.jpg)
This year’s US Leaders Special Report reflects the new realities of American public affairs. Just as one Catholic left the White House, after Joe Biden finally decided to withdraw from seeking a second term of office, then Donald Trump returned to power with a cabinet packed with conservatives who wear their faith on their sleeves.
This fourth section of the report contains perhaps the most significant changes seen in any sector. In an alignment of stars not witnessed before, the United States now has a Catholic First Lady, Vice President, and Secretary of State. Though Trump himself is not Catholic, he relied on the 58% of Catholics who voted to return him to power. However, the election of Pope Leo has shifted the centre of influence—meaning that, for the first time in history, the most powerful American may not be the president. In the years ahead, we are likely to see a Vatican–US axis with serious impact on global affairs. Below are some of the names at its forefront.
Melania Trump
First Lady
Melania Trump is the First Lady of the United States, serving in the role during both her husband Donald Trump’s first term (2017 to 2021) and his second term, beginning in 2025. Born in Slovenia, she became the first Catholic to live in the White House since Jacqueline Kennedy. Her faith was publicly affirmed during a 2017 visit to the Vatican, where she met Pope Francis, prayed at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, and presented rosary beads for blessing — and again when she and President Trump attended Pope Francis’s funeral in April 2025. Melania married President Trump in 2005 at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida.
JD Vance
US Vice President
JD Vance is the Vice President of the United States, elected alongside President Trump in 2024. A former US senator for Ohio, he is also a US Marine Corps veteran, venture capitalist, and author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Vance was received into the Catholic Church in 2022 and has since spoken openly about the influence of faith in his life and public service. In April 2025, he was the last world leader to meet Pope Francis just hours before the pontiff’s death, and weeks later joined fellow Catholic Secretary of State Marco Rubio in one of the first official audiences with Pope Leo XIV.
Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State
Marco Rubio is the US Secretary of State, appointed in 2025 under President Donald J. Trump. He previously served as US senator for Florida for 14 years and was vice-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Earlier in his career, he served as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. A practising Catholic, Rubio and his family regularly attend the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables, Florida, where he was married in 1998. He has frequently spoken about the role of faith in shaping his political worldview and was among the first US officials to meet Pope Leo XIV in Rome, following the death of Pope Francis in April 2025.
Greg Abbott
Governor of Texas
Greg Abbott has been governor of Texas since 2015. A graduate of the University of Texas, he is married to Cecilia Phalen Abbott, a schoolteacher and the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. They have a daughter, Audrey.
Steve Bannon
Political strategist
Steve Bannon is a political strategist, media executive, former US Navy officer and investment banker. Having served as CEO of the Trump campaign in 2016, Bannon became White House Chief Strategist during the first Trump administration. Before his political career, Bannon served seven years in the US Navy, including as special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon. He later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and worked at Goldman Sachs, becoming a vice-president in M&A. Bannon went on to produce several films and documentaries in Hollywood before becoming executive chairman of Breitbart News, a position he held until 2018. He has also been involved in various populist and nationalist political movements in the US and Europe. A graduate of Benedictine College and Georgetown University, Bannon remains an influential figure in conservative media and politics via his successful daily podcast, Bannon's War Room.
Marjorie Dannenfelser
President, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America
Marjorie Dannenfelser is the president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a non-profit organisation that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women. She was brought into the organisation as its executive director in 1993. In September 2016, Dannenfelser became the leader of Donald Trump’s “pro-life coalition” campaign. Although she grew up as an Episcopalian, she converted to Catholicism and adopted an anti-abortion stance while attending Duke University.
Ron DeSantis
Governor of Florida
Ronald DeSantis is a practising Catholic, attorney and politician who has served as the 46th governor of Florida since 2019. Before this, DeSantis represented Florida’s 6th district in the US House of Representatives for five years. He joined the US Navy in 2004 and was promoted to lieutenant before being deployed to Iraq in 2007. DeSantis sought the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, withdrawing after a distant second-place finish in the Iowa caucus and endorsing former President Trump for re-election.
Joe Donnelly
Former US Ambassador to the Holy See
Joseph Donnelly is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who served as a US senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. He served as United States ambassador to the Holy See from 2022 to 2024, having presented his letters of credence to Pope Francis in April 2022. Born in Massapequa, New York, Donnelly graduated from the University of Notre Dame.
Sean Duffy
US Secretary of Transportation
Sean Duffy is a politician, lawyer and former reality television personality who is the US Secretary of Transportation. A former congressman from Wisconsin, he is a graduate of St Mary’s University.
Catherine Glenn Foster
Former President and CEO, Americans United for Life
Catherine Glenn Foster served as president and CEO of Americans United for Life from 2017 to 2023. An experienced keynote speaker, she has spoken throughout North America, Europe and Australia on legal and life-related issues, including debates and lectures at legal seminars on philosophy, political theory, history, constitutional jurisprudence and public policy analysis. She and her work appear extensively in national media and have received awards, including one for an article on human rights relating to embryo adoption.
