Trump names Steven Cheung as White House communications director

US president-elect Donald Trump has announced that Steven Cheung will serve as his White House communications director and Sergio Gor will run the personnel office in the new administration, News.Az reports citing ABC Online.

Mr Cheung led communications for Trump's latest campaign, where he gained a reputation for attacks on the Republican's opponents. A native of Sacramento, California, he worked in Republican politics and for the Ultimate Fighting Championship before joining Trump's team in 2016.

He also served as Trump's director of strategic response, a communications role, during his first term in office.

Mr Gor ran Winning Team Publishing, which he started with Donald Trump Jr, and also led the super PAC Right for America.

The Presidential Personnel Office will likely be a focal point of Trump's efforts to shape his administration's staff with loyalists.

The president-elect issued a statement to say he was "thrilled to have them join my White House".

"Steven Cheung and Sergio Gor have been trusted advisors since my first presidential campaign in 2016, and have continued to champion America First principles," Trump said.

The appointments came a day after North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum was also announced as the new administration's interior secretary.

"He's going to head the Department of Interior, and it's going to be fantastic," Trump said at a gala held at his Mar-a-Lago Florida retreat on Thursday.

Mr Burgum, 68, ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination before quitting and becoming a loyal Trump supporter, appearing at fundraisers and advocating for Trump on television.

The interior secretary will oversee policies guiding the use of more than 200 million hectares of federal and tribal land, a fifth of the nation's surface area.

President Joe Biden made the agency central to his climate change agenda by boosting the permitting of offshore wind and solar energy projects and creating a program to lease lands for conservation in the same way they are for development.

Mr Burgum is expected to be tasked with increasing oil, gas and mineral production on federal lands and waters, which will likely involve ratcheting up new leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and on lands in oil-producing states such as Wyoming and New Mexico.

News.Az