Trump picks more for key positions in second term

PALM BEACH, Florida — US President-elect Donald Trump is filling key posts in his second administration as he announced on Thursday that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a former software company executive, will be his pick for interior secretary.

"He's going to head the Department of the Interior, and it's going to be fantastic," Trump said at a gala at his Mar-a-Lago Florida retreat, adding that he would make an official announcement on Friday.

Burgum, 68, has portrayed himself as a traditional, business-minded conservative. He 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.

At the gala, which featured tech billionaire Elon Musk, actor Sylvester Stallone and members of his incoming administration, Trump praised his latest cabinet picks and made some of his longest remarks since his presidential election victory speech.

According to The New York Times, Musk met Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in a bid to defuse tensions between Teheran and Washington, The Times reported on Thursday.

The newspaper quoted anonymous Iranian sources as describing the meeting between the world's richest person and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani as "positive".

Neither the Trump transition team nor Iran's mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the encounter, with the Iranian mission saying it had no comment.

Since his victory, Trump has chosen several loyalists for key cabinet positions.

The interior secretary will oversee policies guiding the use of about 202.3 million hectares of federal and tribal land, a fifth of the nation's surface area.

Burgum is expected to be tasked with increasing oil, gas and mineral production on federal lands and waters.

Health department head

Also on Thursday, Trump tapped up Robert F. Kennedy Jr as his secretary of health.

Kennedy, a scion of the famous political family who is popularly known as RFK Jr, is a longtime environmental campaigner who abandoned a fringe bid for the presidency to endorse Trump against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Trump had said previously he wanted Kennedy to "go wild" in changing healthcare and the two campaigned together promising to "Make America Healthy Again".

In another development, Trump met with Argentine President Javier Milei, the first foreign leader to meet with the president-elect since his victory in last week's election on Thursday.

The meeting was confirmed by a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss an event that had not yet been announced publicly. The person said the meeting went well and said Milei also met with investors.

Agencies Via Xinhua