Alina Habba
Acting US Attorney, District of New Jersey
Alina Habba is counsellor to the President of the United States and the acting US attorney for the District of New Jersey. She attended Lehigh and Widener universities and is the daughter of Chaldean Catholics from Iraq.
John Hoeven
Senator, North Dakota
John Hoeven is a banker and Republican politician who has served as the senior US senator from North Dakota since 2011 and as the 31st governor of North Dakota from 2000 to 2010. The 2022 election saw him comfortably re-elected as senator, though with a less significant margin than his previous campaigns. Before being elected governor, Hoeven was a banker who undertook a number of executive roles at various banks. He is on the board of directors at First Western Bank & Trust, and with an estimated net worth of $45 million, he is one of the wealthiest US senators. As a Catholic, he takes both an anti-same-sex marriage and pro-life stance and votes accordingly.
Tom Homan
US Border Czar
Tom Homan is a law enforcement officer and President Trump’s border czar. He formerly worked in immigration enforcement under President Obama and describes himself as a devout Mass-goer. Homan has spoken openly about his lifelong Catholic faith, describing it as a guiding influence on both his personal life and public service. He has said that his religious beliefs underpin his commitment to law and order. He is active as a public speaker, author and Fox News contributor.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr
US Secretary of Health and Human Services
Robert F. Kennedy Jr is the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, appointed under President Donald Trump’s administration in February 2025. He is an environmental attorney and author, known for founding Children’s Health Defense, and is the son of former US Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy. A lifelong Catholic, he has spoken openly about how his faith shaped his upbringing, family tragedies, and continues to influence his personal and public life.
Alan Keyes
Political Activist and Former Ambassador
Alan Keyes is a former assistant secretary of state under Ronald Reagan and several-time presidential candidate. Keyes is a Harvard graduate, is married with three children and is a third-degree Knight of Columbus.
Karoline Leavitt
White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt is the White House press secretary. A graduate of St Anselm College in New Hampshire, she is married to the real estate developer Nicholas Riccio.
Linda McMahon
US Secretary of Education
Linda McMahon is the US Secretary of Education, a department she has vowed to dismantle so that education policy and funding can devolve more fully to the states. She is a former CEO of WWE and board member of Sacred Heart University.
Mick Mulvaney
Former White House Chief of Staff
Mick Mulvaney served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Trump. He also held roles as Acting White House Chief of Staff and the US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Before joining the Trump administration, Mulvaney represented South Carolina's 5th congressional district in the US House of Representatives. A practising Catholic, Mulvaney has often referenced his faith as a guiding force in both his personal life and public service. He has spoken about how his upbringing shaped his views on fiscal responsibility, government accountability and social policy.
Leon Panetta
Former US Secretary of Defence
Leon Panetta served as the US Secretary of Defence under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2013. His extensive career in public service includes roles as director of the CIA and White House Chief of Staff, and he played a crucial role in overseeing the operation that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden in 2011. He served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton and as a representative from California. Currently, Panetta is the chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy. He is of Italian heritage. Panetta attended two Catholic grammar schools.
Mike Rounds
Junior US Senator, South Dakota
Michael Rounds is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior US senator from South Dakota since 2015. In 2014, Rounds was elected to the United States Senate, succeeding retiring Democrat Tim Johnson. As a Catholic, Rounds promotes a pro-life view and is also a member of Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Pierre, South Dakota.
Jim Risch
Junior US Senator, Idaho
Jim Risch has been the junior US senator from Idaho since 2009. Prior to his role in the Senate, he served as the lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2007 to 2009. Additionally, Risch held the position of governor of Idaho from 2006 to 2007. Risch has regularly voted in accordance with Catholic values. He has been a consistent supporter of pro-life legislation, demonstrating his stance on issues related to abortion. Notably, he co-sponsored the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, advocating for regulations that would make it illegal for a minor to cross state lines for an abortion without proper notification.
Paul Ryan
Former Speaker, US House of Representatives
Paul Ryan served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. He was the vice-presidential nominee in the 2012 presidential election, running alongside Mitt Romney. Ryan is a Catholic and attends St John Vianney Church in Janesville, Wisconsin. His faith has informed his political career, and he has stated that he opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.
Steve Scalise
US House Majority Leader
Steve Scalise has served as the House Majority Leader since 2023 and the US representative for Louisiana’s First Congressional District since 2008. He also served as House Majority Whip from 2014 to 2019 and House Minority Whip from 2019 to 2023. He comes from an Italian Catholic background and his faith has been a driving factor in his political career. He staunchly opposes same-sex marriage. In 2017, Scalise was shot by a left-wing extremist during practice for the Republican team’s annual congressional baseball game. Scalise survived the shooting and has written about how it strengthened his faith.
Dan Sullivan
Junior US Senator, Alaska
Dan Sullivan has served as a Republican senator from Alaska since 2015. He previously served as Alaska’s attorney general. Senator Sullivan comes from a Catholic family and as such is generally pro-life, except in cases of rape, incest or risk to the mother. He supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Sullivan received his BA in economics from Harvard University and his JD and MSc in foreign service from Georgetown University. In 1993, he joined the US Marine Corps and is currently a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves.
