Trump appoints White House's first woman chief of staff as US cabinet selection begins

US president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday made his first cabinet appointment after his decisive election win.

Trump's campaign manager Susie Wiles will serve as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to be named to the high-profile role and the Republican's first appointment to his incoming administration.

Trump's crushing defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris is already shaking up US and world politics, just two days after election day and two-and-a-half months before he returns to the White House.

The president-elect's first cabinet pick Wiles enjoys wide support within his team and was notably called on stage during his victory speech on Wednesday morning.

"Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again," Trump said of the steely 67-year-old Florida native.

A post for Elon Musk?

The other frontrunners for a place in the Trump 2.0 administration reflect the disruptive shape it is likely to take.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement for whom Trump has pledged a "big role" in health care, told NBC News on Wednesday that "I'm not going to take away anybody's vaccines."

But the former independent candidate reiterated that the Trump administration would recommend removing fluoride — a mineral US authorities say aids dental and skeletal health — from public water supplies.

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for a job auditing government waste after the right-wing SpaceX, Tesla and X boss enthusiastically backed Trump.

Trump is expected to wield the axe on many of Biden's signature policies. He returns to the White House as a climate change denier, poised to take apart Biden's green policies with his pledge to "drill, baby, drill" for oil.

He may find it hard to dismantle some of President Joe Biden's investment legislation, which pumps money into many Congressional districts where members would be loath to see it go.

Peaceful transition

As Trump began to work at his Florida resort on his transition team, Biden pledged a peaceful and "orderly" transfer of power.

Biden, 81, urged Americans in a solemn televised address to "bring down the temperature," in stark contrast to Trump's refusal to accept his 2020 election defeat.