of advisors.
This time around the grouping is smaller but even more influential.
Don Jr, in particular, has emerged as a key figure, proving decisive in the former president’s decision to name J.D. Vance as his running mate, for example.
And although Eric Trump remains hyper focused on the family business, he has been a frequent face at Mar-a-Lago while his wife Lara proved a success as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. She could be in line to take up Marco Rubio’s Senate seat when he becomes secretary of state.
‘Each member of the family has its own solar system that revolves around them,’ said a recent visitor to Mar-a-Lago.
‘There’s Don Jr, and the influencers that look to him, and Eric and Lara who have the president’s ear at all times.’
Trump’s youngest son Barron also has a special place, and helped the 78-year-old candidate connect with youthful podcast audiences but he is spending most of his time in New York where he is at college.
Eric Trump remains focused on the family business but is a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago. His wife Lara won plaudits in her role at the Republican National Committee and is a frontrunner to take up the Senate seat that will be vacated by Marco Rubio in Florida
Jared and Ivanka may be keeping their distance, but a Kushner has already found a place in the administration. Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, has been named ambassador to France.
And Trump has picked daughter Tiffany’s father-in-law to become an adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
The MAGA Crowd
The spheres of influence do not have absolute boundaries. Don Jr., for example, bridges two groups, appearing in the intersection between the MAGA crowd and the family group.
It makes him one of the most important advisers to his father. He pushed hard for Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, one of the more controversial decisions to have come out of Mar-a-Lago so far.
Alongside him is Sen. J.D. Vance, the figure most likely to become the 2028 MAGA candidate, and a man whose hardscrabble upbringing and gift for controversial putdowns has made him a massive favorite with the blue-collar base.
This camp also includes the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Sergio Gor, who set up Winning Team Publishing with Don Jr. and has published two of the former president’s coffee table books, and former Trump administration official Cliff Sims.
Charlie Kirk, the head of Turning Point USA and an influential podcast host, has also been ever-present at Mar-a-Lago.
He has been present during several key interviews when Trump was deciding on Cabinet picks, according to a source familiar.
Don Jr. has emerged as a key powerbroker at Mar-a-Lago, and was instrumental in persuading his father to pick Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate
Vance is seen as the MAGA heir to Trump and frontrunner for the 2028 Republican nomination
The Attorneys
Boris Epshteyn is Trump’s top legal adviser and is one of the few figures to have survived in his inner circle since the 2016 campaign.
But in recent weeks he has clashed with other newer arrivals, most notably Elon Musk, who was seen at dinner accusing him of leaking to the media.
Yet he retains Trump’s ear and has managed to build out his influence with his success in recruiting a legal team that steered their client through four criminal cases, managing to delay and deflect so that only one trial could be held before the election.
Two federal cases were dropped last week, giving him a major success.
And he has steered some of his lawyers into administration positions. Todd Blanche, who led Trump’s defense through the hush money case (which they lost), is named number two at the Department of Justice.
Emil Bove, who was also part of that team, will also take up a senior role in the department.
‘Boris has basically quarterbacked and coordinated the legal strategy of all the cases,’ said a source familiar with Trump’s thinking. ‘He is the conduit between the president, the chief client, and the attorneys which puts him in a powerful place.’
As a senator, Vance has a key role in taking prospective Cabinet picks around Capitol Hill and beginning to woo the votes needed for confirmation. He is seen here with matt Gaetz
Trump’s top legal adviser Boris Epshteyn with Rep. Matt Gaetz, whom he pushed for US attorney general. He has built a grouping of lawyers around him
Elon Musk is in a sphere of his own, using his own social media platform to push (sometimes unsuccessfully) for Cabinet picks and declaring himself to be ‘first buddy’
Elon Musk
The self-described ‘first buddy’ is in a sphere of his own. He buddies up with different members of different groups, but has tried to maintain his own direct line to Trump.
At times his lobbying efforts have been made in the very public space of his X social media platform.
He voiced opposition to Treasury secretary frontrunner Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager, and pushed instead for financier Howard Lutnick, who is seen as more skeptical of tariffs, Trump’s favorite tool of trade and diplomacy. In the end he lost out, suggesting Musk still has a lot to learn about his new environment.
Members of Congress
The last major group is perhaps the most mixed, with a range of interests, backgrounds and motivations.
It includes Vance, the vice president-elect, as senator. And he has already proved his value in hosting administration picks on Capitol Hill as they begin to woo the senators they will need for confirmation.
And then there is the Florida contingent, who have picked up Cabinet roles. Sen. Marco Rubio is en route to becoming secretary of state and Rep. Mike Waltz, who will be Trump’s national security adviser.
Matt Gaetz remains part of the universe around Trump. He may have given up his seat in Congress and stepped down from consideration as attorney general, but his years of loyal support have not been forgotten.
