President Trump and five members of his administration — Vice President Vance, senior adviser Elon Musk, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought — have been named to Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People of 2025."
The six officials are the largest representation bloc from a presidential administration since Time's 2009 list at the start of former President Obama's first term. Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs wrote in a letter on the selection process that the distinction is "a recognition of where global disruption originates today."
The Time 100 list is separate from the magazine's annual "Person of the Year" designation.
April 30 will mark the end of Trump's first 100 days in office following his January comeback, but his agenda has already made a dramatic impact on immigration, foreign policy, international trade and the federal workforce, among other issues.
"No other modern President has as forcefully grabbed control of the U.S. government as Donald Trump," Time senior correspondent Brian Bennett wrote about Trump's influence, listing direct actions in the weeks since the president was sworn in for a second term. "The rest of his term will show just how much he can bend the country — and the world — before it breaks."
Massimo Calabresi, Time's Washington bureau chief, highlighted Vance's outsize role as Trump's second-in-command in the segment on the vice president's selection.
"Normally, Vice Presidents fade into obscurity after taking office," Calabresi wrote. "Not so for J.D. Vance, whose profile and remit have grown since he and Donald Trump won last November’s election."
Musk has become one of the most controversial members of the Trump administration, with multiple polls showing widespread concern about the tech billionaire's influence and temporary appointment to a role focused on curbing government spending.
"Despite the growing public backlash, Trump has applauded the effort," Time senior correspondent Simon Shuster wrote. "This time, Musk’s 'demon mode' has destroyed far more than it’s created. And that seems to be the point."
Kennedy, an anti-vaccine advocate and former independent presidential candidate, has overseen cuts to federal health efforts and changes in messaging regarding immunizations, despite an ongoing measles outbreak in Texas that has killed at least two children. The Time 100 write-up on him noted his role in changing U.S. health policies and how it has differed from his predecessors.
Lutnick, a wealthy businessman and key Trump campaign ally, has long been a proponent of using tariffs on imports from other countries to spur American manufacturing and penalize trade policies he's deemed unfavorable.
Time noted that he "was one of the main officials who urged Trump toward a maximalist approach on tariffs, which triggered a global financial panic."
"He’s at times drawn the ire of White House aides and business leaders, and some suspect he could take the fall if the nation enters a recession," Time correspondent Eric Cortellessa wrote. "Others see Lutnick, 63, as trying to expand his influence."
"Either way, Lutnick’s proximity to power reflects one of Trump’s core bets: that success in business can translate into success in government," he added.
The outlet described Vought, one of the less visible members of Trump's team, as "an architect of Trump’s shock-and-awe second-term agenda" and noted his role in building "a shadow government in waiting, ready to turn [Trump's] ideas into policy."
"Vought may keep a low profile, but he’s the intellectual lodestar of the revolution upending Washington," Time's Eric Cortellessa wrote.
Separately in the roundup, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who would have become the nation's first "first gentleman" had former Vice President Kamala Harris defeated Trump, penned the write-up about another designee: Noa Argamani, who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 245 days after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Others who made the Time 100 list include Oscar-nominated actress Demi Moore, former tennis superstar Serena Williams and 2024 Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, who are among the five subjects to be featured on covers of the magazine's print edition of the list.
"The stories this project tells change with the headlines, so every May, our research starts anew," Time editorial director Cate Matthews wrote. "The one constant we see each year is that a single person’s hard work, idea, or decision can change the world."